In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, one crucial factor remains constant: the need for highly skilled talent. Just as medical advancements continue to redefine patient care, technological innovation that enables the attraction, engagement, nurturing, and deployment of this talent is equally as crucial. As the healthcare industry continues to face a talent shortage, how that technology and automation is being utilized to improve the talent experience, track and verify credentials, and ensure a seamless, scalable hiring process must be addressed by talent leaders. 

Meeting talent where they are makes it easy for them to engage with your brand. This means enabling them with an easy, fast, engaging experience, however they interact with your brand. One of the most critical pieces to get right in attracting and engaging top talent (and having them refer highly skilled people in their network) is by providing self-service technology. 

Empowering Talent and the Talent Experience 

Self-service technology is rapidly becoming the cornerstone of patient-centered healthcare. With the rise of mobile apps, patient portals, and interactive kiosks, patients are gaining unprecedented control over their health journey. This should also be true of the talent you are looking to bring into your organization to fill critical healthcare jobs. The ability to easily look at open roles, apply for jobs, upload credentials and certifications, answer checklists, and refer their network means faster time to fill, lower cost per hire, and a much-improved user experience.  

At Aequor, a top travel healthcare staffing organization, the need for self-service is paramount. Powered by WorkLLama, the Aequor Talent Portal lets prospective travel nurses, therapists, allied professionals, physicians, scientists and other job candidates do just that. The Talent Portal is an all-in-one traveler companion that matches talent with the right jobs based upon data in their profile and continues through the hiring and onboarding process into on-the-job functions for scheduling, time keeping and reporting. This advanced technology, paired with Aequor’s personal touch, powerfully handles all the details, so the candidate’s focus is on providing exceptional patient care.  

 
Fostering Talent Communities through Referrals 

One way to help simplify recruitment while also bringing in top talent is garnering referrals through crowdsourcing. The talent shortage has created a significant deficit in highly skilled candidates. Many organizations are relying on contingent labor to help close the gap, but it can still be difficult to find qualified candidates. Referrals can help to close that gap, and the more people you have referring their network, the more rich and highly skilled your talent communities will be. LinkedIn found that 46% of referral hires stay on at least a year versus 33% from career sites and only 22% from job boards, so garnering referrals from known and trusted resources makes sense.  

About 20% of Aequor’s talent placements come from referrals, which are easily facilitated through the Aequor Talent Portal app. Each registrant has a unique referral code for easy tracking and sharing with others. Referrals are a win-win-win for Aequor, the referrer, and the candidates they refer, as the company pays out generous refer and earn bonuses and attractive pay packages and benefits, including day-one insurance. 

Modernized Recruiting: Nurturing Healthcare Workforce 

The healthcare industry relies heavily on its skilled workforce. Modernizing recruitment and the talent experience is crucial to retain, redeploy, and empower these professionals. By implementing an automated, AI-driven recruitment process, healthcare organizations can identify top talent more efficiently and reduce the time it takes to fill critical positions. 

But attracting talent is only one part of the equation. Nurturing those candidates from the very first interaction with your brand, through the hiring process, and even after that assignment or project has ended is key to developing future brand ambassadors that will return and refer. This means a scalable, repeatable, personalized experience for each member of your talent community. What’s more, healthcare workers who feel valued, supported, and empowered are more likely to provide exceptional patient care. 

Shaping the Future of Healthcare 

The convergence of self-service technology, referrals, and a modernized, personalized talent experience is propelling the healthcare industry into a new era. These elements collectively enhance patient care, streamline operations, and create a network of highly skilled workers. 

As healthcare organizations embrace these transformations in the market, we are shaping a future where healthcare is patient-centric, efficient, and compassionate. By investing in self-service technology, garnering referrals through automation, and personalizing and nurturing healthcare professionals, we are paving the way for a healthcare ecosystem that truly prioritizes the well-being of both patients, providers, and the talent that works for them.