Talent Management

Happy National Healthcare Recruiter Recognition Day! Healthcare recruiters play a significant role in our nation’s healthcare system. Not only do they hold the fundamental responsibility in attracting quality talent, they also help organizations fill in the most high-demanding jobs to ensure our nation keeps up with the looming shortage of healthcare talent.

As healthcare HR professionals continue to adapt to the changing workforce, they must also understand and prepare for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. “A new reality in healthcare is here,” says M. Tomás León, MBA, President and CEO at the Institute for Diversity in Health Management, American Hospital Association. “Quality, cost, equity, diversity, and community healthcare are inextricably linked.

As HR departments seek ways to be more strategic, they’re looking at workforce analytics. A report by Deloitte says less than a quarter of companies felt ready or somewhat ready to use analytics in 2015; in 2016, 32 percent of companies did. By some accounts, healthcare organizations are lagging on this trend, but the advantages they could gain through people analytics are numerous.

Burnout among physicians is on the rise and, unfortunately, it shows no signs of slowing down. According to Medscape’s 2017 Physician Lifestyle Report, physician burnout has increased by 25 percent in just four years. In 2013, the overall rate was 40 percent; today, it has risen to 51 percent.

No matter the size or location of your organization, you’ve probably felt the pinch when trying to recruit nurses. The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there will be a net gain of 439,000 nursing jobs between 2014 and 2024. To survive in that competitive landscape,  healthcare employers will have to be at the top of their game when recruiting nurses.

Employees are the most important asset and expense to any organization and its long-term success; therefore, workforce planning and analytics should be a core strategic consideration for all businesses and its leaders. Strategic workforce planning and analytics deliver invaluable insights into your workforce that will lead to better decision making and place your organization in a position that will outpace competitors. From developing better hiring and retention strategies to improving patient outcomes, the data obtained is key.

Healthcare human resources leaders continue to face challenges in adapting to today’s changing healthcare demands. For example, with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), hospitals and other health systems are now held at higher standards of accountability in delivering quality patient care.

“Lean manufacturing” took off in the early 1990s as companies tried to emulate Toyota’s efficiency-boosting processes. The philosophy’s tenets of continuous improvement through incremental change are meant to improve quality, bring teams together and ultimately improve the bottom line. It’s not as common in the healthcare industry, although healthcare’s shift to outcome-based care over volume-based care has inspired leaders to look at different improvement strategies, including Lean.

As healthcare HR leaders look to play a more strategic role in the organizations they serve, they’ll need to embrace new ways of thinking when managing employees.

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.