Seeking Solutions To Your Healthcare Recruitment Challenges?

Considering the great resignation is here, with nearly 4.3 million people quitting their job in August, the hiring industry is going through a stressful period. 

The healthcare industry is at the point of convergence, rapidly evolving and facing a talent shortage and high turnover. Simultaneously, the technological advancement of the medical industry means that healthcare professionals must become accustomed to new developments and walk hand in hand with these innovations. 

All this translates to HR professionals getting prepared to meet the growing challenge and improve the human resources methods. To do so, they need to be completely aware of the healthcare organizations and their protocols.

A Rapidly Developing Industry

As per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• Healthcare and social assistance are estimated to generate nearly 3.3 million jobs over 2020–30. 

• Healthcare professions account for 7 of the 30 fastest-growing occupations from 2020 to 2030.

Apart from becoming the most sought-after industry, Healthcare providers face their own set of problems, and recruitment is one. Let's discuss some of these in detail here.

CHALLENGE #1: Lack of skilled staff

One of the challenges that healthcare providers face is the lack of skilled staff. Over the years, experts have cautioned about declining skilled medical workers beating the supply. According to Mercer, the US will need to employ nearly 2.3 million new healthcare personnel by 2025 to keep pace with the growing population.

Due to excellent career prospects, many professionals who might otherwise pursue a career as an RN are now becoming NPs.

Solution: The pandemic has deepened the crisis of medical professionals, especially those working in critical care sites. Experienced RNs will always be in demand, and their availability is greatly restricted. 

Joining hands with a recruitment company with a countrywide network of nurses accessible for almost any setting translates to quickly hiring already deficient RNs.

How will this association prove beneficial? This sort of collaboration is specifically helpful to rural facilities. Workers can be reluctant to accept assignments in unfamiliar or remote settings. A trusted health recruitment company can provide the 24/7 support of a reliable healthcare employer, giving them much-needed peace of mind.

CHALLENGE #2: Burnout and Fatigue

The recent COVID crisis has deepened the healthcare workers' mental and physical state and resulted in burnout and compassion fatigue. The rise in burnout can take a considerable toll on an individual, resulting in a greater attrition rate.

Solution: Several small and positive steps can eliminate the problem of fatigue and burnout, including:

• Direct access to mental health care services and attractive benefits

• Early screening of mental health illness 

• Pre-allocated break times

• Immediate intervention for those at risk

• Social interaction

CHALLENGE #3: Difficulty in Recruitment

What has intensified the entire recruitment process is manual work. There are many processes associated with finding and hiring the top talent – screening, interviewing, and employee onboarding. 

Solution: Automating the time-consuming tasks of workforce management can lower the workload of recruiters and HR professionals. Investing in HR software consists of a resume parser that boosts the chances of acquiring the idyllic candidate for each open position.

CHALLENGE #4: Aging Baby Boomer Population

Demand for the healthcare workforce will continue to rise as the baby boomer population ages. 

A sizable percentage of the healthcare workers is reaching the retirement age, because of the aging population there are not enough youngsters to fill the disparity. What can be done to overcome the situation?

Solution: The government needs to be ready with Plan A and Plan B if the former fails. Health care organizations need a comprehensive plan before finding and hiring applicants like workforce planning, establishing a talent pipeline, retaining and engaging the younger talent to fill those positions.

They need to focus on the individuals who already work in the healthcare industry and have the required education and skills, such as a bachelor of nursing degree or similar qualifications, to be a nurse or medical technician.

One of the ways to ensure that you hire the right job candidates is by outsourcing your hiring process and employee management to PEO services. An international PEO, for instance, will enable you to grow your workforce overseas and it also saves time. 

Certain health organizations also recommend establishing a community pipeline by collaborating with high schools and colleges to engage and motivate the younger generation and drive them to the healthcare industry and make them see the importance of patient care. 

Undoubtedly, the healthcare industry is one of the premier areas you can work for. It's an industry where you ought to get every decision right. Therefore, start with the right hiring decision and improve your hiring process.

FAQ's

1. What are the biggest challenges in healthcare recruitment today?
 Ans:  Healthcare organizations face talent shortages, high turnover, burnout, and manual recruitment processes. Recruiting skilled nurses and technicians is particularly challenging due to limited availability and competition from other healthcare roles.
2. How can healthcare organizations reduce burnout among staff?
 Ans:  Burnout can be mitigated with proactive measures like mental health support, scheduled breaks, early screening for stress or fatigue, social interaction initiatives, and offering attractive benefits that support well-being.
3. How does automation improve healthcare hiring and HR processes?
 Ans:  Automating tasks such as resume screening, candidate sourcing, and onboarding reduces administrative workload for HR teams. It speeds up recruitment, improves compliance, and increases the chances of hiring the most qualified candidates efficiently.
4. What strategies can healthcare organizations use to address workforce shortages due to retiring Baby Boomers?
 Ans:  Healthcare organizations should implement workforce planning, develop talent pipelines, retain younger staff, and collaborate with educational institutions. Outsourcing hiring via PEOs or recruiting internationally can also help fill critical gaps.
5. Why is hiring the right staff critical in healthcare, and how can HR make better decisions?
 Ans:  Every hiring decision impacts patient care and organizational efficiency. HR can improve decisions by using structured recruitment processes, leveraging skilled staffing agencies, adopting HR software, and focusing on retention and engagement of qualified professionals.

Author Bio: This article is written by our marketing team at HR Cloud. HR Cloud is dedicated to providing powerful solutions for your HR teams and creating an exceptional employee experience. Our aim is to help your company improve employee engagement, onboarding, and to save you valuable time!