Imagine how easy healthcare recruiting would be if you could see into the future and anticipate upcoming challenges and changes. We might not be psychic (or have access to a crystal ball), but we have a few solid predictions on what talent teams can expect from the hiring landscape.
After surveying 525 talent acquisition leaders across sectors for our 2023 Hiring Insights Report, we’ve released the report’s healthcare edition. Based on responses from 105 talent leaders in healthcare, the report highlights what today’s talent professionals expect from the future of healthcare hiring (and much, much more).
What challenges will define talent acquisition in the future? How will hiring change and shift? We’ve rounded up all of those crucial insights. Read on for five ways healthcare recruitment leaders expect the landscape to evolve.
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Healthcare Recruiting’s Expected Challenges
1. Changes in Hiring Policies Will Pose Difficulties
The world of work never stops changing. As new obstacles emerge, healthcare talent leaders expect shifts in company hiring policies to be the biggest upcoming challenge (31%). Companies anticipate that they will need to make additional alterations to hiring policies to effectively address these hurdles.
The healthcare sector has without a doubt experienced significant changes, such as the adoption of telemedicine, the transition of non-patient roles to remote and hybrid work, and the rise in the popularity of remote interviews.
Successfully supporting remote work and recruitment entails establishing the appropriate policies. However, finding time to plan these policies can seem like an impossible task amid teams’ other pressing challenges, including managing talent retention and addressing employee mental health.
But still, if one thing’s certain, it’s that adopting the right tech tools is essential to successfully tackle large-scale initiatives (like refining hiring policies). By leveraging hiring technology that enables efficiency and automation, teams can create space for other impactful projects.
2. Talent Retention Won’t Get Any Easier
Healthcare is notorious for its high employee turnover rate. Unfortunately, 30% of talent leaders believe this trend will continue, making talent retention the second biggest anticipated challenge. The sector’s high churn rates are a lasting effect of the pandemic, which brought waves of burnout and exhaustion to healthcare professionals across organizations.
Burnout causes a decrease in job satisfaction, lower productivity, and increased cynicism. Ultimately, this leads to a decline in overall well-being. Healthcare workers tend to leave for other opportunities when this burden becomes unbearable.
But still, all hope is not lost: talent and HR teams can reduce turnover by addressing its root causes. When dealing with burned-out healthcare workers, teams would be wise to create meaningful programs that prioritize employee well-being. Aiming to fill positions quickly to reduce the recruiter workload can also help cut down burnout.
3. Employee Mental Health Will Remain a Concern
Ranking in third place, 29% of healthcare recruiting professionals expect mental health and wellness to be a significant issue. Interestingly, the severity of this challenge is perceived differently based on the seniority of the respondent. In the upcoming year, the C-suite considers mental health concerns to be less of a challenge (21%) than the general population of respondents, but still considers it a hurdle, ranking it fourth on the list. However, directors, who are the least senior of all respondents, see mental health as the number one impending challenge (52%).
Directors are more closely involved in day-to-day recruiting work and can identify recruiting pain points that may not be visible to higher-ranking employees, such as the C-suite. Due to their closer proximity to recruiters, directors are more aware of the toll that mass layoffs, scarce resources, and overwhelming workloads have taken on hiring teams. Consequently, they view mental health as a paramount challenge in the coming months.
Healthcare Recruiting’s Expected Changes
1. Candidate Demands Will Increase
For healthcare candidates, the world is their oyster; they commonly explore opportunities outside the healthcare sector and apply for jobs in various industries. As a result, these candidates are highly selective and demand a superb candidate experience.
Healthcare companies have acknowledged this trend and recognize the importance of impressing candidates. Talent leaders predict that the most significant change in the sector’s hiring landscape will be an increase in candidate demands which will require more touchpoints in the hiring process (44%).
To meet candidate expectations, recruiters must create meaningful connections with talent and ensure a seamless hiring process. Prioritizing efficiency and productivity is one of the most effective ways to achieve this goal, allowing teams to improve the candidate experience without increasing their workload.
2. The Landscape’s Competition Will Be Up for Debate
The jury is still out on the landscape’s competitiveness. Talent leaders are evenly split on their expectations regarding the level of competition in the market for talent. While some believe that the demand for talent will increase, making the market more competitive (41%), others anticipate that remote work will expand the talent pool, making it less competitive (41%).
This divide of opinions perfectly encapsulates the unpredictable and uncertain nature of the current tumultuous hiring landscape. So, can we expect a competitive or uncompetitive landscape? Your guess is as good as ours.
Hey, Healthcare Recruiting Leaders: Want More Insights?
2023 brought a difficult hiring landscape, a shortage of candidates, and a burned-out workforce, creating a perfect storm for healthcare recruiting teams this year. The pressure is on to find and attract qualified candidates, deliver an efficient hiring process, and leverage the right healthcare recruiting software to drive teams toward success.
To dive deeper into these insights and much, much more, get the healthcare report today.