Nurse Recruitment Strategies to Address the Nursing Shortage

Posted on August 28, 2024September 3, 2024 by akessler

The healthcare industry is facing a severe shortage of nurses and other frontline clinical staff, creating unprecedented challenges for medical facilities across the nation. This crisis, exacerbated by an aging population and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, threatens the quality, accessibility and continuity of patient care. Whether healthcare organizations require the recruitment of registered nurses (RNs), nurse practitioners (NPs), or certified nursing assistants (CNAs), the need for innovative nurse recruitment strategies has never been more critical.

The shortage spans all levels of nursing, from entry-level positions to advanced practice roles. Hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities and home health agencies are all feeling the pinch as they struggle to maintain adequate staffing levels. This scarcity of nursing professionals not only strains existing staff but also impacts patient outcomes, increases wait times, and can lead to the reduction or elimination of certain services.

This article explores the depth of the nursing shortage, its root causes, recruiting strategies for nurses for today’s competitive landscape.

The Nursing Shortage: A Growing Crisis

The current state of the nursing workforce paints a concerning picture for the future of healthcare. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that the United States will face a shortage of 195,400 nurses by 2031. There are not enough nurses joining the field, which is not for lack of interested and qualified applicants. As many as 80,000 qualified applicants get turned away from nursing colleges because there are not enough nursing faculty, clinical sites, and resources to support larger class sizes.

Driven by the strain of the pandemic and a shrinking workforce, many healthcare workers are choosing to the leave the field due to burnout. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the rates of RN turnover in the United States have ticked up over recent years, growing from 17% in 2017 to 26% by 2021. More than a quarter of RNs report they plan to retire or leave nursing over the next five years.

With nationwide labor shortages and inflation, healthcare organizations face rising costs for salaries, benefits and contract staffing which strains budgets. Hospitals and health systems are paying an additional $24 billion per year for clinical labor than they were before the pandemic. In general, modern employees require more competitive compensation, benefits and perks to be enticed. This is even more crucial in rural settings where healthcare staff often must be convinced to relocate.

In order to keep patient care standards high amidst staffing shortages, the U.S. healthcare system relies heavily on costly contract and travel nurses which further drives up labor costs for hospitals. According to  the American Hospital Association, the portion of nurse labor expenses going to contract travel nurses has grown from 4.7% in 2019 to 38.6% in January 2022.

While travel nurses accounted for 23% of total nurse hours in January 2022, they represented nearly 40% of all nursing labor costs for hospitals. Plus, relying on traveling nurses can be bad for morale as staff nurses realize how much more money travel nurses are making—thus exacerbating retention challenges.

7 Best Practices in Nurse Recruitment

Traditional approaches to nursing recruiting are no longer sufficient in this high-demand environment. Healthcare providers must reimagine their recruitment processes, workplace cultures and career development opportunities to attract and retain top nursing talent across all specialties and experience levels. To address the shortage, healthcare organizations should consider these best practices in nurse recruitment.

1. Modernize Recruitment Technology

Often healthcare organizations are struggling with legacy recruitment technology that is no longer fit for purpose when it comes to modern healthcare recruitment. Investing in your recruitment tech stack helps you gain agility, streamline your processes and access a world-class candidate experience that today’s nurses have come to expect.

AI-powered sourcing tools can help identify the most promising healthcare talent in a matter of minutes. Plus, advanced analytics arm you with the data you need to hone your recruitment strategy.

2. Expand Nurse Recruitment Channels

Expanding recruitment channels is essential in today’s competitive market. Partnering with nursing schools for early careers recruitment opportunities can help secure a pipeline of emerging talent. Utilizing social media platforms effectively can reach nursing candidates where they spend much of their time. Attendance at both virtual and in-person job fairs for healthcare recruitment can also yield positive results.

3. Offer Competitive Compensation and Benefits

Offering competitive compensation and benefits is more important than ever for clinical recruitment. Regular salary benchmarking ensures that pay rates remain attractive in a rapidly changing market. Comprehensive benefits packages, including perks like student loan repayment benefits and robust mental health support, can set an organization apart. For hard-to-fill positions, sign-on bonuses may be necessary to secure top talent over your competition.

4. Create Clear Career Advancement Pathways

Creating clear career advancement pathways is crucial for both recruitment and retention—but don’t just promote it to existing employees. Before joining, nurses want to know that there’s an established path to promotion to assure them there’s room to grow their skills and earning potential.

Use your CRM to share content with nursing candidates throughout the recruitment journey that showcases mentorship programs for new nurses or leadership tracks for more experienced nurses. No matter where they are in their careers, nursing candidates want to know their employer will offer support and guidance throughout their careers.

5. Emphasize Work-Life Balance

In today’s workforce, emphasizing work-life balance is non-negotiable, regardless of industry. But with burnout among nurses higher than ever, it’s important to show nursing candidates upfront that you’re committed to work-life balance.

Offering roles with flexible schedules, including part-time and job-sharing opportunities, can attract a wider pool of candidates. Ensure your job descriptions address paid time off and promotes your well-being perks and benefits.

6. Diversify Your Nursing Workforce

Diversity in nursing is not only an ethical imperative but also a practical necessity in serving increasingly diverse patient populations and supporting multilingual patient care. Developing targeted recruitment strategies for nurses from underrepresented groups can broaden the talent pool.

👉 Check out our DE&I Resource Center for information to help guide you on your diversity, equity and inclusion journey.

7. Engage a Healthcare RPO Partner

To overcome recruiting roadblocks, healthcare organizations can partner with a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) partner to supplement internal recruiting teams and create sustainable talent acquisition strategies. When implemented correctly, a healthcare RPO program enhances recruiting effectiveness, attracts top talent and reduces cost, providing healthcare organizations with a competitive advantage.

The RPO Advantage for Nurse Recruitment

The nursing shortage is a complex challenge that requires a multifaceted approach. A growing number of forward-thinking healthcare talent acquisition and HR leaders have partnered with an RPO partner to stay ahead of the competition. An RPO program can help your organization implement these nurse recruitment best practices and position you as an employer of choice for nurses.

Discover how RPO can revolutionize your healthcare organization’s talent acquisition strategy with our ebook, Revolutionizing Healthcare Staffing: The RPO Advantage.

Allied Health Recruiting & Retention Best Practices

Posted on August 27, 2024August 27, 2024 by akessler

With an aging population pushing demand for healthcare ever higher, allied healthcare professionals—physical and occupational therapists, medical laboratory scientists, dietitians and nutritionists, dental hygienists, optometrists, phlebotomists and many more—play crucial roles in the care, diagnosis and treatment of patients. However, healthcare organizations worldwide face significant challenges in recruiting and retaining these vital providers, potentially compromising patient care outcomes. To maintain high standards of care, it’s crucial for healthcare organizations to master the art of allied health recruiting and retention.

This article will explore common challenges as well as offer best practices for attracting top talent and creating an environment where allied health professionals can thrive.

Challenges in Allied Health Recruiting

Allied health recruiting faces several significant hurdles in today’s challenging environment as competition for allied health professionals continues to grow:

Staffing shortages: Demand for allied health staffing often outpaces the supply of qualified candidates and there’s a lack of graduates in many allied health fields. With many organizations vying for the same pool of candidates, standing out can be difficult. 
High turnover rates: Turnover rates in healthcare are at an all-time high due to poor work-life balance, lack of career growth, and burnout, especially post-pandemic. Plus, a competitive job market makes it easy to job hop.
Rising labor costs driven by reliance on allied health staffing agencies: In order to counteract staffing shortages and turnover and maintain a high standard of care, healthcare organizations are relying on costly allied health staffing companies to supply contract healthcare workers, driving up overall labor costs.
Budget constraints: Offering competitive salaries and benefits to combat turnover while staying within budget can be a balancing act. Many allied roles are perceived as underpaid relative to the education required to perform them, encouraging allied workers to pursue higher paid clinical roles or opportunities outside healthcare. 
Pressure to diversify the allied workforce: In order to provide the best patient care, healthcare systems are increasingly under pressure to match patient demographics which are increasingly multicultural and multilingual. 
Evolving skill requirements: As healthcare technology and practices evolve, so do the skills required of allied health professionals. The increasing complexity of patient care requires more specialized knowledge.  
Geographic limitations: Some healthcare facilities, particularly those in rural or underserved areas, may struggle to attract candidates due to their location. Rural areas struggle to attract and retain allied health professionals. Urban areas often have higher living costs, making it difficult for these lower-paid roles. 
Compliance demands: Extra care must be taken around credentialing and licensing checks for the allied workforce. 
Legacy recruitment technology: Healthcare organizations may struggle with old, legacy recruitment technology that is no longer fit for purpose—or not have a recruitment tech stack at all.

Best Practices for Allied Health Recruiting & Retention

Let’s dive into some game-changing allied healthcare recruiting solutions to help you overcome these challenges:

Showcase Your Unique Culture

Don’t just tell potential candidates about your workplace—show them! Instead of simply describing your environment, use social media and your website to provide a behind-the-scenes look at your team in action. Consider creating video testimonials from current employees or virtual facility tours to help potential candidates envision themselves as part of your organization.

Another area to showcase is learning and development and recognition. Ongoing education opportunities, conference attendance and skill development programs are all great topics for recruitment content. Additionally, showcase outstanding performers on your social media channels, from an employee-of-the-month or someone who’s gotten special kudos from a patient. This will show potential employees that you’re invested in your team’s growth and job satisfaction.

Offer Competitive Compensation Packages

It’s not just about the salary. Consider offering unique perks that set you apart, such as student loan repayment assistance, schedule flexibility, wellness programs or even sabbaticals for long-term employees. These benefits can make a significant difference in attracting and retaining top talent. Remember, you’re not just filling a position; you’re investing in a long-term relationship.

Streamline Your Recruitment Process

In the fast-paced world of healthcare, time is of the essence. Make your application process quick, mobile-friendly and frictionless. The easier it is to apply, the more top-notch candidates you’ll attract. Consider implementing a one-click apply option or allowing candidates to apply with their LinkedIn profiles. Remember to keep candidates informed throughout the process with automated updates and clear timelines.

Leverage Technology

Healthcare talent acquisition teams often struggle with legacy recruitment technology that hasn’t kept up with modern candidate expectations. Consider implementing AI-powered tools to screen résumés, chatbots to answer candidate questions and video interviews to connect with applicants from anywhere. These tools can help keep top candidates engaged and ensure no promising applicants fall through the cracks.

Create a Robust Onboarding Program

First impressions matter. Creating a robust onboarding program is essential for setting new allied health professionals up for success. Onboarding should extend to include check-ins at 30, 60 and 90 days, ensuring new hires feel supported as they integrate into your organization. Complement this with a mentorship program that pairs new hires with experienced team members. This approach not only helps newcomers learn the ropes but also builds relationships and fosters a sense of belonging.

Beyond the onboarding phase, regular communication is key to retaining allied health professionals. Instead of relying solely on annual reviews, implement a system of frequent check-ins. Whether it’s quarterly performance discussions or more informal conversations, ongoing dialogue allows you to catch and resolve issues early, keeping your team engaged and satisfied. By addressing potential concerns promptly, you can prevent minor issues from escalating into turnover, ultimately creating a more cohesive and stable team environment.

Showcase Clear Career Paths

Show potential allied health professionals where they can go within your organization. Clear career paths demonstrate that you’re invested in their long-term success. This could include leadership tracks, specialization opportunities or even paths to different roles within the organization. Make sure to discuss these opportunities during the recruitment process and showcase them in your attraction materials.

Consider RPO for Allied Health Recruiting

Another option to improve your allied health recruiting outcomes is to engage a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) partner. RPO recruiting for allied health can help you implement strategies to combat challenges and improve your ability to attract, recruit and retain top allied health professionals. This collaborative approach allows internal HR teams to focus on strategic workforce initiatives while the RPO partner handles the day-to-day allied health recruitment challenges.

Healthcare recruiting is dynamic and ever evolving. With persistence, creativity and the support of an RPO partner, you can build a strong, engaged allied health recruiting program that drives excellence in patient care.

Healthcare RPO: What to Expect from Your Prospective Partner

Posted on March 13, 2024March 13, 2024 by epadmin

For most healthcare organizations, staffing is a major operational challenge. During the COVID-19 pandemic, over 100,000 registered nurses left the field, and even several years laters, almost 800,000 nurses intend to leave the workforce by 2027 because of stress, burnout or retirement. These healthcare talent shortages and increased competition necessitate a more robust talent acquisition strategy. To overcome recruiting roadblocks, healthcare organizations can partner with a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) partner to supplement internal recruiting teams and create sustainable talent acquisition strategies. When implemented correctly, a healthcare RPO program enhances recruiting effectiveness, attracts top talent and reduces cost, providing healthcare organizations with a competitive advantage.

In this post, we highlight six things healthcare organizations should expect from an RPO partnership.

What to Expect From Your Healthcare RPO Partnership

When you enter into an RPO partnership, you will find that a successful relationship is based on collaboration between your RPO provider and internal team, who need to work together to make the engagement a success.

Dig Deeper

How RPO Can Solve The Top Challenges In Healthcare Talent Acquisition

Download Free Ebook Or Contact an Expert Today

Expect Seamless Integration Between Your Healthcare RPO & Internal Recruiting Teams

An ideal RPO partner should have a well-developed practice for integrating into a client’s organization and working with a client’s recruiters, hiring managers and leadership teams. During the implementation process, your healthcare RPO partner should conduct a needs assessment to understand your healthcare recruiting requirements. They will then develop a custom solution that meets the needs of your organization and business model.

Engaging an RPO partner is an opportunity to create change in the way you recruit talent across your organization. Changes in the recruiting process can include training hiring managers to be better interviewers, implementing new recruiting technology tools and establishing a unified message and employer brand.

This is the time to take the recruiting process seriously and bring attention to it internally. Your RPO partner will work with you to be an agent of change in your organization in order to successfully implement new tools and processes.

Expect Value-Added Recruiting Functions

As talent acquisition becomes more sophisticated, organizations are looking for additional services from an RPO partner such as employer branding capabilities, advanced analytics and new technology. When considering healthcare RPO partners, look for capabilities that will add value while improving your recruiting processes.

For instance, if your organization is anticipating a merger and requires a solution to swiftly ramp up your current healthcare workforce, talent acquisition services such as social media sourcing, video interviewing and recruitment marketing provide additional value by improving the candidate experience and your position in the talent market.

To determine which value-added services would most benefit you, audit your current recruiting processes and performance to identify where your in-house teams excel and where outside expertise can make a positive impact.

Expect In-Depth Program Analysis and Reporting

You should expect that your RPO partner will provide you with a complete analysis of your healthcare recruitment processes’ strengths, weaknesses and challenges.

This assessment should include:

Detailed process mapping before, during, and after implementation
Understanding gaps and opportunities within your program
Visibility into real-time workforce data and analytics

From this deep-dive, your RPO partner should develop customized solutions for your immediate and long-term talent needs and consult with stakeholders on ways to improve your program.

Recruiting metrics and analytics are powerful tools. When an RPO partner dives into the data, they can provide guidance on big and small recruitment changes that will lead to improved hiring metrics.

Expect Accountability and Transparency

Accountability and transparency are key factors in a successful RPO partnership. As the client, you should be able to ask your RPO partner any question you can conceive of, and in turn, your RPO partner should be able to provide you with satisfactory answers.

To ensure accountability, your RPO provider should work with you to establish mutually agreed upon Service Level Agreements (SLAs). SLAs should be established during the partner selection process, and their governance should be clearly outlined during contract negotiations.

SLAs establish how you and your RPO provider will work together and can cover items like terms, liability, billing and payment, confidentiality, solicitation, insurance, warranties and employment relationships.

Before you draft SLAs, you need to assess your recruitment performance prior to working with your RPO partner. This can prove challenging, especially if your internal recruitment processes do not track and benchmark data. If you do not have benchmarks, your healthcare RPO provider should be able to provide benchmarking data based on their work with other clients in the healthcare space.

When setting up SLAs, make sure they are realistic, achievable and meet your organization’s recruiting needs. RPO SLAs often include the following metrics:

Time-to-fill: Time-to-fill measures how long it takes recruiters to fill an open role.
Hiring manager satisfaction: You can measure hiring manager satisfaction through a survey, for example.
Candidate experience and satisfaction: You can conduct surveys with every candidate, not just ones who are hired, to better understand the impact of your candidate experience.
Interview-to-offer ratio: This metric is the ratio of the number of interviews to the number of candidates that are given an offer and can help determine the quality of candidates.
Diversity of candidate: This is the percentage of candidates considered or self-identified as “diverse,” and can be used to track different groups of candidates like women or veterans.

The right mix of service-level controls can help ensure a successful partnership.

Expect to Be Supplied with References

You would not hire a doctor or nurse without checking their references, and the same applies when partnering with an RPO provider. An RPO partner can always tell you about their solutions, skills and expertise. However, to get a real sense of an RPO partner’s true capabilities, you need to speak to their clients and hear success stories directly.

You should receive references from organizations that the RPO partner has worked with, ideally in the healthcare space, that have dealt with similar challenges as you, so you can really understand how the RPO has delivered effective solutions in the past. For example, if your organization is having a difficult time sourcing healthcare talent in a rural community, your RPO partner should provide you with a reference that illustrates their ability to source candidates in lean talent markets.

Expect Effective Recruiting Technology

Your RPO partner should be deploying the most current and best-in-class recruiting technologies to access and leverage data, attract and source candidates, automate recruiting processes, and screen and shortlist candidates. For instance, an RPO partner equipped with an experienced team of recruiters trained in using advanced tools and resources can use AI and predictive analytics to quickly find candidates with the skills and qualifications you’re looking for.

The right talent acquisition technology tool can also help provide a superior candidate experience, including:

AI-enabled sourcing tools help recruiters find the best candidates faster.
A streamlined application process can allow candidates apply with just one click.
Personalized recruitment marketing tools like chatbots, SMS messages, email campaigns and individualized landing pages provide candidates with the consumer-like experience they have come to expect online.

Healthcare RPO partners should also be able to help you quickly implement the best recruiting technologies into your talent acquisition program that can save both time and money.

Healthcare RPO from PeopleScout

Selecting the right RPO partner is a big decision for any healthcare organization and outsourcing recruitment processes can have a tremendous business impact. Your healthcare RPO partner should possess the ability to understand the capabilities and reach of the latest emerging talent tools can provide both significant costs savings and a competitive advantage and provide you access to talent, quality of hires, process efficiencies and workforce management support.

Learn more about PeopleScout’s healthcare RPO serivces by connecting with one of experts.

Healthcare Talent Shortage: Changing Demographics, Growing Demand & Shifting Skills

Posted on March 13, 2024September 9, 2024 by epadmin

As the world of work transforms, the healthcare industry is at the epicenter of change. The industry is growing rapidly and facing a healthcare talent shortage and skills gaps. At the same time, the accelerating pace of medical and technological advancements means medical professionals must constantly adapt to new breakthroughs and changing expectations. Talent acquisition and HR professionals need to be ready to meet the growing challenge. To do so, they must understand the full picture of the healthcare talent landscape.

Is a Generational Change Creating a Healthcare Talent Shortage?

The industry is facing challenges in both supply and demand. Hospitals and Health Networks magazine calls the generational change “the most powerful force operating in our health system right now.”

On the supply side, the baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age, and according to Becker’s Hospital Review, one-third of practicing physicians are more than 55-years old and nearing retirement. Replacing doctors and surgeons who have decades of experience is challenging, as those earlier in their careers lack the years of training, education and on-the-job hours. The next generation in the workforce, Generation X, is relatively small. While the millennial generation is the largest generation in the workforce, the oldest millennials are nearly 40 years old, and some of Gen Z are too young even to start medical school. As baby boomers retire, these generations will have to fill that gap.

Dig Deeper

How RPO Can Solve The Top Challenges In Healthcare Talent Acquisition

Download Free Ebook

On the other side of this equation, the overall population is aging, with 10,000 Americans turn 65-years-old every day. Caring for an aging population will require even more healthcare professionals.

As baby boomers age, the demand for healthcare is increasing, including home health services, long-term and aged care. Chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, cancer are becoming more common with nearly half of the American population suffering from a chronic illness. According to a study JAMA Internal Medicine, , baby boomers have a longer lifespan but higher rates of hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity. This means the largest generation to reach retirement age will likely also need more healthcare than any previous generation

The Healthcare Talent Shortage

The aging baby boomer generation is fueling industry growth. The healthcare industry is predicted to be the largest driver of growth in the U.S. economy through most of the next decade. Yet, most healthcare organizations continue to experience strains as the healthcare talent shortage increases. This is a multi-pronged issue driven by increased demand, retirement, burnout and a lack of new healthcare professional entering the field complicating healthcare recruitment.

And experts predict the healthcare talent shortage will only get worse. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that the country will face a shortage of 195,400 nurses by the year 2031. While doctors and nurses are the most visible employees in the healthcare industry, growth in the industry will impact positions throughout the sector. An increase in patients, hospital visits and appointments will call for more support staff, like clinic support, medical technicians, billing and coding professionals and even non-clinical hospital staff like janitorial and food service.

Laboratory technicians are facing many of the same labor challenges as physicians and nurses. Many are reaching retirement age, and retirements are expected to accelerate. Replacing them will tough, as the number of students graduating from laboratory technician programs is declining.

Plus, due to a shift towards home-based care, home health aide shortages are projected to grow significantly. The BLS predicts that the number of openings for home health and personal health roles will increase 37% by 2028.

Less visible roles are also impacted by healthcare talent shortages. The medical coding profession has been plagued for years by a shortage of coders. Job growth for the position accelerated after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and experts expect that growth to continue along with the rest of the industry.

A Transforming Workplace

In addition to the healthcare staffing challenges, the healthcare industry is not immune to the changes impacting organizations across the country—like the digitization of services and the growing gig economy. The healthcare industry is always experiencing change due to technological advancement, medical research and new regulations. However, to adapt to these trends, organizations will need to seek out talent in different ways and find people with new skill sets.

Use of telemedicine and virtual care expanded during COVID-19 and are continuing to rise as a way to improve access. Jobs in these types of workplaces require different technology and communication skills than more traditional hospital and clinic jobs.

While many think of the gig economy as a place for creatives or rideshare drivers, the contingent workforce is taking on a greater role in healthcare. SIA reports that hospitals are turning to contract physicians and traveling nurses to deal with the talent shortage. Some practitioners are turning to this freelance work to boost their earning potential, and the system helps increase staffing at rural healthcare facilities that struggle with healthcare recruiting.

Large hospitals are also bringing in a greater share of doctors due to consolidation within the industry. Since 2019, over 100,000 private practice doctors have transitioned into employees of larger corporate healthcare organizations. Nearly three-quarters of physicians are part of larger healthcare systems in the U.S., a record high.

A Necessary Response

To remain competitive in this challenging talent landscape, healthcare organizations must take a proactive approach to planning their workforces, sourcing and recruiting talent, retaining workers and appealing to millennials and Generation Z workers who will fill the roles of retiring baby boomers.

Areas across the United States are already feeling the impact of the healthcare talent shortage, and experts say the pressure will only grow. Organizations need to respond now to prepare. Here are some steps companies in the healthcare industry should take to manage skills shortages and how technology can help.

Skills Shortage in Healthcare: Tackling the Lack of Healthcare Professionals

Posted on March 13, 2024May 14, 2024 by epadmin

Healthcare organizations face a number of unique recruitment challenges compared to other industries. Finding and attracting candidates with the specific clinical, medical, and administrative skills required is an ongoing battle, especially for critical roles like nurses, physicians and specialist practitioners. With a large portion of the healthcare workforce reaching retirement age, an older population demanding more healthcare services, and new technology shifting the skills needed in the healthcare workforce, a skills shortage in healthcare is growing rapidly.

Healthcare organizations must plan now for the future by undertaking comprehensive workforce planning, establishing a robust talent pipeline, focusing on retaining their current workers and appealing to the younger generations to step into those roles.

The Healthcare Talent Landscape

The healthcare industry faces an uphill battle when it comes to recruitment and staffing. A perfect storm of factors, including an aging population, workforce shortages across multiple disciplines, and a global pandemic that has stretched resources to the breaking point, has created immense challenges. Healthcare organizations must navigate a highly competitive recruitment landscape to attract and retain top talent. Additionally, new healthcare roles are emerging that require specialized skill sets, further complicating hiring efforts. In this constantly evolving climate, understanding the current healthcare recruitment landscape is crucial for organizations looking to build a strong, sustainable workforce.

Dig Deeper

How RPO Can Solve The Top Challenges In Healthcare Talent Acquisition

Download Free Ebook Or Contact an Expert Today

Demographic Shifts Are Increasing Demand

People are living longer, and as Baby Boomers age, the demand for health services, including home health services, long-term and aged care, is increasing. Chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, cancer are becoming more common with nearly half of the American population suffering from a chronic illness.

An older and sicker population is putting pressure on healthcare workers, especially those in clinical roles like nurses, physicians, health aides and therapists. Plus, demand is high for cardiovascular technologists, clinical lab technicians and other allied healthcare professionals who operate specialized equipment to diagnose and treat chronic conditions. Attracting and retaining top healthcare talent has never been more competitive, with demand increasing in both acute care and community settings, including large health systems, public health organizations, tech companies moving into healthcare, travel nursing firms, long-term care facilities, the military, healthcare research, mental health agencies, insurance and managed care companies, and even other industries.

Talent Supply Can’t Keep Up with Demand

The increase in demand seems to coincide with a healthcare talent shortage. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that the country will face a shortage of 195,400 nurses by the 2031. Plus, a shift towards home-based care means the shortage of home health aides is projected to grow significantly. The BLS predicts that the number of openings for home health and personal health roles will increase 37% by 2028.

With home-based and long-term care growing, the U.S. healthcare system is also experiencing shortages for occupations like physical therapists and occupational therapists. Plus, these facilities find recruiting and retaining nursing assistants, care aides and direct care workers increasingly difficult due to low wages, demanding work and limited career advancement opportunities.

Retirement and Burnout Create Retention Issues

The challenges surrounding the skills shortage in healthcare are exacerbated by healthcare professionals exiting the workforce in droves. Experienced nurses, doctors and other clinicians are retiring and leaving patient care roles, resulting in the loss of crucial knowledge and experience for healthcare systems.

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing the median age of a Registered Nurse (RN) is 46 years old. Plus, more than a quarter of RNs report they plan to retire or leave nursing over the next five years. The rates of RN turnover in the United States have ticked up over recent years, growing from 17% in 2017 to 26% by 2021.

Driven by the strain of the pandemic and a shrinking workforce, many healthcare workers are experiencing burnout. According to the Medscape National Physician Burnout and Suicide Report, the average burnout rates for nurses and physicians in the US is 40%.

Burnout also has an impact on patient care. According to Nursing Times, about half of midwives say they’re afraid of making a mistake because they’re exhausted.

Innovation is Shifting the Skills Shortage in Healthcare

As care delivery models have shifted, there is a growing need for nurses and staff with specialized skills and experience. Use of telemedicine and virtual care expanded during COVID-19 and is continuing to rise as a way to improve access to healthcare. Digital disruptor Amazon recently completed an acquisition of One Medical and is now offering a new model of digital “concierge” or “membership” healthcare.

In addition, new innovations in digital health (think personal health tracking apps or wearables), med-tech, genomics, precision medicine, AI and more are transforming healthcare and shifting the necessary skills in the healthcare workforce.

Rising Labor Costs are Adding to the Strain on Healthcare Organizations

With nationwide labor shortages and inflation, healthcare organizations face rising costs for salaries, benefits and contract staffing. In all industries, workers are requiring more competitive compensation, benefits and perks to be enticed. This puts a particular strain on healthcare organizations where staffing is literally a matter of life and death.

High turnover among certified nursing assistants drives up costs for long-term care facilities and impacts quality of care. In order to keep high patient care standards and staff shortages, the U.S. healthcare system relies heavily on costly contract and travel nurses and other providers which further drives up labor costs for hospitals. In fact, contract labor expenses have risen more than 250% over the past three years.

Addressing the Skills Shortage in Healthcare

Addressing the skills shortage in healthcare requires a multi-pronged approach—improving workforce planning, enhancing recruitment and retention efforts, and elevating the perception of healthcare careers for the next generation.

Workforce Planning

To effectively respond to the changing healthcare talent landscape, organizations must take proactive steps to plan for their future needs. The future will look different for every organization. Healthcare organizations in Florida and the Southwest, where there are large numbers of retirees, will have different staffing needs than organizations in trendy urban areas in the Pacific Northwest or East Coast where the population tends to be younger and healthier. Region also makes a difference in attracting candidates, as rural health systems are already struggling to fill positions. Healthcare organizations should know what their needs will be in the coming years and what challenges they’ll face attracting workers.

Data analytics is a valuable tool for workforce planning. The American Hospital Association recommends that organizations analyze data including current workforce demographics, potential future workforce requirements, and factors impacting the data, like the increasing popularity of walk-in clinics, telehealth services and digital healthcare models. Predictive and prescriptive analytics tools can help healthcare organizations plan for future needs and evaluate how different decisions will impact those hiring needs. According to SHRM, this type of workforce planning can save money by eliminating issues with understaffing and overstaffing. Predictions can provide organizations with a clearer view of how and when different talent gaps will impact them. Armed with that information, healthcare organizations can make informed decisions when it comes to forming partnerships, increasing retention and reaching out to younger workers.

Building Talent Pipelines

A key strategy for combating the the skills shortage in healthcare will be convincing more people to enter the healthcare industry. Too often, HR leaders at organizations only think of potential candidates through a narrow lens. They focus on the people who already work in the industry and who already have the education and skills to be a nurse, medical technician or phlebotomist. There aren’t enough people already in those pipelines to fill the talent gap. Healthcare organizations need to think broad and start focusing on the young people who are considering a career in healthcare. They need to start marketing to these candidates earlier than ever before.

The American Hospital Association recommends that healthcare organizations establish community pipelines by partnering with high schools, colleges and other academic institutions. Through these partnerships, healthcare organizations can start engaging with future candidates earlier than ever and help drive young people to the healthcare industry. Partnerships can also create more candidates in a geographical region with a specific set of skills. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, a partnership in Minnesota between the University of Minnesota and the VA Healthcare system helped expand enrollment in the university’s nursing program and increased the program’s focus on veteran care. The program ensures more graduates in Minnesota with the skills necessary to care for veterans. Healthcare organizations should form these partnerships strategically, using their workforce planning predictions to understand which types of positions will have the greatest demand and where these partnerships can have the biggest impact.

Focusing on Retention

HR leaders at healthcare organizations are grappling with the stresses the skills shortage in healthcare is creating for their current employees . Understaffing creates larger workloads and longer hours. According to CareerBuilder, 70% of nurses say they feel burnt out in their current job and more than half rate their stress level as “high.” According to Medscape, only 56% of nurses would choose their career if they had a chance to start over again. If current health care workers are stressed, burned out and regretting their career choice, that could harm the talent pipeline. Healthcare organizations cannot afford to lose younger nurses due to stress or burnout.

Healthcare organizations will have to face the challenges of burnout head on to retain their workers. Healthcare Dive offers tips for ways HR professionals can help, including making your staff aware of the signs of burnout and teaching self-care strategies. Wellness among the healthcare workforce must be a priority. Some healthcare organizations have created quiet rooms stocked with yoga mats and massage chairs where nurses can go during their shifts to take a break. CareerBuilder recommends offering a flexible work environment, encouraging exercise, establishing an open-door policy, offering mental health tools and focusing on continued education.

While an expensive option, contract healthcare providers can also help ease the burden on understaff facilities. PRN, or “pro re nata,” positions are growing in popularity throughout the entire healthcare industry. The positions are typically part-time, as needed, and many healthcare workers are turning to these roles for the flexibility, rather than taking full-time positions. Healthcare organizations can use PRN workers to cover understaffed shifts, which can lift some of the burden on permanent employees.

Appealing to Younger Workers

Healthcare organizations are competing for the best of the limited talent pool. To succeed in attracting candidates, healthcare organizations must build a strong employer brand and meet the needs of millennial and Generation Z workers.

What do millennials want? Countless writers have tried to answer that question, but Harvard Business Review reports millennials aren’t necessarily all that different from older generations. They want good managers, interesting work and the opportunity to learn and grow. Like many other generations, they want to make a positive impact and help solve social and environmental challenges. By its nature, a career in healthcare can provide that. One thing that does set millennials apart from earlier generations is an increased debt burden due to higher education costs. Some financial experts recommend that organizations consider new benefits packages that offer student debt repayment to lure millennial workers.

As for Generation Z, the oldest members are just starting to enter the workforce, but experts say to be prepared for a cohort of workers well versed in technology. According to Forbes, in addition to being technologically savvy, members of Gen Z are also entrepreneurial and serious-minded after watching the impact of the Great Recession, so organizations should expect creativity and offer continuing educational opportunities. Harvard Business Review recommends reaching Gen Z candidates where they are—on mobile devices. Authenticity and personalization are also important to this segment of the workforce, as they’ve grown up bombarded with personalized advertisements online.

Engaging an Expert to Tackle the Skills Shortage in Healthcare

As they work to manage the growing skills shortage in healthcare, healthcare organizations are turning to experts in healthcare RPO, MSP and Total Workforce Solutions for healthcare staffing support. As you plan for the future, a talent partner can help provide a view of the whole talent spectrum, finding the right mix of both full-time and contingent workers. As the gig economy grows in popularity and more healthcare workers turn to contingent work, a talent acquisition partner can also ensure compliance on legal issues. Healthcare organizations should seek out partners with the right experience to tackle the specific needs of the industry.

A partner with a depth of data analytics experience can help develop a unique plan that addresses the needs, region and demographics of your individual healthcare organization. Data expertise can also help organizations determine why current employees leave and predict which changes could make the biggest differences in employee retention.

Healthcare organizations should also look for a partner with strong experience in building candidate-centered application processes and employer branding. As healthcare organizations compete for talent, a candidate-centered process and strong employer brand will help bring in the millennial and Gen Z workers.

Six Tips for Healthcare Recruiting

Posted on February 21, 2024September 3, 2024 by epadmin

Healthcare recruiting strategies need to evolve to compete for talent now and in the future. With 58 million individuals aged 65 and older living in the U.S., there’s never been a greater need for more healthcare professionals. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects healthcare and social assistance sector will add about 2.1 million jobs by 2032, more than any other sector and a whopping 45% of all new jobs.

Challenges in Healthcare Recruiting and Medical Staffing

The healthcare industry faces widespread talent gaps and shortages that are expected to grow worse over the coming years. For years, the American Medical Association has warned of physician shortage and estimates that that over 83 million people in the U.S. currently live in areas without sufficient access to a primary care physician. Beyond clinical and medically trained professionals, the healthcare industry is also facing a shortage of non-clinical workers such as food service workers, facility maintenance staff and security guards.

In the last five years, the average hospital turned over 100% of its workforce due to burnout and retirement. This healthcare turnover rate is exacerbating the talent shortage and skills shortage in healthcare, and making it more difficult for healthcare organizations to hold onto their top talent. So, how can organizations overcome these challenges in healthcare recruiting to find the talent they need? Below, we list six strategies to optimize healthcare recruiting practices in the face of these challenges.

DIG DEEPER

CONQUERIING THE TOP CHALLENGES IN HEALTHCARE TALENT ACQUISITION

Download Now

How Technology Helps a Healthcare Recruiter

The growth of talent acquisition technology means that healthcare organizations have new and powerful tools for healthcare recruiting. Advances in technology not only make the job for a healthcare recruiter easier, but technology can also help make healthcare recruiting more cost-effective by improving costly time-to-fill metrics, reducing agency spend and streamlining the hiring process.

Improve Employer Branding for Healthcare Recruiters

Whether candidates are recent graduates or seasoned professionals, the modern job hunter is likely to research prospective employers before applying to or accepting job offers. To increase the number of candidates accepting offer letters, healthcare organizations need to make sure their employment brand is compelling. One of the best ways of doing this is by highlighting your culture and benefits.

For example, healthcare organizations can illustrate their culture by telling compelling stories about their workplace and employees.

Healthcare providers can also attend in-person employer branding activities, like maintaining a presence at local health fairs and sending talent teams to job seeker events at local medical and nursing schools.

Improving Benefits Improves Healthcare Recruitment

The healthcare industry has become more competitive when it comes to attracting the best and most qualified candidates to fill positions. To get an edge over competitors, healthcare organizations need to become more innovate when it comes to compensation, benefits and flexible work environments.

Healthcare organizations need to look for ways to implement policies around flextime and telecommuting where it makes sense and talk to potential candidates about the benefits that matter most to them. Some candidates will prefer traditional benefits packages, but others might prioritize opportunities in learning and development, mentoring and career growth.

According to Barkley Davis, senior director of physician recruitment at LifePoint Hospitals, debt relief is the top priority for nearly all new physicians, and hospitals should explore new types of financial incentives beyond just salary. For example, LifePoint offers some doctors monthly stipends if they accept a job offer while they’re still in training—building employee loyalty long before these new hires are even on the job. Other healthcare organizations are attracting talent by experimenting with scheduling models to meet medical staffing needs while offering greater flexibility to employees.

Create Healthcare Recruiting and Medical Staffing Candidate Pipelines

Being proactive is one of the keys to success in healthcare recruiting. Healthcare organizations should work towards building strategic talent pipelines that cover both regional and national talent pools. Partnering with national and state job boards, public health departments, professional societies, universities, colleges, academies and high schools is a good way to develop comprehensive talent pipelines for healthcare recruiting.

Healthcare organizations can also emphasize diversity recruiting as a priority, not only to demonstrate a commitment to better serving the community, but also to ensure sufficient talent for candidate pipelines in the coming years.

Utilize Innovative Sourcing Methods to be the Best Medical Recruiter

With the current healthcare talent gap, organizations need to source healthcare talent from a diverse range of places. A skilled RPO provider will have their hands on the pulse of the healthcare talent landscape and will be able to source top level talent from a variety of sources.

When it comes to healthcare recruitment, veterans have the training, discipline and work ethic to make great hires. An RPO provider with a long and proven track record of veteran hiring can help healthcare organizations find quality candidates to help bridge the talent gap.

Think Long-term in Healthcare Recruiting and Medical Recruitment Strategies

As a healthcare organization becomes better and more adept at recruiting, they may find great candidates that are not a fit for current open positions but could be good potential additions in the future. Healthcare organizations should place top candidates into a talent pool and make sure to communicate with them on a regular basis to keep them informed of new positions that could be a better fit for their skills.

Ignoring, overlooking or not providing proper communication to good talent in the hiring process can leave a poor impression on individuals, thereby negatively impacting a healthcare organizations’ employer brand. What’s more, 33 percent of job hunters are likely to share their negative experiences with companies on social media.

This, in turn, can come back and harm a company’s reputation and employer brand. Thinking long-term makes sure that hiring teams acknowledge the importance of initiating, nurturing and maintaining an ongoing relationship with top candidates and the overall talent pool. These talent pools will help organizations find great talent fast when they are looking to fill an important position in the future.

Partnering with a Healthcare Staffing Recruiter

With the current shortage of healthcare talent, healthcare facilities have had to get creative to meet demand. Adding to the challenge of recruiting medical staff is the concern that the exposure of frontline healthcare workers to COVID-19 and other fast spreading illnesses could place further strains on an already strained system. During such challenging times, recruiters and medical staffing professionals are left to pick up the slack.

This is where RPO providers can help. An RPO provider possesses the know-how and have experience medical recruitment and sourcing healthcare talent to make sure you hire the best talent available. The right healthcare RPO provider will take as little time and money as possible sourcing your new workforce, and get them hired as quickly as possible.

Medical Recruitment is Challenging but Rewarding

With many older healthcare workers retiring, healthcare organizations need to keep pace with industry recruiting trends and make the much-needed changes to their staffing models to meet the demands of the new and still emerging healthcare talent landscape. An RPO recruiting provider can supply clinical and non -clinical talent from a variety of channels and can work with your in-house recruiters to search for physicians candidates that best match available opportunities.

For healthcare recruiting to be successful, organizations need leaders that understand the benefits of the above-described tips. Integrating these tips into a healthcare recruiting strategy or a healthcare staffing recruiter will result in a workforce with lower turnover rates, higher job satisfaction and improved ROI for your healthcare recruitment efforts.

Conquering Top Challenges in Healthcare Talent Acquisition

Posted on May 9, 2023June 27, 2024 by epadmin

Conquering Top Challenges in Healthcare Talent Acquisition

In the past 5 years, the average hospital turnover has been 105% of its workforce yet the total median HR funding for healthcare organizations is around 1% of operating costs. There are serious consequences of inadequate staffing and declining investment in talent acquisition such as degradation of patient care, potential “failure to rescue,” as well as internal job stress and higher attrition rates that could be detrimental to the organization’s brand and bottom line.

In this ebook, we explore the top challenges in healthcare recruiting, including:

Talent shortages
Advancements in talent technology
Evolving candidate expectations

Plus, you will learn how an RPO partner can help your organization overcome recruiting challenges in healthcare by applying expertise, experience, technology and innovative solutions to your talent acquisition program.

Finding the Right RPO Provider for Your Healthcare Staffing Needs

Posted on February 8, 2022March 13, 2024 by epadmin

Fuelled by an aging population and the growth of chronic conditions, jobs in healthcare are expected to grow 13% by 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations. In fact, nurse practitioners are predicted to grow by 46%. So, finding the right recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) provider is critical for healthcare organizations looking to hire top healthcare talent. Whether a healthcare organization is looking to improve its recruiting processes, improve healthcare staff retention or enhance its employer brand, developing a strong relationship with a trusted RPO provider begins with the selection process. In this post, we review the best practices when it comes to selecting the right RPO provider for your healthcare staffing needs.

What is Recruitment Process Outsourcing for Healthcare?

To understand RPO solutions, it’s important to understand what they are not. RPO providers are not healthcare staffing companies or head-hunters. Rather, RPO providers implement solutions designed to streamline and improve the hiring process, and as a result, fulfill your healthcare hiring needs.

👉 What is Recruitment Process Outsourcing?

Dig Deeper

CONQUERING TOP CHALLENGES IN HEALTHCARE TALENT ACQUISITION

Download Free Ebook Or Contact an Expert Today

From employer branding to employee engagement, hiring, onboarding and much more, a well-executed RPO program can make a huge impact on a healthcare organization. RPO solutions are not one-size-fits-all plans. Each RPO solution must be tailored to meet an individual company’s needs and take industry specific concerns into consideration.

Healthcare Staffing and RPO: Getting Started

Before contacting an RPO provider, a healthcare organization must first assess both its hiring and business needs. The following is a list of common healthcare staffing needs fulfilled by RPO solutions:

Recruit a small number of employees for niche positions, like NICU nurses.
Provide scalable engagements to fill a large number of open positions quickly with high-quality candidates.
Help healthcare organizations increase employee retention and improve employee turnover rate.
Help healthcare organizations staff positions that require specific technical experience or certifications.
Provide transparency by tracking metrics and milestones outlined in SLAs.

Once you have considered your own needs, you need to research to see what your prospective RPO partner brings to the table. When consulting with a prospective RPO provider ask yourself the following questions:

Does the prospective RPO have expertise in fulfilling the specific staffing needs of healthcare organizations?
Do they have multiple healthcare organizations as current clients?
Can they provide scalability with full-cycle, partial-cycle or modular recruiting solutions?
Where do they source healthcare professionals to build their talent pipeline?

How Does an RPO Provider Support Healthcare Staffing?

If you are looking to streamline your healthcare organization’s talent acquisition processes and procedures as a means to become more cost-effective, then engaging an RPO provider can help you reduce spend with healthcare employment agencies, yield lower turnover and create a higher quality pipeline of candidates for your open positions. The work of a good RPO provider will save your organization money throughout the new employee’s tenure at your organization, beyond when they’re hired.

RPO Providers Can Secure Specialized Healthcare Talent

The right healthcare RPO provider understands the unique challenges presented by the healthcare industry and has experience sourcing quality candidates for niche/technical healthcare positions.

RPO providers with expertise in the healthcare industry will quickly target and assess both passive and active candidates for hard-to-fill positions rather than placing an ad and waiting for job seekers to answer it. By understanding your healthcare hiring needs, an RPO provider reduces the need for training internal personnel or hiring those with healthcare-specific experience.

RPO Providers Can Provide Scalable Solutions to Accommodate Growth

As the U.S. population ages, the need for healthcare services is on the rise. As a result, many healthcare organizations are growing rapidly to meet the demand. If your organization is experiencing growth, an experienced RPO partner can source the right talent quickly to make sure your organization is staffed adequately to meet growth demands.

RPO providers can handle background checks, drug screens and other onboarding tasks as needed. They will make sure that all the applicants presented to you for interviews have the specific skills required for your open positions.

RPO Providers Can Improve Your Employer Brand to Attract Better Talent

Whether your healthcare organization is an established medical provider or a new player in the industry, building strong employer brand appeal can attract the best talent to your job postings. An RPO provider can help build your brand and your reputation as a good place to work. An RPO engagement can provide solutions to help you maintain healthy relationships with both prospective candidates—including ones that are not hired for open positions—former and current employees, which improves your employer brand in the healthcare industry.

Which RPO Provider is Right for Your Healthcare Staffing Needs?

Choosing the right RPO partner for your healthcare staffing needs is a carefully thought out process with many factors to take into consideration. You are not only selecting a company to help you with your recruiting processes, but you are also choosing a partner that will help you improve multiple business functions for your organization. Just like when choosing other products or services, you need to identify your specific business needs and what you want an RPO provider to handle or assist you with. This primarily means identifying your weaknesses/pain points and your organizational objectives, such as staffing cost reduction, organization expansion or reconfiguring your recruiting structure.

The Right RPO Provider Values Accountability

When hiring for healthcare, accountability is one of the most important factors in the relationship between an organization and an RPO provider. When you select the right healthcare RPO provider, they will deliver a high level of transparency and will encourage you to hold them accountable for how well the hires they make work out for your organization. A good RPO provider will also want to be judged on how quickly they can fill open positions and on how cost-efficient their service is for you.

The Right RPO Provider Understands Healthcare Staffing

The right RPO provider knows healthcare staffing top to bottom. They have strong connections with healthcare professional organizations, they understand the technology used to source top healthcare talent, they know how to screen candidates effectively and they understand the compliance requirements for each healthcare position.

An RPO provider who is knowledgeable about healthcare hiring can easily fill any position in your organization and will help you find the best candidate both in terms of cultural fit and fitness for the position.

They Understand Your Needs

Each healthcare organization is unique, so a cookie-cutter approach to your healthcare staffing needs may not work to your advantage. The right RPO provider will take the time to form an in-depth understanding of your staffing needs and preferences, and will work to tailor a seamless RPO plan for you.

No matter how many positions you need to fill, the right RPO provider will take that into consideration and make sure your new 10 or 1,000 employees all hit the ground running and seamlessly integrate into your organization.

They Employ Best-Fit Technology and AI-Powered Sourcing Methods

In a tight healthcare labor market, sourcing and attracting the best talent can be difficult. The right RPO provider understands this, and will employ cutting-edge recruiting technology and sourcing methods to meet a client’s healthcare staffing needs.

Healthcare recruiting technology that utilizes AI and machine learning to source and screen candidates give healthcare organizations a distinct advantage in finding the right candidates quickly. What’s more, recruiting technology can reduce the cost-per-hire and streamline the often disjointed healthcare staffing process by merging multiple recruiting functions into one easy-to-use interface.

They Understand Your Talent Market

Whether your healthcare organization has one location or multiple locations across many regions, the right RPO provider understands the laws, regulations, customs and structures in your regions of operation. Your RPO provider should possess the know-how and have experience in sourcing candidates in your talent market(s) to make sure you hire the best talent available. The right RPO provider will take as little time and money as possible sourcing your new workforce, and get them hired as quickly as possible.

Healthcare staffing can be complicated, that’s why partnering with the right RPO provider is crucial for success. Once you have found the right RPO provider for your staffing needs, it can take time to build a strong relationship. Once the relationship is established, you will see all of the benefits the right RPO provider can bring to the table, and you will see how much easier the healthcare staffing process can be.