The 2016 ASPR In-House Physician Recruitment Benchmarking Report has been released and it contains many vital statistics for physician recruiters. According to the report summary, “A total of 155 organizations participated providing data for 398 in‐house physician recruiters and 6,515 active searches” were utilized. Both rural and metropolitan areas were accounted for an the split for regions was 31% Midwest, 36% Southern, 25% Eastern and finally, $19% Western state-wise. Without further adieu here are some trends physician recruiters and healthcare corporations should be aware of when starting off their 2017 recruitment cycle.
1. Average Search Volume / In-House Recruitment Staff
In 2015 according to ASPR’s research the average number of searches was 45. This represents a sizable increase as that number was only 20 searches in 2012. However, while that number has risen significantly, the median number of in-house recruiters seems to be holding strong at two and averaging out at four with no sign of an increase. The steady increase of search volume may indicate that now is the time to recruit physician recruiters so that your staff doesn’t burn out.
Use our employee satisfaction tool now to see if your recruitment staff is satisfied.
2. Typical Search Profiles
Of the 6,515 searches profiled in ASPR’s report, “more than 40% of which was to replace a departing provider.” As noted in a previous article, it is important to put a succession plan in place for your physicians if you want to remain a viable healthcare institution.
Read our blog about physician succession planning here.
In addition, here are some other key numbers to keep in mind:
- 54% of searches were filled by the end of the year
- 38% of searches remained open at the end of the year
- 5% of searches were canceled
- 3% of searches were put on hold
3. What’s in Demand
There were five general categories of recruitment that ranked highest in overall search volume and they were as follows:
- Nurse Practitioner - 11%
- Family Medicine - 11%
- Urgent Care - 9%
- Pediatrics - 8%
- Physician Assistant - 7%
The physician searches mirrored these metrics in the areas of Family Medicine, Urgent Care and Pediatrics.
We suggest that you develop an in-house program encouraging these specialties to come to you. In a market that gets more competitive each day, it’s key to have something unique to offer candidates and sometimes a regimented program that includes a defined career-advancement path can be the way to rise above the rest.
4. Average Budgets
ASPR’s report noted that, “the typical organization reported an annual recruitment budget of $388,000 ($668,000 on average).” Those numbers included, “Candidate Expenses, Search Firm Fees, Marketing Expenses, and Departmental Expenses.”
In order to do your best work as a recruiter, really dive into exactly how much money was spent in each category over the past year. After you’ve completed that process really look at what worked for you and what didn’t. It’s possible that certain monies from one category could be reallocated so that you can invest in a better 2017 recruitment strategy. For instance, inbound recruitment marketing is an increasingly viable option for those who want to nurture and track their candidate.
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We strongly suggest reading the entirety of the ASPR report here. And, if you'd like to be ahead of the game when it comes to this year's recruiting, we've got a guide for that.
