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Job recruiting in the healthcare industry is a particularly tough challenge, considering the ongoing shortage of qualified applicants for highly skilled positions. An applicant tracking system (ATS) can help human resource (HR) professionals to recruit and hire the best talent by facilitating remote video interviews, meeting applicants’ needs for convenient scheduling, and providing a mobile hiring process.
Industry statistics underscore the dire need for more effective recruitment methods in healthcare. A full 90% of hospital executives expect that by 2027 they’ll experience a deficiency of specialists, generalist physicians, nurses, and other clinicians, according to a 2017 report by Prudential.
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has projected a shortfall of nearly 105,000 physicians by 2030, including shortages of between 7,300 and 43,100 primary care physicians and 33,500 to 61,800 non-primary care specialists. Experts point to several factors behind the need:
Yet only 46.7% of healthcare talent management professionals believe their recruitment methods are effective, according to the results of a landmark survey conducted by HealthcareSource and the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA).
Covid-19 placed additional strains on the industry, as healthcare professionals got exposed to the virus and needed to quarantine, notes Monster.com.
Here are four ways an ATS helps recruiters fill crucial positions in healthcare.
According to a 2019 study by the US Department of Health and Human Services, more than 59% of federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) are in rural areas. Beyond limited finances, facilities in these areas find it particularly difficult to lure qualified workers because they can’t offer the same cultural and social opportunities as big cities.
iCIMS’ ATS can host live and pre-recorded videos. This helps rural facilities hold remote interviews with candidates, thereby sparing employers the expense of flying in job seekers and putting them up in local hotels.
Video interviews have also jumped in popularity among healthcare facilities across the nation with the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, notes Monster.com. Video interviews make it easier to remain safe regardless of whether participants have been vaccinated yet.
Potential also exists for resourceful recruitment teams to create pre-recorded videos aimed at enticing candidates. Employers can highlight innovative medical programs at their facilities and the culture of the local area.
Unlike most types of organizations, hospitals are open 24/7 and staff work around the clock. Hiring managers can be just as busy as frontline workers. Medical emergencies and other unforeseen circumstances come up, which can make job interviewing schedules go awry. Especially during the pandemic, doctors and nurses sometimes fill in for colleagues on short notice.
An ATS can accommodate switches through its built-in scheduling capabilities. At the outset, you can send candidates a real-time view of available slots and let them choose an interview time at their convenience from wherever they are. It’s quick and easy to notify everyone to reschedule should the need arise.
Research by Glassdoor shows that 59.1% of job seekers looking for work in the healthcare field use their phones to search for and apply for jobs. Healthcare pros land in the top four industries on this question, out of a total of 25 fields included in the survey.
On-the-go healthcare specialists make extensive use of their smartphones for a wide range of other purposes, too. Even as far back as 2012, 87% of physicians used smartphones or tablets in the workplace. Academic studies demonstrate that doctors use mobile devices for voice calling, videoconferencing, accessing hospital information systems (HIS), web searching, viewing educational videos, taking notes, and using clinical software applications.
iCIMS Text Engagement provides a simplified, straightforward, and improved experience for on-the-go job candidates by communicating through text. You can meet applicants where they are through SMS or smartphone apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. You can send timely and relevant campaigns to jobseekers and automatically respond to frequently asked questions (FAQs).
iCIMS also offers a mobile app called ATS for Hiring Managers. This allows busy hiring managers to create jobs, review applications, and move candidates through the hiring workflow directly from their smartphones.
iCIMS’ Applicant Tracking System is designed to meet your unique needs within the healthcare industry, allowing you to attract, engage, hire, and advance the right talent. In fact, our ATS helped Jefferson Health improve their time-to-fill by 50%, spend $2,000 less to fill roles than the national average, and report a 93% positive candidate experience.
Interested in learning more about how an ATS can help your organization? Download our Business Case for Focused and Inclusive Applicant Tracking Software.
