Healthcare has a communication problem, and it starts with the vacancies page.

Attention to staff shortages in healthcare almost always focuses on nurses, doctors, and specialists. Quite rightly so, but it obscures a second problem. For who attracts these healthcare professionals? Who builds the employer brand, handles internal communication during a reorganization, and devises the content strategy on LinkedIn? These are communication and marketing professionals. And they, too, are scarce.

Healthcare institutions compete for the same people as governments, non-profits, and commercial agencies. However, the employer narrative is rarely tailored to this. Yet healthcare has an undeniably strong story: purpose, societal impact, complex content, and a human profession. That story is told too infrequently.

The candidate journey begins before the application

A communications professional considering working at your healthcare institution forms an impression even before the first interview : via LinkedIn, the careers page, what former employees write on Glassdoor, and the tone of the job description . Many healthcare institutions invest in their care brand, but not in their employer brand. The result: vacancies remain open for a long time and hiring is done on an ad hoc basis without a structural narrative.

Moreover, communication professionals know exactly how employer branding works. They see right through generic employer texts. 'A dynamic work environment' says nothing. An employee who tells how she set up a communication campaign during a merger process—that says it all. Use precisely those stories.

The application process is also a moment of communication.

A good candidate journey doesn't stop at the job description. Every touchpoint positions your organization: the confirmation email, the first phone call, the interview itself, the rejection. Especially to communication professionals, who consciously notice these kinds of details.

A few concrete points that make the difference:

• Respond quickly. Someone who applies for a job and hears nothing for two weeks has had three other interviews in the meantime.
• Be honest about the challenges. A communications role in a healthcare institution with an understaffed team and an ongoing change process demands a lot. The right candidate is not daunted by this; they want to know it.
• Give an honest picture of the organization. Have a future colleague join the conversation. A professional who knows what they are getting into stays longer.
• Provide substantive feedback even in the case of a rejection. Today's candidate might be the right candidate for the next vacancy. Or the client two years from now.

How to strengthen the employer brand for communication professionals: 5 steps

1. Formulate what makes your healthcare institution unique as an employer. Not just the mission, but concretely: what do you offer someone who can go elsewhere?
2. Use current employees as ambassadors. A communications advisor who talks about working at your institution on LinkedIn reaches more potential candidates than a job advertisement.
3. Invest in the careers page. Not as a digital bulletin board for vacancies, but as a first impression of who you are. Video, stories, concrete information about the department and the culture.
4. Streamline the application process. Keep it simple and communicate proactively about the steps, so that candidates always know where they stand.
5. Think beyond the appointment. Good onboarding and room for professional development turn a new employee into a long-term employee. And a long-term employee into an ambassador.

The right people make the difference

Building a strong employer brand takes time. But the healthcare institutions that invest in it now will be better positioned in a market where true talent is becoming increasingly scarce and candidates make more conscious choices.

The key lies not only in the strategy, but also in the people who execute it. Communication professionals who understand how the healthcare sector works. Marketers who translate complex messages to patients, employees, and administrators. Content specialists who know how to tell a human story in a sector that already has enough abstract communication.

Babbage helps healthcare institutions find exactly those people: temporarily if that fits, permanently if that is better, or as project-based support at a strategic level. Curious about what Babbage can do for your organization? Contact us without obligation . We are happy to brainstorm with you.