HR Healthcare Conference 2022, Austin - Top Takeaways for Healthcare TA

HR Healthcare Conference 2022 - Top Takeaways for Healthcare TA

Recently our COO Patrick Thiele attended the HR Healthcare conference in Austin, Texas. This was a peer-led forum for over 200 HR innovators from healthcare systems and hospitals across the USA, where a range of human resources and talent acquisition topics were discussed. Patrick shares with us his top takeaways from the conference.

Research shared at the conference confirms what all of us see every day: many nurses are considering leaving the profession, and new nurses are not joining the workforce quickly enough. In fact, the US is projected to have a shortage of 500,000 nurses by the year 2026, and over the next 3 years, the biggest growth in healthcare job openings will be for home health aides (32%) and nurse practitioners (30%). Healthcare organizations need to undertake a multi-faceted approach now to retain their existing nurse workforce and attract more nurses to join them.?

Give nurses what they want

Understanding and responding to what employees want is a key first step. Conference participants heard that the number one thing employees want is the opportunity for professional development. In fact, employee retention rates are 34% higher in workplaces where learning opportunities are available. Providing these opportunities will result in less turnover, you’ll be able to promote existing staff to senior positions, and you’ll attract more new applicants who are looking for a workplace that will support their ongoing professional development needs.

Tuition assistance tops the list of the benefits most employees want. But no matter how good your benefits package is, your employees need to know about, understand, and have easy access to their benefits. Other healthcare organizations are attracting your staff in part by highlighting the benefits packages they have on offer. If you don’t market your benefits to your own staff as well as your competitors are marketing their benefits for recruitment, you may lose staff to other employers.

More flexible work options are also high on the priority list for nurses, so reviewing your workplace models to find new ways to inject flexibility should be an ongoing process. Speakers and participants shared examples of factors their organizations have implemented, such as offering more flexible scheduling to enable nurses to choose shifts that fit their lives; more job-sharing to allow two employees to share one full-time job so they both have more time for family and school; and a daily pay option when nurses pick up one-off shifts.?

(Side note: soon after the conference, Springfield Clinic shared with us the top 5 strategies they’ve used to keep employees happy and make their workplace one of “America’s 100 Most Loved Workplaces” according to Newsweek - check out our webinar conversation for great ideas).?

Improve the candidate experience to seal the deal

Time is the enemy of talent acquisition. A key theme heard at the conference was that healthcare employers need to continually improve the candidate experience, and incorporate a human approach, in order to get nurses hired and working quickly. Consider ways your process from application to hire can be streamlined:?

• Make the application process simply, efficient, and empathetic. Do you require a resume, or need applicants to apply in your ATS? Start by having a personal conversation with enthusiastic applicants first, and then work with them to check off these administrative items.
• How can you reduce onboarding timelines and pre-hire processes so employees can start work faster after accepting an offer? What information do you really need at each stage of the process? Can you eliminate barriers that slow down the process, and even reduce the number of stages??

Improve the recruiter and hiring manager experience, too

Your internal team members need support so they can effectively and efficiently recruit and hire nurses and get them started in the workplace. These are some ideas shared by conference speakers and attendees that you may also be able to implement:?

• Ensure all team members have the tools and processes needed to complete their recruitment hiring roles quickly and efficiently. Can routine tasks be automated?
• Give recruiters and hiring managers the information they need about every candidate, at the right time, so no delays occur.
• Give hiring managers visibility to both the process and timelines for filling their positions - transparency supports appropriate expectations and reduces the chance of disappointment and frustration if things take longer than they expected.?
• Engage the entire team: empower them to improve processes; listen to their ideas, and implement changes that can help.
• Also, check out our webinar on “Improving the Talent Acquisition-Hiring Manager Relationship” for more ideas on how to streamline processes, reduce time to hire, and ultimately make more quality hires.

Speakers at the HR Healthcare conference consistently focussed on the need to listen to your employees and give them what they want and need - both on the frontline of nursing and in recruiter and hiring manager roles. Keeping staff satisfied and streamlining talent acquisition processes will help you build a sustainable workforce now and so you can face future challenges.

For more ideas and to join our discussions about nurse recruitment, check out Applichat Healthcare’s free nurse recruitment resources and connect with us to learn how we can help you get more qualified nurse applications.