Technology in human resources and recruitment has both its advantages and disadvantages.  With the increasing popularity of social networking and system automation, technology has made our lives much easier. RSG Health Services wanted to know if healthcare human resource professionals are utilizing and maximizing the recruitment technology that is available today and just how effective is e-recruiting in healthcare.

RSG Health Services recently reached out to over 5000 healthcare human resources and executive professionals nation-wide to gain a better perspective of the usage and effectiveness of recruitment technology in healthcare.  According to the survey, the majority of respondents indicated that about three-quarters of their recruitment process is facilitated by technology.

JOB BOARDS

Over half of the respondents use job boards (both niche and major job boards), employer website and applicant tracking technology. When asked what type of job board is most effective for recruiting, major job boards like Monster or CareerBuilder came in first, niche healthcare job boards came in a close second and professional association’s job boards took third place.  However, almost a third responded that no job board is effective.  In addition to online recruitment sources, about half still advertise job openings in the local newspaper.

According to the survey, while approximately seventy percent use niche healthcare job boards, only about a twenty-five percent use free healthcare job boards such as MyMedPort and Craigslist.org.   With many organizations experiencing budget cuts over the past few years, it is surprising that more organizations have not taken advantage of these resources. The organizations that have used free job boards responded that these resources have been an important part of candidate procurement.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Of the recruitment professionals surveyed, less than twenty-five percent use social media in their recruitment process.  This is surprising since over 1.5 million healthcare professionals are registered with LinkedIn.com for networking, job searching and professional development.  Of that amount, over 300,000 have listed their profile under “Hospital & Health Care”.

Additionally, outlets like MyMedPort.com offer a centralized online location for healthcare professionals to network, post/search jobs, access healthcare news and link to resources.   Sites like MyMedPort.com also give healthcare employers and candidates a specific target audience to market and communicate.

EMPLOYER WEBSITE

When asked “what is currently the MOST effective way to recruit new employees”, an overwhelming three-quarters specified their employer website as the most effective tool over job boards, social media outlets, job fairs and print job postings.

PROS AND CONS

According to our survey, the main advantage of utilizing recruitment technology is to streamline the recruitment process. There are several disadvantages to contend with as well, including having too many unqualified candidates, impersonal communication with job seekers and not reaching all candidates such as those who do not use the internet. From the perspective of many job seekers, recruitment technology has caused irritation and become somewhat of a nuisance when applying for jobs. This comes from spending hours filling out online applications and never being contacted by the organization regarding their status.

CONCLUSION

In many ways technology has made our lives much easier.  About a third of recruitment professionals believe filling open positions has become easier compared to five years ago, while almost half believe it is about the same.

Like it or not, technology is a major player in the recruitment process. Both employers and candidates must learn and be open to maximizing the potential of these sources in order to be successful.

KEY SURVEY FINDINGS

Recruitment Technology currently utilized:
• 94% - Employer website
• 70% - Paid niche job boards
• 64% - Applicant tracking technology
• 52% - Paid major job boards

Type of job board most effective:
• 29% - Paid major job boards
• 23% - Paid niche job boards
• 17% - Professional association’s job boards
• 29% - None

Most effective way to recruit new employee:
• 76% - Employer website
• 11% - Job boards
• 5% - Social media outlets
• 5% - Job fairs

Percentage of recruitment process facilitated by technology:
• 65% - Seventy-five percent of process
• 17% - One-hundred percent of process
• 11% - Fifty percent of process
• 5% - Twenty-five percent of process

About RSG Health Services

From the very beginning, RSG Health Services has specialized in working with healthcare leaders who want to improve retention and talent selection. Using today's modern behavioral assessments and recruitment technology we take extra steps to align a candidates skills with the requirements of our clients in an effort to improve long-term retention. For more information, contact RSG Health Services at (800) 804-2345, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or www.rsghealth.com.