Tehran private hospitals-identifying and prioritizing factors affecting employer branding.

Background: Employer branding (EB) is a collection of ideas and beliefs that influence the perspectives of current and prospective employees regarding an organization and their employment experiences, serving as a strategic tool in the competition to attract talent. Positive EB can help retain current employees and attract new talents, making it an important issue in human resource management. This study aimed to identify and prioritize the factors affecting the EB of private hospitals in Tehran.

Materials and methods: The study is applied in purpose and descriptive and analytical in terms of data analysis. Eleven hospitals were selected from 55 private hospitals in Tehran using non-probability and theoretical sampling methods. An expert from each hospital was purposively selected and interviewed. The experts held doctoral degrees in medical specialties and hospital administration experience. In-depth, unstructured interviews with experts constituted the primary method of data collection. Theoretical saturation was reached following the interview with the 11th expert. The entire research process lasted one year, from 2021 to 2022. The method of pairwise comparison matrix with triangular fuzzy numbers was utilized to rank factors contributing to hospital EB.

Results: By using a fuzzy method of identification and prioritization, it was found that the most significant factors influencing the EB of private hospitals in Tehran were the level of industry competitiveness, an empowering work environment based on a coaching approach, cooperation with strong suppliers of drugs and hospital and surgery consumables, a generation-based focus on value, and a competitive advantage in EB.

Conclusions: This study provides valuable insights into the factors that contribute to EB in private hospitals in Tehran, which can be used to inform health policy making. The identified factors, such as industry competitiveness, an empowering work environment, and cooperation with strong suppliers, can help private hospitals attract and retain talented employees, ultimately improving the quality of healthcare services provided in the region.