As a talent acquisition professional in healthcare you are certainly aware of the expected shortfall of experienced care givers in the near future and the new challenges to recruiting that come with it.
With the Affordable Care Act making healthcare services more accessible to consumers, the shortfall is only exacerbated by an aging population living longer but with chronic diseases that require extended care.
Because of the overall increase in demand for physicians by the ACA, an aging population, and a tightening competition in recruiting, how do you set yourself apart as an employer of choice on the recruiting front?
In the end you still have to target individuals with a range of skills and experience. So your approach doesn’t differ tremendously from other industries that require a specialized workforce.
What is different is the unique skillset of the individuals you are targeting. The shortage of care givers requires a larger skillset in employees. This means either implementing a cost effective in-house program to train current staff or targeting individuals employed by other companies who are already skilled in those areas. Or in plain terms, poaching.
That’s an ugly word, poaching, but being that time is a factor in cost efficiency it’s probably the more prudent goal. Obviously in-house training should already be part of your employer benefits, but when push comes to shove, this is, after all, a Darwinian industry, so to speak.
These Professionals Know Their Value.
Finding qualified individuals is easy enough. The problem comes in engaging them in a way that puts you at the top of their choice of employer.
These folks know how valuable their skillsets are and how much in demand they are, so you will have to jump through hoops to get their attention.
Technology plays a large role in your efforts for sure. And it starts with your recruiting platform. This year about 86 percent of healthcare organizations say they will use or already use an ATS in their recruiting.
One thing that you already know about your ATS is the poor candidate experience it provides. In an industry that thrives on boasting of the most sophisticated technology available in providing patient care, it is surprising how little attention is given to technological advancements for acquiring the top talent to deliver that care.
Your ATS Does Nothing To Provide a Sophisticated, Engaging Experience.
Care givers are aware of their value. They know what a high commodity their skills have become in this industry. If you want to attract the best candidates at your organization you have to provide an exceptional experience on the recruiting trail.
If you take a stroll through your career platform, given that you have one, and see for yourself what candidates experience, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s no picnic.
With all the attention placed on mobile usage these days, most organizations have yet to make their platforms responsive. That’s a huge loss to employers in an industry that is largely mobile.
Those APRNs you hope to acquire aren’t taking a breather and sitting at a desktop to browse your company culture. They are viewing you right from their phone. And if they can’t view your site easily and see what you have to offer them, you lose. They are moving on to someone else who does provide that experience.
The alternative to replacing your ATS is redressing the front end of your applicant tracking system with a user-friendly overlay.
Yet while many third party vendors offer overlays that can bring your employer brand front and center, most these fall short in key areas, like connecting the path from your career page to your job postings via responsive design.
While you have spent the money on a mobile job search, that’s exactly what you get. Your career site, however, is still accessible only on the desktop. So even if one of these talented candidates lands on your site from their phone, they will likely never find your mobile-optimized jobs because your career page doesn’t render on their phone.
Don’t allow yourself to get caught in this pitfall. Make sure the vendor you choose provides a fully optimized path through your entire career platform, from career page to apply.
Healthcare recruiting is already a high stakes game. Better to jump on your strategy now and boost your employer credibility by actually being an employer who is technologically up-to-date for when the real struggles come.
We provide a fully-optimized, engaging experience for candidates on all devices. Contact us for more information about to turn your recruiting into something incredible.
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