It seems just yesterday we were talking about summer recruiting, but crazy though it seems, now it's time to talk about the rest of the year and possibly 2017. According to the HealtheCareers 2016 Mid-Year Healthcare Recruiting Trends Report, “58% of surveyed healthcare employers and recruiters expect to recruit more professionals than they did in the first half of 2016 due, at least in part, to the current economic environment.” As you know, when over half the industry is moving in one direction, it’s best to follow the leader, so we would suggest ramping up your healthcare recruitment in order to secure top talent during what promises to be a competitive season. Here are some noteworthy tips to make sure you make the most out of what’s left of 2016.
Watch Your Competitors
While some industries have slowed their growth, healthcare is speeding it up. In fact the, “Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data corroborates this trend. From May 2014 to May 2015, the BLS reports U.S. healthcare employers added 408,000 jobs. Although total hiring across industries slowed significantly in April and May of this year, data from May 2015 to May 2016 shows 487,000 new positions have been added by hospitals, nursing care facilities and ambulatory care providers over the past 12 months.”
We suggest monitoring healthcare competitors to see what positions they are adding and making sure that your needs are being met. Once those competitors get ahead of your healthcare system’s recruiters, it’s going to be very difficult to make sure you have those same professionals (especially if you share a geographic area with a direct competitor). Access your needs and make sure you are the first choice for healthcare provider careers.
Understand the Demand
According to the report, the following levels of experience will come into play when it comes to late 2016 healthcare recruitment.
- 44% - Entry-level positions
- 78% - 2-5 years experience
- 34% - 6-10 years experience
- 22% - 10+ years experience
- 5% - I don’t know
As you can see, the largest need is in the mid-level sector, so if you have experienced levell positions that need to be filled, make sure to come up with a proactive strategy.
Within those levels of experience lies another factor; short supply. The following clinical areas are experiencing major scarcities:
Physicians:
- Family Medicine
- Internal Medicine
- Psychiatry
- Hospital Medicine
Nurses:
- LPN/LVN/RPN
- Family medicine
- Psychiatric/mental health
Plan for Time-to-Fill Changes
Quality is key when it comes to recruitment and the healthcare industry is no exception to that rule. With recruiters working hard to find qualified candidates the time-to-fill is increasing. HealtheCareers reported that since December 2016 time-to-fill has increased by 8%. This increase was, "mostly due to an inability to find qualified professionals to fill open positions.” With this increase, it is more important than ever that recruitment departments are proactively seeking talent rather than acting reactively. Make sure to access your staffing needs regularly and consider putting programs in place that increase your candidate pipeline for specialties with ongoing needs.
Hold on to Your Talent
One way to make sure that you are in a good place staff-wise is to keep your current healthcare professionals happy. HealtheCareers reported that this is a time where candidates have the upper hand. In a market that is consistently boosting salaries for talented healthcare professionals, it is essential that you review your existing staff’s pay regularly. According to the report, “more than 60% of healthcare employers and recruiters report paying higher salaries to new employees than they did in 2015. Existing staff are also seeing larger paychecks; 51% of employers are paying their current employees higher salaries as well.”
Overall, we recommend actively reviewing all of your recruitment efforts to make sure that you are doing the best job you can for your health system. We also recommend that you read the full HealtheCareers report here to gain further insight into the active healthcare recruiting trends.
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