As most healthcare leaders know, good talent is hard to find. This is especially true when it comes to finding the right candidate for the niche, highly specialized positions that are so common in the world of nursing leadership. Unfortunately, hiring for these positions often results in long-lag times as HR managers struggle to find qualified candidates which can negatively impact nurse engagement and overall performance within the unit/ department.
This past year, hospitals nationwide have felt the impact of the current job market, which saw “a monthly average gain of 254,000 jobs, a pace of over 3 million a year” according to Forbes1. And if that is not cause enough for concern for hiring managers, the job market also saw an increase of wages and salaries by 3.1% in 2018 alone, culminating in the biggest jump in wages in a decade2. While a strong job market is positive news for job seekers, it can make the hiring process more challenging for healthcare organizations as potential employees have more options to choose from. That is why utilizing external staffing agencies can be a great way to tap into their resources to find candidates quickly while they do all of the legwork. These benefits include:
- Streamlined Hiring. Working with an agency is a great way to locate highly specialized talent outside of your organization. Agencies have a wider network of individuals who are skilled in a variety of different areas which allows them to quickly match candidate’s backgrounds and skillsets with the requirements of the position in a way that internal recruiters are not always able to do.
- Reduced costs. When a leadership position is left vacant for long periods of time, or is filled by an employee who is underperforming, hospitals can suffer from lost revenue through either poor performance of the unit/ department or low nurse engagement rates. In 2018 alone, it was estimated that “cost of nurse turnover ranges from $38,000 to $61,100, resulting in the average hospital losing $4.4M to $7.0M, and each percent increase in RN turnover will cost an additional $337,500”3.
- Highly specialized skillsets. One of the main benefits of working with an agency is that they have vast networks of candidates with highly specialized skillsets. Depending on the needs of your organization, agencies are an excellent resource to help you find the right candidate.
- Outside perspective. When it comes to re-evaluating your organization’s established market position and strategy, having an objective perspective from external hire can help highlight any blind spots that may have been overlooked by leaders who have been with the organization for a long time4.
By utilizing agencies to locate the most qualified candidates for highly specialized positions, healthcare leaders are better able to make use of the expertise of external candidates, and in turn, optimize outcomes for their organizations. Interested in receiving regular updates on both interim and permanent job opportunities? Follow us on LinkedIn. Or, visit our website to speak with someone today about how Novia Solutions can help with your staffing needs.
