Healthcare recruitment has always been a challenging industry to work in, however things are steadily getting more so as every day offers more and more barriers and challenges to overcome.
Recruitment and retention is without doubt the biggest issue for healthcare recruitment in the UK because having the sufficient levels of the right people with the right skills is absolutely fundamental to providing quality care and support needed.
However, there are permanent skills gaps within the healthcare sector and the likes of the recent bad press regarding recruitment agency costs, Brexit and immigration tariffs are only making things worse.
Indeed, NHS Improvement, who are responsible for overseeing foundation and NHS trusts, as well as independent providers that provide NHS-funded care has said in their quarterly performance report that there is a shortage of almost 100,000 staff, 1 in 11 posts, and it is affecting performance.
The report also highlights the vital support provided by healthcare recruitment agencies, with 35% of vacancies filled by agency staff. This support ensures that patient care is not compromised and that the healthcare sector can always access properly vetted and trained staff 365 days a year, 24/7.
So, there are no doubts over the need for dedicated healthcare recruitment agencies, but how do they attract the very best talent and make sure the right people, with the right skills, are in the right place at the right time – all of the time – 24/7, 365 days a year.
It’s certainly a tall order and for agencies this often means many calls out of normal office hours, including early morning or late night and weekend requests. Providing this service can be a test for any healthcare recruitment agency, however when coupled with the need to continually maintain robust framework processes to ensure they maintain NHS required standards for workers, it can become a real uphill battle.
This is why at IMS People Possible we truly believe that healthcare recruitment agencies need the support of an Offshore Recruitment Services (ORS) partner to work alongside their own team to help them fill more orders, improve efficiency and increase productivity.
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After all, working alongside the right ORS partner with core skills in healthcare offshore recruitment and who offers speed and flexibility, allows any healthcare recruitment agency to grow their business at a pace that suits them, while allowing agencies to supply high quality trained and fully vetted staff, 24/7 to their clients – you.
So, what are the main benefits your healthcare recruitment agency will gain from working with an ORS partner?
- They remain up-to-date: with continuous advances in technology, particularly in the areas of candidate sourcing, mobile applications and data generation, agencies are under continuous pressure to remain ahead of the game; all while remaining focused on the candidate experience, increasing revenue and cutting operating costs. By working with the right ORS partner, they are able to utilise their in-depth knowledge to remain current, improve candidate management and administrative processes which all benefit you as their client.
- Cost reduction: by outsourcing key functions, healthcare recruitment agencies can see cost-savings of up to 50%. Extra costs for hiring internal staff are reduced and existing staff efficiency can be increased by outsourcing the non-core tasks; ensuring they can focus on growing the business and providing you with the best service possible.
- Reduced hiring time and Increased quality of hire: from the date an agency receives a new role to the time when a candidate accepts a job offer can be typically reduced by 30 – 50% when partnering with an additional outsourcing team; which ultimately means an agency can cover more jobs. Databases of thousands of pre-screened candidates can increase their talent database and with more efficient processes and the option of accessing a 24-hour out of hours service, agencies can speed up processes and reduce delivery time. This allows them to provide the very best candidates quickly and focus their energy and time on the important tasks at hand as their ORS partner handles the non-core tasks.
- Increased flexibility, scalability and reduced risks: an ORS partner allows an agency to adapt their resource levels according to business needs. There is no need to employ unnecessary staff when things downturn, or conversely, be short when business expands. Plus, when an agency takes advantage of the out of hours service (OOH) they are always ready to handle any client demands and more jobs.
- Streamlined processes: agencies who outsource are able to examine their recruitment processes and determine where there is overlapping, excessive costs and inefficient practices. A bespoke outsourced model can be created, that provides service levels and success metrics that exceed current levels and delivers the best talent to you in less time and money.
It is clear to us that your healthcare recruitment agency needs to work with an ORS partner as it is the difference their business needs to organise themselves to safeguard high compliance standards and develop processes that afford the speedy sourcing, screening and delivery of the very best talent.
For you as their client it allows you to be the best and ultimately offer you the finest in term of service, efficiency, cost and most importantly talent.