Which skills are important in today’s health care office landscape?

The health care sector continues to evolve at a breathtaking speed, and the responsibilities of virtually every professional therein too are changing. From modern technologies and regulatory overhauls to the demands of today’s patients and beyond, doctors, administrators and others need to be prepared to tackle a very large range of tasks on a daily basis in the most efficient and productive fashion possible.

For this reason, hiring managers and recruiters at hospitals and other care facilities should be working hard to identify applicants that have the right skills. With respect to administrative staff members and prospects, there are a few of note.

The basics
The Balance suggested that all health care administration professionals possess exceptional acumen when it comes to client relationship management, common computer programs, budget, quality control, contract negotiation, marketing and data analysis. In many ways, these are far different than the demanded skill sets that were seen only a few years ago.

According to the news provider, candidates that excel in team environments and autonomously should also be at the top of the list when deciding on a hire, and those who can help manage financial matters such as billing and purchasing will also be a bit more successful. Furthermore, the website stated that natural-born leaders have never been more necessary than they are today.

Considering the fact that the baby boomer generation is increasingly looking to retire, and millennials are stepping into those vacant managerial and supervisory roles, other testing elements should be considered. The Balance stated that these could include everything from mentor capabilities and comfort in assessing staff performances to policy development and team building.

Are your health care administration hires making the grade?

Identifying the stars
Aside from the fundamentals and basics, hiring managers will also want to test for an array of other administrative skills when they are looking at applicants. Utica College states that professionalism and business skills are key, while knowledge of how operations run and what can be done to streamline processes are also helpful.

These types of qualities and traits might not be the easiest to test for. However, problem-solving and creativity assessments might reveal which candidates possess them. According to the college, even though administrators will not necessarily be directly involved in the patient care process, they will need to have a very strong understanding of the health care industry as it stands today.

What’s more, Utica noted that there should be a certain level of passion that candidates exude during the application process, as this will show that they are willing to learn and put in the extra effort. These intangibles are not the most commonly evaluated when looking at health care administration candidates, but they ought to be.

With the right combination of tests that evaluate administrative skills, technical acumen – especially for the most popular computer programs like the Microsoft Office Suite – and behavioral characteristics, hiring managers will be more likely to make the right decisions on a hire.