Recruiting top talent in the healthcare industry is no easy feat. Especially when you consider that 2.3 million new healthcare workers will need to be hired by 2025 to address the current labor shortage in this area due to factors ranging from the aging Baby Boomer population and retirement of aging healthcare workforce, to an increase in chronic diseases and limited new grads to fill open positions.
Thus, to attract the best candidates to your healthcare organization, whether pharmacy, hospital, or doctor’s office, you need qualified help. But where can you get it? You know your positions require the best in the business to fill them and meet industry standards, but you’re also tired of the long, drawn-out, and frustrating process that often ends in mediocre hires if you don’t approach the process carefully.
From labor shortages to turnover, there are certainly many challenges standing in your way, but with the help of a healthcare recruiting firm you can trust, it’s effortless. Today let’s talk about the greatest healthcare recruiting challenges you face.
Shortage of Skilled Professionals
The demand for healthcare services has been skyrocketing due to factors such as aging and population growth, yet the supply of skilled healthcare professionals is simply not able to keep pace. This issue is especially evident in specialized areas such as radiology, nursing, and critical care.
There are many reasons why there are extreme labor shortages. Just a few include:
- High-risk working environments
- Layoffs
- Retirement
- Employee burnout
- Reduced number of elective procedures
Nurses are the most in demand and unfortunately, they make up the most significant shortages. In fact, with the industry being one million nurses short of demand at the moment, you can see how the healthcare workforce is severely lacking. Currently, the United States requires more than 17,000 additional primary care doctors, more than 8,000 mental health practitioners, and more than 12,000 dental health practitioners.
The numbers don’t lie. By 2034, the nation is expected to encounter a shortage of up to 124,000 physicians with demand outpacing supply, points out the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Tight Competition
Everyone wants the best. There’s a lot of competition for new and top talent, and as such, healthcare organizations are facing intense competition among themselves in regards to recruiting that talent. The reality is that demand for skilled professionals at the top of their game exceeds the available supply. The result? A competitive recruitment landscape, to say the least. This competition gets even more intense with the rise in healthcare facilities as well as the expansion of specialized healthcare services.
Budget Constraints
The best candidates want to be paid accordingly. However, many healthcare organizations simply don’t have the money to entice and keep those candidates due to limited budgets. This makes them unable to offer the competitive compensation that would attract and retain top talent.
Healthcare professionals with specialized skills are in high demand, and can afford to shop around for the best employment options available. With their robust qualifications and training, these employees know their worth and won’t accept anything less than that.
Slow Recruitment and Screening Process
The healthcare recruitment process doesn’t happen overnight. There are many stages involved in the hiring of one individual, from screening to interviewing to background checks. Because these processes are time-consuming and lengthy, delays can arise in filling those open positions. Slow recruitment and screening processes not only increase the risk of losing top talent to competitors, it limits organizational productivity.
High Turnover Rates
A persistent challenge in the healthcare industry, turnover rates can cripple an organization, especially when they involve frontline healthcare workers. There are many factors that contribute to high turnover rates, such as work-related stress, burnout, and limited career advancement opportunities.
Not only does this impact productivity and consumer-facing services, it brings other indirect consequences such as decreased patient care quality, low employee morale, and loss of institutional knowledge. It’s also very costly due to the expense of hiring and training new employees. It can also spread to other employees who have to pick up the slack while the position is being shopped around, causing burnout in them as well.
In the end, there are many factors that contribute to healthcare recruitment challenges, from cumbersome screening processes to lack of competitive compensation. Having a healthcare recruitment firm handle the details for you can result in a strong organization that can think on its feet.
Solve Your Healthcare Recruiting Challenges With Grace Care Consulting
As a healthcare provider, if you’ve run into the above challenges time and time again, we promise you: there’s a better way. Grace Care Consulting offers a dependable network of qualified clinicians and support staff that can meet your needs immediately and accurately, vetted and ready to go. To learn more, contact us today or complete our online form.
