The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a massive surge in unemployment rates. Since the start of the worldwide pandemic that has ravaged the globe, businesses were forced to survive by laying off a lot of their employees in order to adjust to the decrease of activity. The crisis has truly left many individuals jobless and unsupported.
In 2021, as society slowly recovers from the devastating effects of COVID-19, companies have begun recruiting and replenishing their workforce to cater to the resurfacing economy. However, while many may think that hiring from a larger-than-usual unemployment pool can be easy, actual experience would suggest otherwise.
In the industry of healthcare staffing, it is only natural to observe that hiring activities have been going on en masse. According to the Center for Disease Control And Prevention, maintaining appropriate healthcare staffing in medical facilities is essential to providing a safe work environment for healthcare personnel.
However, healthcare staffing in the medical industry has also proven to be more challenging than ever. Because of the hazards brought about by more than a year of pandemic-related sickness and death, there have been quite a few significant changes towards your average healthcare recruiter’s perspective. Here are a few issues that a recruiter might face in hiring new talent for healthcare establishments.
Virtual paradigm shift
Since the start of the pandemic, people have been relying on technology to go through their everyday tasks. Most enterprises have decided to shift to a virtual system in hiring personnel, and this comes with its own unique set of hurdles to overcome. This is particularly challenging, as most recruiters partially judge applicants based on their personal impressions during job interviews. Therefore, with the shift to a more virtual work landscape, It can be much harder to get an accurate representation of a job candidate based simply on a computer screen conversation.
Additionally, healthcare establishments have also been prioritizing contactless consultations and appointments. While this has become the accepted norm in order to avoid possible transmissions, this is especially hard in an industry that has consistently relied on face-to-face interactions in order to fully grasp the needs of their patients. With that being said, assessing the capabilities of a candidate through a virtual paradigm can be taxing and lead to poor assessments and bad hires.
Massive pool of candidates
There are a lot of experienced healthcare talents that were laid off from their jobs over the course of the pandemic. Thus, these candidates enhance the competitiveness of the recruitment market from the perspective of recruiters, as it is in these types of environments that experience is all the more considered in the hiring process. On the downside, however, there has been an increase in inexperienced healthcare talent, bringing another wave of challenges to healthcare staffing.
Because there is an increase in the number of candidates available to be recruited, the need for a more efficient recruitment process is imperative in the current landscape, as most recruiters now have to filter through an incredible amount of applicants in order to find the best person for the job. This is an area that must be given importance to allow recruiters to pick the best possible employee for their establishment.
Unpredictable hiring environment
Pre-pandemic, recruiters were familiar with the concept of job seasons, knowing when to acquire new talent for healthcare establishments. However, this familiarity has been thrown off by COVID-19. The healthcare staffing market has been massively affected by the recent crisis, as recruiters now face the challenge of pinpointing the perfect timing in their hiring procedures. Furthermore, the unpredictability of the job market has been prominent since the pandemic, and so even the most seasoned recruiters find themselves in a very difficult position as society adjusts to these troubling times.
As we struggle to gain back a sense of normalcy in our day-to-day lives, recruiters must face these new challenges to their industry as well. However, as bad as it may seem, experts are under the clear impression that this is not lasting and permanent. The after-effects of the pandemic will eventually diminish, leaving recruiters more experienced and adaptable to the new job market. These challenges brought about by the pandemic will eventually leave recruiters with more insight and experience in dealing with job markets during a crisis, which is a valuable asset to have with any staffing personnel.
Here at Polaris Placement, we are dedicated to providing experienced and talented healthcare staffing in the city of New York. Our consultants are well-established in the placement profession and have been expertly handling premium healthcare staffing for over 17 years. Whenever you have issues with your healthcare staffing, or if you simply want to experience a more organized and effective level of personnel recruitment, you can rely on Polaris Placement to get the job done for you. You can learn more about us or contact us today for an in-depth consultation.