The healthcare industry is expanding at a breakneck pace, and healthcare headhunters are facing new challenges in recruiting top talent for hospitals and healthcare organizations. An aging healthcare workforce, projected nurse shortages, and a sharp rise in demand for high-skilled professionals are just a few of the challenges confronting healthcare recruiters. This article will take a closer look at some of the most pressing healthcare recruitment challenges.
Healthcare Headhunters Face Healthcare Staffing Shortages
The healthcare industry is in a crisis when it comes to available talent. According to a current study, the United States healthcare organizations need to hire 2.3 million new healthcare workers by 2025 to keep up with the population. Several factors are contributing to this worker shortage, including:
An Aging Healthcare Workforce
As the baby boomer generation gets older, more healthcare workers are retiring. In the United States, 50.9% of RNs are over age 50, and 44% of physicians are over age 55. As healthcare workers retire, there will be an increased demand for healthcare services, and there will also be more open healthcare positions than available workers.
A Sharp Rise in Demand for Highly-skilled Professionals
Demand is growing for highly skilled healthcare workers. There are a number of hard-to-fill positions in healthcare that require specific skills and experience, such as pulmonologists, emergency medicine physicians, vascular surgeons, and nurse practitioners. Healthcare headhunters often must work against factors like longer time-to-hire periods, retiring workers, and a greater need for these skilled roles.
A Projected Nursing Shortage
A shortage of registered nurses is projected to spread across the United States from 2016 through 2030. The deficit in skilled nursing talent is compounded by the fact that nursing schools throughout the country are struggling to keep up with the rising demand for care due to national healthcare reform. Nurse recruiting is a serious issue being addressed by healthcare organizations.
New Talent is Hired Quickly
Recruiting new talent is essential to healthcare facilities. New hires bring with them up-to-date training and fresh ideas. But finding and hiring the ideal candidates can be difficult, as many new candidates prefer to accept positions at organizations where they had internships or in desirable locations.
With the lack of available new talent and the increasing demand for healthcare services, many healthcare organizations need to move quickly to fill vacant positions. This leaves healthcare organizations with less time to screen candidates and can result in hasty hiring decisions.
The Rising Cost of Skilled Workers
Healthcare labor costs are skyrocketing. A recent report in 2021 reported that labor costs in the healthcare sector increased 18.4% compared to the same month in 2020. Recruiting top talent demands a pretty penny in this tight labor market.
Now, finding top talent for some areas of the United States has always been difficult. With the healthcare industry booming, skilled healthcare workers are in high demand and can often command high salaries and desirable locations.
Many healthcare workers prefer to work in urban areas with more job opportunities and higher compensation. This can lead to urban areas driving the cost of healthcare professionals higher across the board. So, for rural and remote healthcare facilities, the cost of recruiting and retaining top talent can be difficult.
Healthcare Headhunters Meet New Challenges Head-On
Organizations facing healthcare staffing shortages are turning to healthcare headhunters for help in recruiting top talent. Healthcare headhunters have the experience and resources necessary to identify, screen, and hire the best candidates for healthcare positions.
To meet the challenges of medical recruiting, healthcare headhunters utilize innovative strategies and proactive recruiting methods to find the best candidates for healthcare positions. A few ways healthcare headhunters are helping healthcare companies recruit healthcare workers are:
- Using social media recruiting to attract active and passive healthcare talent.
- Utilizing new screening technology to identify the best candidates and shorten the lengthy recruitment cycle.
- Seeking talent through international networks and pools out of talent outside strict geographic regions.
- Targeting talent pools from trusted universities, residencies, and healthcare training organizations.
- Building relationships with healthcare talent early in their careers through mentorships and internships.
- Reducing healthcare recruiting costs by sourcing candidates from various locations and negotiating competitive salaries.
- Efficient and streamlined recruitment, hiring, and onboarding process.
Healthcare headhunters are uniquely positioned to help healthcare organizations facing staffing shortages. By utilizing innovative recruiting methods and hiring strategies, healthcare headhunters can help organizations find, hire, and retain the best healthcare talent.
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