Applying neuroscience principles to recruitment and onboarding

By Oriana D. Gradeles-Scislowicz, LVT, CVPM, CPTD, MHRM

When candidates sit down for job interviews, they are undoubtedly stressed. Their heart rate and blood pressure increase, they may breathe more rapidly, and extra oxygen is pushed to the brain, increasing alertness. All the body's senses sharpen. The amygdala sends a distress signal, while the hypothalamus activates the sympathetic nervous system, sending signals through autonomic nerves to the adrenal glands. Epinephrine then gets pumped into the bloodstream, bringing about these physiological changes.

While the first day at the new job may be slightly less stressful, it still brings unfamiliar territory, new people, protocols, and a desire to impress and achieve. Neuroscience principles such as these and memory encoding and reward systems can be brought into recruitment and onboarding processes that can significantly enhance their effectiveness. In turn, organizations will experience improved candidate attraction, employee engagement, and long-term retention.

It is often said one may lead themselves with their heart versus their brain, or perhaps the other way around, meaning they are choosing between emotions, intuition, and empathy with the heart or logic, data, and strategy with the brain.

As we all know, our brains are responsible for all the chaos and our most guided actions. Our prefrontal cortex functions as the "executive control center," influencing our decision-making, working memory, and emotional regulation and guiding us to make appropriate social interactions. The amygdala can override the prefrontal cortex in fearful or anxiety-inducing situations, triggering "fight or flight" responses, forming emotional memories, and evaluating emotional stimuli such as potential threats.

As we integrate our past experiences and knowledge into present decisions and create mental maps of environments, learning new information and retaining it long-term, we rely upon our hippocampus.

Neurotransmitters also play a significant role in our daily experiences. For example, dopamine can push our desire to seek (or be motivated by) pleasurable experiences and strengthen connections between neurons, enhancing our learning and memory. Meanwhile, serotonin mediates our mood and social interactions, and cortisol is released when we are stressed (this ultimately negatively impacts our brain and overall health in the long term).

How do these processes and chemicals relate to the recruitment and onboarding experience? These processes are deeply intertwined, reflecting a period of intense emotion, stress, and significant life transition. Thankfully, we can use this physiological knowledge to our advantage and the benefit of the applicant and new hires to ensure a smoother, less anxiety-ridden experience.

When recruiting for your practice, consider the brain's preference for narratives. Storytelling and emotional branding will resonate more powerfully to your audience instead of just a list of job duties. Why does your practice exist? What are some remarkable patient stories you can share? If there are community outreach programs that the practice participates in or rescued animals that have been rehabilitated through the practice, certainly highlight these.

Highlighting career growth opportunities, including CE allowances and training programs, potential bonuses, and other reward programs, will help spark those reward centers in the brain.

Interviews and hiring processes should be structured in a way that is clearly outlined (candidates should know when they will hear back from you after applying and the steps involved from start to finish. Is it two or four interviews? Do you contact everyone who applies?). Ensure transparency and stick to it. When candidates are ghosted by your company or feel they have not even been fairly considered, they will likely never consider you again–even as they grow in their career. Word of mouth also gets around in the community, so being honest and stress-free goes a long way.

Incorporate realistic job previews during the interview to set expectations and reduce cognitive dissonance post-hire. These tactics significantly decrease the amount of stress placed on the brain, ensuring cognitive functioning is at peak performance, meaning that decision-making, memory, and attention are fully functional. The hippocampus, which has a significant role in creating those mental maps and solidifying learning, can shrink over time due to prolonged stress (don't fret, however, the brain's neuroplasticity allows for us to recover from that terrible boss we had years ago through mechanisms like neurogenesis!).

Now, you have selected your new hire, and the time has arrived to onboard them. Creating a positive and welcoming environment can promote feelings of safety and belonging. Emphasizing the company's values and culture as part of the process and pairing the new hire up with a colleague to ask questions in a psychologically safe space can lessen stress and make new hires feel like they belong.

Clear and structured information provided in training will aid in memory encoding and reduce cognitive overload. Prioritize the essential information and go slowly! Spaced repetition is key to retaining long–term information–whether learning how to ride a skateboard or learn a protocol at a hospital. "Just in time" learning allows the new employee to access resources as needed, versus having everything dumped into their lap on the first day. This can feel much more manageable, even if you have a go-getter who wants to do it all in a week.

Remember the brain is also a social beast: mentorship opportunities, along with social learning (observing, interacting with, and learning from each other), can be more organic ways to allow individuals to obtain knowledge in the ways they need. The brain craves dopamine, and through early wins and positive feedback, you can dose dopamine to your new hires (no prescription required for this one!), boosting their motivation and reinforcing their learning.

When we understand the intricate interplay of neuroscience within HR processes, practices can move past traditional, stress-ridden approaches and embrace techniques that allow for better candidate experiences from start to finish.

Embracing storytelling, fostering psychological safety, structuring information for optimal cognitive processing, and utilizing methods such as social learning can ensure that the human brain's needs are prioritized so that the employee has a better experience and the practice gains improved recruitment, engagement, and retention long after.

Recognizing the job market, hiring and retention may not always be predictable, while brain physiology remains constant, fosters a future where both veterinary professionals and practices can thrive.

Oriana (Ori) Gradeles-Scislowicz, CPTD, MHRM, LVT, CVPM, is senior manager of education and content strategy for Patterson Vet Academy, the continuing education platform for Patterson Veterinary.