Healthcare recruitment has become more competitive and volatile than ever. Hiring and retaining employees has become increasingly difficult after the COVID-19 outburst.
Aside from the fact that it’s not cost-effective to replace employees, turnover can cause an issue with the care of patients. Having low turnover will enhance the quality of patient care and help the healthcare industry continue to be a competent, effective workforce that is continually successful.
Below, you will learn everything you need to know about current trends and challenges in healthcare recruitment, and how to tailor your healthcare recruitment strategy towards them.
What is healthcare recruitment?
Healthcare recruitment refers to the process of sourcing, attracting, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses, healthcare administrators, pharmacists, technicians, therapists, and other healthcare workers. It’s a crucial aspect of the healthcare industry to ensure quality patient care and smooth operation of healthcare facilities.
Healthcare recruitment can be a challenging process due to several reasons:
- Shortage of skilled professionals: There is a consistent demand for healthcare professionals, and in many areas, supply does not meet demand. This results in a constant need for effective recruitment strategies to attract and retain talent.
- Compliance requirements: The healthcare industry is heavily regulated. Recruiters must ensure that all candidates meet strict requirements for licensure, certification, and continuing education.
- Specialized roles: Many healthcare roles require specific skills and experiences. Finding candidates with the right specialization can be difficult.
- High turnover rates: Healthcare can be a stressful industry, and burnout rates can be high. This means recruiters often need to fill the same positions multiple times.
- Changing technology: As technology advances, new roles are created and existing roles require new skills. This can make it challenging to find candidates with the needed expertise.
Healthcare recruiters can be in-house HR professionals within a healthcare organization, or they can be external recruiters or agencies specializing in healthcare recruitment. They use a variety of tools and strategies, including job boards, social media, professional networking, healthcare recruitment software, and career fairs to find and attract potential candidates.
Understanding the current trends and challenges in the healthcare recruitment industry
High Competition
The economy seems to be getting better every day. However, many are still without work.
Some companies can’t afford new employees and they are worried about hiring too many, in case there is another recession.
While there’s no labor shortage, many recruiters are reporting that they’re having trouble finding top talent in their industry. Healthcare is one of those sectors. The shortage of candidates is the biggest challenge in Healthcare IT.
In a survey done by the Health Information Management and Systems Society suggested that technology is moving more rapidly than people can keep up with, especially in the healthcare industry. Things like Electronic Health Records (EHR) are causing this problem.
Those who graduate with an IT degree aren’t usually qualified to work in healthcare because of the ever-changing technology. They’re not able to teach the latest advances because they are constantly changing.
Because of this challenge, there aren’t many potential candidates. This means the competition between recruiters is very high.
Baby Boomers are retiring
Baby boomers are aging and retirement is near for this generation. And, believe it or not, the healthcare industry is made up of 2.5 million baby boomers!
That means that as this generation starts to retire, there will be a devastating blow to this sector. The domination of Gen X is causing concern in terms of how volatile the sector will become when the baby boomers begin to retire in masses. The stability of healthcare lies within these workers.
We can’t expect them to hang around and work forever, but when the time comes – and it’s already starting to happen – the future of healthcare in terms of recruiting will be forever changed.
Shortages of nurses and physicians in this field will be the biggest impact. This generation makes up 28 percent of the population.
Estimates are that by 2030 there could be a shortage of up to 100,000 physicians or more due to retiring baby boomers.
As they retire, they’ll no longer work within healthcare but also need to rely on healthcare. This alone will cause a surge in the need for more services.
The goal at this point for many recruiters is to persuade current baby boomers to stay on the job as long as possible before retiring. As it stands, one in ten Gen X workers says they’ll never retire. Let’s hope for now that it’s true. The more that continues working, the better of the industry will be for now.
Retention
David L. Longworth, M.D., chair of the Medicine Institute at Cleveland Clinic, part of the nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center specializing in studies that approach improving patient-centered care.
“Healthcare reform is forcing hospitals to reconsider how to deliver value-based care. It also causes hospitals to consider new roles like care coordinators and clinical pharmacists who can focus on the management of medically complex patients.”
The Affordable Care Act that went into effect in 2014 left hospitals, providers, and healthcare systems with problems retaining current employees. More than 30 million Americans were newly insured. This left a need to increase retention.
Why?
Employees need a valid reason for staying on. Creating a place that not only removes barriers but also promotes long-term satisfaction is key.
Increased Need for Healthcare
As we mentioned above, baby boomers are beginning to retire. That means they’re also at an age when health problems come into play.
The need for healthcare is going to increase tenfold in the next 10 years.
That means these unique issues will not only affect the industry but also recruiters in this sector. There will be a need for not only replacing those that retire but also adding more employees to make up for the increased need for services.
Costs are skyrocketing
Another trend to look at is spending in the healthcare industry. By 2026, spending could reach upwards of $6 trillion.
This could be spent on medical equipment and medication as well as the healthcare workforce. Though there seems to be a shortage in healthcare workers, that doesn’t mean that the industry will not continue to grow.
In addition, there will be a continued need for workers in this industry.
Evaluating candidate experience
In general, recruiters across the board should be more aware of their candidate experience. However, in the healthcare industry, where things are very competitive due to a shortage of candidates, this trend should be a real consideration for improvement.
Taking time to evaluate and revamp your candidate experience can make a difference.
Building a base of passive candidates
Because of the shortage that is being faced now and in the future, taking time to better understand how to obtain passive candidates is a big trend for the following years.
Passive candidates, unlike active candidates, might not be actively seeking employment but could be interested in switching healthcare facilities if the offer is one they can’t refuse.
Embracing AI
Healthcare recruiters will need to embrace artificial intelligence in healthcare recruitment.
Just like many other workforce industries, artificial intelligence is beginning to be a must-have when it comes to administrative tasks, the hiring process, and more.
Healthcare recruitment strategies for 2022
Based on the current industry trends and challenges, here are some of the best strategies you can utilize when recruiting for the healthcare industry:
- Offering competitive salaries
- Utilizing personality tests and interviews
- Working on employe