Candidate Experience

The 2019 American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA) Conference took place this past week in the Windy City of Chicago, Illinois. This year’s theme was “Connect. Innovate. Transform.” In the midst of constant change in the healthcare field, fostering professional connections is more important than ever before. Sarah Fredrickson, ASHHRA President, discussed how healthcare HR must lead an engaged workforce to innovate.

Healthcare organizations are facing a workforce crunch. The combination of an aging population and the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of access to healthcare has increased the need for health services and resulted in employee shortages throughout the industry.

A job candidate’s journey with a company from application to hire (or not hire) is no longer just a process, it’s an experience. As a job seeker travels through the different recruitment phases—sourcing, interviewing, screening, hiring and onboarding—they naturally develop their own perception or opinion of your company. Whether it’s a positive or negative experience, it can have a lasting impact on your employer brand.

In this tight job market, companies are being forced to approach the candidate experience in a new way.

Katrina Kibben, CEO and founder of Three Ears Media, which seeks to help brands improve the candidate experience, explains it this way: “Right now the candidate experience is like a one-way mirror, where all these candidates are walking by the glass. You're seeing them, but they aren't seeing you.”

The 2018 American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA) Conference took place this past week in the Steel City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This year’s theme was “Meeting the Challenge and Making a Difference,” which highlighted the always changing healthcare environment: from physician reimbursement, hospital quality measure, legislative updates, the increasing workforce shortage and more.

As the healthcare industry continues to face talent shortages, the competition for quality heightens. In order to remain competitive in the evolving healthcare landscape, employers need to find ways to adapt to the new environment while streamlining the talent acquisition process. When reviewing your processes and procedures, consider the following best practices as you work on improving results.

If you attended this year’s National Association for Health Care Recruitment (NAHCR) IMAGE Conference, you probably noticed the leading healthcare recruitment organizations are borrowing tactics and strategies from the marketing profession. As the consumer and candidate environment continues to blend, having a marketing-driven approach to healthcare recruitment can go a long way in achieving your organization’s talent acquisition goals.

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the 43rd National Association for Health Care Recruitment (NAHCR) IMAGE Conference in Savannah, Georgia. In 2017 and beyond, successful healthcare recruitment organizations will need to incorporate marketing tactics and strategies in order to meet talent acquisition goals. This trend is evident by reviewing several of the breakout sessions from this year’s conference, which focused on recruitment marketing.

Today’s widespread talent shortages and rising costs are no longer a secret in healthcare. In fact, reports indicate that the looming talent shortage is only expected to worsen over the next few years.

A CareerBuilder survey reveals that 82 percent of employers think there’s little to no negative impact on the company when a candidate has a bad experience during the hiring process—but that couldn’t be less true. Not only can an unpleasant candidate experience reflect negatively on you and your employer brand, but Steve Lowisz, CEO of global recruitment research firm Qualigence International, says it can leave candidates feeling unappreciated and disrespected.