3 Strategies to Navigate the Healthcare Talent Shortage

January 24, 2022 - While clinician burnout was an area of concern before the pandemic, added strain on the healthcare system related to COVID-19 has compounded the situation. According to the American Hospital Association, 42% of physicians reported feeling burned out in 2020. What’s more, instances of high burnout among nurses quadrupled in size. Recent data estimates more than 200,000 registered nurses are needed to replace those retiring, while the estimated shortage of physicians is projected to range from the tens of thousands to the hundreds of thousands in a decade.

And the healthcare talent crisis extends beyond clinicians. Estimates vary, but between 30 and 40% of healthcare workers are unlikely to stay in the healthcare field as they seek relief from the burnout that has become endemic among this employee population. As competition for talent grows stiffer and labor costs increase, the industry is struggling with maintaining sufficient labor resources.

To navigate the healthcare talent shortage, provider organizations need increased visibility into their labor challenges, from gaining clarity around which areas face the greatest shortage and retention issues to monitoring employee sentiment across the workforce. Enterprise cloud technology is equipped to surface the real-time data and insights required for an agile approach.

By implementing cloud-based solutions, healthcare organizations can leverage real-time data to quickly identify and prioritize talent issues, gain a better understanding of employee needs, and deploy programs that will deliver the best results across recruiting, retention, and well-being.

Identifying impacted groups

To effectively address talent shortages and employee burnout, healthcare organizations need to get specific about the scope of the problem. That means turning to data to identify which departments and employee populations are most impacted.

Analytics can pinpoint chronically understaffed services and areas with the highest overtime demands. Some solutions can even highlight intersectionality across job role, tenure, race, gender, and more to direct resources and support to the most impacted employees.

The healthcare industry is increasingly relying on a contingent workforce and offering sizable bonuses to new employees to shore up the gap. While necessary as a stop-gap measure, the approach is not sustainable over the long haul.

“Health systems across the spectrum realize that they can’t hire their way out of this,” says Workday’s Senior Director Industry Strategy Keith Lohkamp. “There is definitely greater emphasis on the retention side, which requires understanding how their employees are feeling, their key needs and issues, and motivation for staying.”

Data analysis can also expose surprising trends about why employees are leaving their positions. For example, while higher pay and more time off are assumed to be top concerns for employees, some digging into voluntary termination reasons have revealed that outgoing staff were seeking opportunities for additional education and professional development.

However, even the best people analytics are not a substitute for employee communication.

Understanding employee needs

Healthcare workers are working longer and harder to meet the outsize demand for healthcare services, rightfully earning the title of heroes. But that heroism comes at a cost, and it’s a personal one.

Traditional approaches to mitigating this impact are not sufficient for the task. In short, healthcare organizations need to rethink how they manage and engage with their staff. Doing so requires giving the organization better insights into the needs and opportunities for development for each employee, allowing for the tailoring of support to the individual.

“Managers and HR teams need to have their finger on the pulse, and technology can surface those trends in real time,” says Lohkamp. “That underpins the building of an inclusive culture. The days of once-a-year surveys to see how people are feeling must go away. New technology can enable leaders to be able to check in and engage with employees on a regular basis.”

Providing mechanisms for employees to share their feedback easily and openly allows healthcare organizations to listen intelligently to their staff. And data clearly shows that employees need support with avoiding burnout, managing work/life balance, and dealing with financial stress.

Equipped with insight into real-time employee sentiment, managers can engage staff before it’s too late, and human resources departments can provide programs tailored to specific needs. For example, supporting employees with attractive benefits ranging from flexible work options and increased health coverage to concierge services and behavioral health programs. But what works for one population may not work for another.

“How do you know what’s going to resonate if you don’t know how your employees are really feeling,” Lohkamp adds.

Managing the shortage

Healthcare organizations need to take stock of their current resources to ensure that they can find their way through this unique predicament. A more permanent solution to a healthcare talent shortage is likely to come from thinking more creatively about the skills of current staff and the potential to build on them through education and optimization efforts.

“There are many roles and activities where non-clinicians can step in to reduce the strain on physicians and nurses especially and free them to spend more time on clinical work, which is why they are there,” Lohkamp notes. “Additionally, healthcare organizations can determine the right mix of physician assistants to support clinicians and maximize physician-patient engagement and clinical decision-making like diagnoses.”

Managing the shortage with existing staff means getting more granular about matching skills to needs to optimize coverage. Skills management allows organizations to personalize development opportunities for employees. Additionally, removing friction comes down to addressing employee sentiment and increasing engagement in their day-to-day jobs as well as other communication channels to connect staff with growth opportunities within the organization.

Leveraging lessons learned from the employee experience also creates a more streamlined and inviting environment for attracting and onboarding new talent.

“What is the first impression a candidate has of your health system? It’s your platform for recruitment and onboarding. Healthcare organizations need to think about that experience and the message that it sends. Candidates are joining an organization they think is tops in terms of research and care yet are greeted with a bad experience out of the gate,” Lohkamp emphasizes.

Digital transformation in healthcare must extend to how organizations recruit and retain talent. Frequently, candidates and employees are also potential customers, which presents healthcare organizations with an opportunity to boost their overall reputation and generate loyalty in a market where competition both for talent and for patients is high.

To manage the shortage, healthcare organizations must focus on programs to boost retention, take a fresh approach to skills and current talent optimization, improve employee engagement, and ensure the best experience for new staff during recruiting and onboarding.

The maturation and ease of use of enterprise cloud applications for human capital management allow healthcare organizations to build a secure connection between their business foundation and their commitment to improving patient care and the employee experience.

Data and augmented analytics can bring to light areas where the shortage and retention issues are most salient to enable organizations to prioritize their staffing efforts. In addition, by engaging employees in real time, healthcare organizations can realize the needs and concerns of their employees and ways to improve retention. Lastly, these organizations can adopt new strategies and programs to unlock the potential of current employees to fill openings and improve the employee experience for current and existing staff.

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Workday delivers enterprise cloud applications to help healthcare organizations drive a healthier future. With a 97% customer satisfaction rating and ranked Best in KLAS for ERP and Talent Management for four years running, Workday is the choice of leading healthcare providers across the continuum of care.