We all know finding and keeping great employees is one of the top priorities in healthcare. What we may not realize is the process starts the first time a candidate interacts with our organization: the minute they read the job description.

That said, how much time and thought do you put into yours? Many organizations just use a template. They see the job description purpose as conveying the position’s main responsibilities, expectations, and qualifications. They figure We can learn more about the candidate later—and share more about our organization—in the recruiting and onboarding process.

In a recent podcast interview with Dan Collard, Dr. Katherine Meese shares that what a job posting says (and doesn’t say) sets the tone for communication and trust-building between your organization and its new hires. Job postings can also play a role in attracting great, well-qualified candidates who share your organization’s values.

To attract and retain high performers, it helps to design job descriptions with the end in mind. The clearer you can be on who you are and what you expect from day one—actually, before day one—the more likely you’ll attract the best employees for your organization. Since those employees are getting the job they think they’re getting (from a company they know they want to work for), your odds of retaining them go up. And, not incidentally, they’re more likely to be successful at the job you hired them for, which will make both of you happy.

Dr. Meese shares four tips for creating job descriptions that serve as a tool for smart recruitment and retention.

Start from scratch when writing the job posting. When putting together a job description, many people ask HR to send a past job posting for a similar position. We may tweak and replace some phrases, but we leave it largely the same (and largely generic). It’s much more effective to start from scratch.

Emphasize what you value.  When you read a job description, how does it begin? Often, it’s “This is what the job entails, and this is how much you’ll be paid” Or “These are your targets for productivity, and these are the standards to which you’ll be held accountable.” What if instead you started with “Here is what our company does. Here is the impact we strive to make. Here are our values.” What you start with sends a message about what’s important to your company. Money? Performance? Or people?

If there are values or standards of behavior that are important to you and to your organization, put them front and center. You want to attract applicants who are going to align with your values and culture—not just people whose resumes check all the technical boxes.

Really define the role.  This may take some thinking. Ask yourself questions like: What do we expect someone in this position need to be doing? How does the position overlap with and interface with other positions? What specific skills does someone need to be successful?  Being clear on the answers early on allows you to embed them into your job descriptions and sets both of you up for success. They get a job they can do. You get an employee who can do the job. Everyone wins.

Be clear and explicit. It builds trust.  How clearly you communicate your expectations sets the stage for employee trust. Many job descriptions are vague. A lack of clarity increases the chances you’ll hire someone who isn’t the right fit for what you need. This sets them to not fit in and not be successful from the beginning. These employees will likely feel misled and taken advantage of. Both are major trustbusters, and do not bode well for retention.

The time you invest in thinking through and carefully crafting your job descriptions will pay off later—with high-performing employees who are a good fit, who start from a place of trust, and who are more likely to stay for a while. 

This is the first in a series of articles based our special podcast series on Emotional Onboarding. The content above is excerpted from What the Research Shows: Exploring Onboarding, Coworker Relationships, and Retention with Dr. Katherine Meese. Click here to listen!

To learn more about Emotional Onboarding, click here.