Whether you’re an experienced recruiter going solo or you’re working in the healthcare sector and have seen the recruitment opportunities first hand, we’ve got lots of advice to help you get started.
It’s certainly a growing sector, with the NHS alone reporting to spend an average of £480m a year on agency staff. There are however a few things to consider before you start your healthcare recruitment agency:
Consider Your Niche
Before opting to establish yourself as a general healthcare recruitment agency, consider instead how you could be more successful by specialising in a certain area. For example, will you choose to focus on nurses and healthcare assistants, or instead channel your efforts in to sourcing people for roles in domiciliary care.
Establishing a niche in recruitment often makes opening doors much easier and makes you more attractive to candidates looking for a recruitment partner. Your experience in the sector will point you in the right direction and you can always expand to other areas once you’re established.
Sort Your Marketing
Marketing is essential when you’re starting your recruitment agency. You really need to build your brand and understand where your business fits in to the market. You’ll need to create a visual look and decide what message you want to send to potential clients and candidates.
Think about where people in the healthcare sector typically apply for jobs or look for candidates, to help you decide where to spend your budget. Finding the right individuals in the healthcare sector is notoriously hard, so employing the services of a marketing professional that can help could be valuable.
Get Your Funding in Place
The nature of the recruitment industry means that often you’ll have to pay out for staff and services long before you’re paid by your client. This is typically worse in the healthcare sector where processes are more complex. Therefore you’ll need savings in place to help you get started, or alternatively you can get funding to help. New Millennia offer 100% recruitment financing so you can keep your business moving until you’re paid by your client.
Organise Legal Agreements and Insurance
As well as the insurance and agreements everyone needs to start a recruitment agency, you’ll also need to think of specific insurances to cover people working within the healthcare sector. The nature of the work means you’re much more open to legal disputes so it’s essential that you have the high level of insurance required. You may also need to generate staff and client handbooks to ensure everyone is complying with the relevant legislations.
Get Qualified
To be able to run a healthcare recruitment agency in the UK, there are a number of different qualifications you could consider working towards to help develop your skills:
- QCF Level 5 Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care
- NVQ Level 4 in Leadership and Management for Care Services
- Registered Manager’s Award (RMA)
Register with the CQC
You also need to take the time to register with the CQC (Care Quality Commission), registering both your agency and yourself as an individual. Though it can be a lengthy process it’s essential to make sure that you’re compliant and offering a quality service.
