Healthcare recruitment and COVID-19

With the UK in police enforced lockdown, healthcare recruitment is under pressure.

Healthcare organisations and their in-house teams are having to remotely recruit qualified professionals. They must embrace remote hiring technology. This will help them meet demand whilst not being able to hold face to face interviews, registration or assessments.

There has been a spike in businesses reaching out for advice on this issue. We have seen how harnessing the power of social media, AI and remote hiring practices can make a massive difference to the success of your healthcare recruitment efforts. We thought we would share a few points from our recent discussions with clients.

Supply and demand in healthcare recruitment:

Recruitment is a necessity as healthcare organisations face increased competition to fill the roles of qualified health professionals. Demand continues to outgrow supply. This is before you begin to take in more recent effects of COVID-19.

• JP Morgan’s Healthcare Industry Outlook 35% of healthcare leaders admitted recruiting appropriate talent was one of their top concerns for 2019. Nurse and Physician roles have been highlighted as the trickiest to fill.
• Only 14% of qualified Physicians are actively searching for a new role. This means that the large majority are passive job seekers and generally less open to unsolicited contact. (Digital Research Inc.)
• Talent shortages in the UK are expected to rise to nearly 70,000 nurses and 5,000 GPs within five years Nuffield Trust (BBC).
• 44% of healthcare organisations are planning to invest in Physician recruitment (JP Morgan)

Using AI to target and recruit candidates allows you to reach people using a particular demographic, job title or interests. Facebook is a powerful tool and will help your recruitment advertisements be seen by people with relevant qualifications. These people are likely to have an interest in your role, saving your organisation time and money.

The importance of remotely recruiting:

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated an already dire situation, leaving many of our healthcare professionals vulnerable to the virus. This adds to the need to hire to replace ill workers.

It is too high risk to hold face to face interviews and assessments at present. Companies need to embrace and invest in AI and remote hiring solutions now so as not to lose out on top talent and to ensure crucial roles are filled.

• In Wuhan, nearly 3,400 health workers became infected with coronavirus. They were three times more likely to contract the virus than the general public (Business Insider).
• An extra forty-two thousand workers were recruited in Wuhan to treat the sick (The New Yorker).
• Video interviews for recruitment have spiked by 67% in the past four weeks due to concerns over COVID-19. (Personnel Today). Apps such as Skype and Zoom have proved very popular.
• Online testing platform usage has increased by 40% in the past four weeks. People prefer this as a safer alternative to on-site assessment centres (Personnel Today).
• Digital registration could end up saving 10+ hours of combined time (Personnel Today).

Remote hiring and conducting interviews and registrations online not only fills crucial roles. It keeps people safe.

Successful candidate targeting and engagement in recruitment:

Healthcare organisations have the hard task of engaging candidates who work long, unpredictable hours. They also  have less time to research and apply for suitable roles. AI helps you reach the low hanging fruit who are qualified for your roles but would not otherwise interact with your brand.

• Over the last few weeks there has been a shift in online behaviour. There was a 76% increase in daily accumulated likes on advertisements on Instagram and campaign impressions are up 22% from Q1 to Q4 (ly).
• The number of minutes spent by readers on news sites has increased by 46% as everyone tries to stay informed (The New York Times).
• According to Marketing Week just 8% of consumers think that brands should stop advertising due to COVID-19. People are still expecting to see ads on their social feeds and relevant information about job vacancies may be more welcome.

Our ads have seen good engagement as people are staying connected with family and friends virtually. This means they are spending a great deal more time on social media. Recruiting roles through targeted ads allows you to reach your audience when they are more likely to be receptive. This increases your chance for engagement with the right sort of candidates!

To be successful with remote recruiting and hiring, it is imperative you invest wisely in appropriate platforms and systems that allow you to target good quality and qualified candidates.

Final thoughts:

90% of older adults have used social media to seek and share health information, according to the Journal of Medical Internet Research. Due to the recent lock down, we are seeing huge spikes in social media usage. Meaning that now more than ever, you need to be reaching candidates where they spend most of their time. On social media.

To help support businesses in these difficult times we’re here to offer free advice, guidance and ideas around how our technology can help you. We can even offer a trial of our services.

If you are interested or if anyone you know might be visit: https://sociallyrecruited.com/contact/.

In the meantime, keep safe and stay home.