Common Challenges to Envisage During Recruitment Process

Nov 11, 2016
Paul Johnson

The recruitment process is inevitable in every sector of paid and employed labour. It is what forms the framework of any strong workforce. This process of selecting eligible candidates who will constitute the staff is never an easy one.

Every industry comes with its recruitment peculiarities, and the health sector doesn’t fall short. It would surprise you to find that recruitment is by far one of the most challenging tasks faced by recruiters in the healthcare sector because it is the largest service industries in the world.

Health constitutes one of the many aspects of human life, requiring utmost care and safety. Doctors, nurses and other medical personnel are saddled with the responsibility of preserving many human beings, hence the need for proper scrutiny and selection of qualified professionals.

While getting the right candidate may seem to be the most common issue, there are more challenges to envisage during the recruitment process.

Read further for more common challenges:

  • Finding top talents: what is a workforce without talented people? This forms one of the significant problems in healthcare recruitment. The healthcare industry appears to be lacking the presence of highly-qualified candidates for quite some time now, and it’s becoming alarming.

This alarming increase in the number of unskilled people has encouraged healthcare leaders in the public and private sector to promote innovative healthcare recruitment strategies to attract and employ the skilled workforce in the general healthcare industry.

  • A lengthy process of recruitment: This is another common challenge faced during the recruitment process when this process becomes burdensome and tiring, it poses a considerable challenge for employers and candidates alike.

The procedures for recruitment can be streamlined and enhanced by using recruiting and applicant tracking software(ATS). Recruiters and interviewers can update and edit information anytime, from anyplace. They can quickly post new job openings, track down current applicants in the process, match applicants with vacant positions and analyze where and why the process is lagging.

By computerizing the recruiting process, ample time and energy is saved, and this all together will provide an improved hiring experience for recruiters and applicants.

  • Weak employment brand: You may be wondering how come this is a challenge. Having an inferior employer brand repels worthy candidates. There’s usually a rush to take in fresh graduates from medical school because they are enthusiastic and have updated training. But to be able to attract the best of them, the employer brand must be projected well to hire them without offering an over the budget salary.

Unfortunately, many employers in the healthcare industry in most do not prioritize investing in employer branding, because they often feel that care of their patients is more important.

However, applicants want to work for employers who have a good reputation; who value their contributions and pay attention to their social responsibilities. If they can’t find any proof of this evidence on an employer’s website or social media pages, they’ll most likely be less interested in applying for a vacant role.  This process is a complex one. It is a joint and constant effort that requires you to step out of your usual employer duties and secure a support from your existing staff.

  • Recruiting for rural areas: research has shown that irrespective of location, people need healthcare, but how many people are willing to work in rural and remote communities? Organizations in remote areas and in need of health care staff will find it challenging to recruit workers due to location and remuneration.