Top 10 Complexities of Hiring in the Healthcare Field and How to Navigate Them
Matching the ideal candidate with the perfect position is challenging in any field. In healthcare, the process can be even more complex than usual. That’s because the variety of roles and the dynamics within the healthcare industry pose unique challenges for recruiters and job seekers alike.
Despite these challenges, it’s possible to match healthcare professionals with the very best opportunities in their field.
Here are ten complexities of hiring in healthcare and tips to help you navigate them successfully.
1. High Competition
Currently, there are far more open positions in the healthcare industry than professionals to fill them. These open positions give new hires leverage and the freedom to consider multiple job opportunities before completing a hiring agreement.
Recruiters can respond to this situation by focusing on the unique opportunities and attributes their clients can bring to the table. Ongoing education programs, a positive work environment, and competitive compensation packages are all ways for you to attract talent.
2. Technicality of Roles
It can be challenging for hiring professionals to fully understand candidates’ intricacies as they enter the healthcare industry. Healthcare workers have diversified and highly specialized roles, each with its own set of challenges and ideal conditions.
To best meet the needs of their clients, you need to understand where new hires are coming from and what they’re looking for. Becoming familiar with details about your client’s healthcare environment will empower you to know which jobs are a good fit for which candidates.
3. Educational Requirements
Healthcare professionals must have a certain level of certification before entering the field, which means recruiters can’t look across industries to bring new hires into healthcare roles. To find a job in healthcare, candidates must also keep their certifications updated.
This can be challenging for recruiters and job seekers, who may be frustrated by the rules they have to play by. Getting a clear picture of requirements before the hiring process starts can protect professionals from frustration and help make their decisions easier.
4. Changing Expectations
As generations shift, so do expectations about what work is supposed to look like. New healthcare professionals are more insistent on having a wide range of benefits and a schedule that supports life outside of work – a challenging ask for such a demanding field.
You can find the best match for these expectations by highlighting the unique benefits of each position and how organizations offer their employees personal support. For example, many new hires are looking for a positive work environment with a strong sense of community.
5. COVID-19 Concerns
COVID-19 has made hiring in healthcare incredibly complicated. Many potential hires are concerned about organizational policies and how they’ll protect their mental and physical health. The pressure of working in a medical setting during the pandemic caused many healthcare professionals to quit mid-shift.
To navigate this challenge, you can pay attention to healthcare policies and look for matches between organizations and workers to make both parties happy. With the right fit, candidates can feel confident about starting their new positions.
6. Remote Work
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many healthcare services have moved online to telehealth platforms. This offers some new hires the opportunity to work remotely, which may mitigate health concerns. Remote work has gained significant popularity in recent years, so understanding the value and popularity of remote healthcare work stands to benefit recruiters.
Telehealth will play an essential role in the future of medicine. Still, you must work only with accredited individuals and companies to help reduce the growing issue of telehealth fraud. Of the $6 billion in fraudulent claims during the rise of COVID-19 in 2020, $4.5 billion was associated with telehealth services. Be sure to screen thoroughly any time you make a hire, but especially when the complexities of remote work are involved.
7. No Advancement Opportunities
Although some healthcare professionals want to stay in one role forever, most want to move up the pay and training over time. Unfortunately, many healthcare positions don’t offer advancement opportunities.
Because every position is a stepping stone in someone’s career, even a role with no growth opportunities can lead to a better position with another healthcare organization later. Focus on how the parts available now can help candidates grow their careers over time.
8. Organization Location
Working in a rural hospital or healthcare center will be a very different experience from getting hired in a major city. Each role has its own set of benefits and challenges, but some healthcare candidates are only interested in one or the other.
To best help your clients, do what you can to discern which kind of hospital would be the best fit as early on as possible. Sometimes, new hires are ideally suited for pastoral work and don’t know it yet. Do what you can to showcase the realities of both options for a higher match rate.
9. Low Compensation
Some new hires may be frustrated when comparing their education with the range of compensation available. They have to think about paying off their loans, while many hospitals try to cut costs and sustain as many staff members as possible.
You can help candidates find the perfect position by showcasing the many benefits organizations offer and any advancement opportunities available. Current competition for new hires is also driving up compensation rates .
10. Lack of Control
Finally, it’s challenging for hiring professionals to match new workers with healthcare organizations and then control which employees go through. Working with other people is always an exercise in trust, and sometimes companies and job seekers make decisions you disagree with.
To protect your emotional health, it’s essential to have space to recover from work and stay as objective as possible about your clients. Remember that each person you work with is on a unique journey, and focus on the joy of being part of it.
Find the Perfect March
Although hiring into healthcare is challenging, you can find successful matches between clients and companies by being thoughtful about your approach and engaging personally with each candidate.
Use these ten tips to streamline your approach and make finding that new job possible for the people you work with.
Mia Barnes is the co-founder of Body+Mind.
Get the top recruiting news and insights delivered to your inbox every week. Sign up for the Recruiter Today newsletter.