Hiring for the healthcare industry is one of the most challenging tasks a talent acquisition specialist can undertake. According to the American Staffing Association (ASA) survey, healthcare industry positions hold eight of the top 10 spots of the most difficult positions to fill. Employees in the healthcare industry directly affect consumers’ well-being, which increases the burden on healthcare organizations. The stakes are high, and recruiters can’t afford to hire a person who does not meet the organization’s needs. So it’s imperative to find the candidate with the right qualifications for the role. To help you overcome the main recruitment challenges you face in the healthcare industry, we identified some typical healthcare recruitment problems and provided possible solutions.
Lack of Qualified Employees
The lack of qualified talent is arguably the most pressing issue facing healthcare recruiting. According to JP Morgan’s survey, 92% of healthcare executives said that they were somewhat concerned about finding candidates with the right qualifications. Moreover, the supply of healthcare providers is expected to decrease, with shortages of skilled healthcare professionals predicted in the next decade.
To overcome the scarcity of qualified talent, organizations can focus on creating a talent pipeline - a pool of qualified candidates. The aim is to avoid the scenario where a company has critical skills gaps, and no one is lined up to fill them. The talent pipeline will give access to the 70% of candidates who are not actively looking for a job but may want to consider a new opportunity, the passive candidates. Also, organizations should maintain relationships with skilled candidates even if they reject an offer. These relationships can help capitalize on referral opportunities, as experienced professionals often surround themselves with talented workers.
Long Time-to-Hire
According to a report by DHI on hiring statistics in the US, positions in the healthcare industry take the longest to fill. Healthcare provider companies, on average, spend around 48 days filling a vacancy, with specific vacancies lasting even longer. Moreover, with a shortage in the number of qualified talent, that figure is expected to increase in the coming years.
The time to hire metric remains one of the most important performance indicators for recruiters. Taking too long to fill a role does not only result in a higher cost per hire, but with it comes the risk of losing high-quality candidates to competitors. Automating manual recruiting processes can significantly reduce the time to hire. MatchMiner by Employa can solve the problem of lengthy recruiting by offering tools that make the candidate sourcing process smooth and efficient. Employa identifies qualified candidates among thousands of resumes and helps companies remain competitive in the job market.
A candidate who possesses the skills, knowledge and abilities a hiring manager is seeking should be thoroughly vetted as quickly as possible without compromising the integrity of the review process. A highly desirable candidate who will contribute to the success of a company can either benefit your company or your competitor and should not be lost due to archaic candidate pools.
Mark Zinman, Zinman & Company
Slow Screening Process
Another common recruiting challenge for recruiters in healthcare is time-consuming screening procedures. During the screening process, healthcare candidates must pass multiple tests required by profession. These tests typically involve lengthy and tedious processes, which can ultimately lead to a longer time to hire and cause applicant frustration. When organizations don’t provide candidates with a straightforward and manageable screening process, candidate drop-off increases.
Companies in healthcare should try to give applicants more control and visibility into the hiring process so that they can quickly follow the company’s procedures. An efficient screening software can allow recruiters to spend less time on sourcing without sacrificing the quality of hire. Employa’s candidate screening process can help recruiters save time on screening and focus on qualified candidates. MatchMiner allows companies to set advanced criteria with additional attributes to narrow down the search and identify the most qualified candidates. Moreover, MatchMiner ensures that recruiters get up-to-date information about each candidate by notifying them of employment gaps and fraud detection.