Medical advances are keeping twice as many people living into their mid-80s, while at the same time legions of nurses, CNAs, and other caregivers are looking to retire from their rewarding yet exhausting occupations. This presents a major challenge for the healthcare talent management landscape. More people are in need of care, but those in caretaker roles are starting to leave the workforce.
As such, hospitals, nursing homes, senior living operators, and home care providers must employ more strategic recruiting tactics to fill critical roles faster while providing high-quality care for an influx of older patients.
Here are the facts recruiters and hiring managers must know to face this challenge head on.
Both Patients and Caregivers are Aging
The more elderly our population becomes, the more people there will be living with age-related diseases and comorbidities. Additionally, major segments of the healthcare workforce are aging, and that raises issues for their employers. Older healthcare workers are beginning to feel their age, with consequences ranging from greater vulnerability to physical injury, to thoughts of retirement or a career change, to a less taxing nonclinical setting.
The resulting increase in turnover rates necessitates workforce planning and enhanced recruitment to effectively hire and retain healthcare staff.
How to Recruit and Retain a High-Quality Workforce
As more of the American population requires care, healthcare organizations must buckle down on their recruitment and retention strategies. Below are a few strategies and recommendations that you can leverage today to be better staffed in the future.
- Reevaluate your employer branding and recruitment marketing
- Build a far-reaching talent pipeline
- Focus on quality candidates
- Make sure your job offers are competitive where it counts
- Even as you recruit, think about retention
- Invest in technology that helps recruiters hire better
Providing excellent care for the health needs of aging America will be a complex challenge for all of us. But organizations that commit the necessary resources can find success with forward-looking recruitment strategies.
Download our whitepaper, “Aging America: Healthcare Talent in Crisis,” to learn more about how you can prepare for tomorrow’s challenges – today.
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