According to recent research, the mass resignation of healthcare professionals has resulted in a 20% decrease in the healthcare workforce, including 30% of nurses. This shortage is partly due to the pandemic influx, concerns over DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) policies, and severe work-life imbalance.
So, how can your organization recruit talented healthcare professionals in this demanding environment? To recruit dedicated employees, you need a resilient strategy that will produce top candidates amidst major shifts in population health.
In this guide, we’ll review our top tips for decreasing your time-to-fill while maintaining a value-based hiring strategy. Here’s an overview of our healthcare recruitment best practices:
- Predict your hiring needs
- Refine your job descriptions
- Invest in talent management software
- Take a total rewards approach
By implementing these strategies, you’ll not only attract a dedicated healthcare workforce but also construct a capable, motivated, engaged team dedicated to delivering quality care, even during challenging times.
Predict your hiring needs
Predictive analytics is a process that leverages historical data points to forecast future behavior. In the case of predictive healthcare analytics, this process involves applying machine learning technology to internal EHR datasets, enabling healthcare teams to minimize patient risk.
When it comes to HR predictive analytics, it also can help solve a myriad of problems before they crop up. It is a critical player in determining an organization’s growth and improving processes for hiring success. Here are a few examples of predictive analytics in action:
- Market demand forecasting. Predictive analytics can help your team forecast demand for future roles based on historical data, industry trends, and market conditions. This can help your organization avoid under or over-staffing.
- Internal performance management. Leverage internal predictive analytics such as Arcadia’s healthcare dashboards for an overview of provider operational performance. Identifying gaps ahead of time can help you finalize a baseline for efficiency based on demographics and other pre-defined factors.
- Talent pool development. Your HR team can use predictive analytics to narrow down your most effective channels and optimize them for quality candidate sourcing. Analytics also can reveal gaps in your diversity and inclusion approach and suggest strategies to develop a more diverse candidate pool.
Using predictive analytics can help you stay ahead of problems and solve employee retention issues before they stall your performance. They can also help reduce employee turnover by monitoring the effectiveness of compensation plans.
Refine your job descriptions
To attract the perfect candidate, you need to think critically about how you’re communicating job requirements. Prioritize highlighting the essentials, but look for ways you can strengthen your descriptions and requirements based on your company culture and must-haves. For instance, you could incorporate your organization’s mission statement into your requirements.
Emphasize critical aspects that both satisfy your hiring needs and appeal to your job seekers. For example, if you’re looking for a healthcare analyst with advanced integration experience, focus on specific integration tools or systems relevant to your operations. If experience with similar systems is applicable, list those as well to widen your search.
Next, break down your requirements into straightforward and concise bullet points to provide a clear snapshot of the open position. Continually work with department managers to eliminate outdated requirements or credentials as new positions are created and updated.
Invest in talent management software
Productive recruitment cannot be achieved in a vacuum. Retention, compensation management, and engagement also must be aligned for successful organizational growth and consistent talent acquisition. That’s why talent management systems are necessary to see your workforce through the entire employee lifecycle.
With comprehensive talent management software, you can streamline processes using customizable modules like:
- Job descriptions to clearly outline roles and ensure current team members are up to speed on expectations.
- Job evaluations to ensure fair pay for all employees.
- Compensation administration to verify your payroll expenditure estimates.
- Exit interviews and analysis to understand different departments or managers in depth.
Another key component of talent management is employee recognition to commend hard-working staff. Whether through peer recognition or manager recognition, an organization that prioritizes appreciation will stand amongst others within the emotionally challenging healthcare atmosphere.
Take a total rewards approach
To attract more job seekers, your organization must offer a competitive rewards package that includes both direct and indirect forms of compensation.
Direct compensation includes the rewards usually associated with compensation such as salary, base pay, and overtime pay. Indirect compensation includes non-financial rewards such as career development opportunities, health and wellness programs, and health insurance plans.
The right total rewards approach will give your organization a competitive edge within the healthcare job market that is already rife with burnout. This way, you’ll be able to continuously motivate your employees, ultimately contributing to a healthier and more engaged workforce.
Bonus: Retaining your healthcare employees
After investing so much time and resources into recruiting exceptional healthcare candidates, it’s all the more important to develop an employee engagement strategy for keeping them around long-term.
Follow these key tips to cultivate a sense of loyalty and community among your employees:
- Send out surveys to collect feedback related to job satisfaction, work-life balance, individual concerns, and company culture.
- Organize social outings that provide employees with opportunities to connect and strengthen their relationships.
- Create workplace giving programs, such as matching gifts or volunteer grants, that make it easy for employees to support causes they care about.
Research has found that just a 1% increase in employee engagement leads to a 3% reduction in hospital-acquired complications and a 7% reduction in hospital readmissions. By implementing thoughtful tactics to recruit and engage qualified healthcare employees, you’ll set your organization up for long-term sustainability and improved patient outcomes.
Recruiting healthcare professionals requires a thorough strategy that balances your organization’s needs with candidate expectations. You can do this by refining your job requirements with relevant updates and clear descriptions and offering a comprehensive total rewards program. This holistic approach will sharpen your existing recruitment strategy and help you attract top talent.
About the Author:
Julie Albiani (she/her) is a Talent Acquisition Manager at Arcadia. Julie is passionate about helping growing businesses scale while maintaining a strong, candidate-first approach with DEI-focused initiatives. She has experience working with SaaS companies as well as staffing agencies. Before recruiting, Julie worked in the travel industry for several years. She loves being part of a mission-driven organization that focuses on helping to improve quality and access to healthcare. In her free time, Julie loves going to spin classes, hunting for antiques, and trying new restaurants. She currently resides in the Boston area with her husband and cat.
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