Direct Sourcing – Can It Fix the Long-Term Care Hiring Crunch?

Since the beginning of the pandemic, staffing shortages at long-term care facilities have been a massive problem, and it looks to be no closer to a solution than it was nearly three years ago. Due to the high demand for qualified talent and the growth of locations, CNA, LPN, and nurse staff are working extreme overtime, and this is pushing individuals away from entering the field. Long-term care facilities are dependent on these roles and with an US average of 54% turnover rate, it is critical to implement hiring models, such as direct sourcing, to support the demand.

The state of staffing in long-term care

According to the latest survey by the American Health Care Association, 86 percent of nursing homes and long-term care facilities are experiencing a moderate to severe staffing shortage. The survey states that roughly 307,000 jobs were lost between February 2020 and December 2022 in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

In the last nine months, the growth rate of jobs in nursing homes and long-term care facilities has been incredibly low, with an average of only 3,700 jobs created per month. At this rate, nearly 52 percent of nursing homes and care facilities will not be able to continue operating for more than a year. The shutdown of nursing homes will not only displace senior residents but rob communities of equal access to care facilities that they desperately need.

Another adverse effect of staffing shortages is that long-term care facilities and nursing homes are limiting resident admissions, which limits the potential success of any care business. As a result, hospitals are facing backlogs since they cannot discharge patients and send them to care facilities, which, in turn, is impacting hospital staff as now they need to take care of more patients with limited resources.

What can be done to fix talent and recruiting in long-term care?

Apart from immediate recruitment and solutions, long-term care facilities and nursing homes also need investments and programs from policymakers to push people to apply for jobs in these facilities. The government can frame solutions that reduce the cost of care while including clear incentives for people working, and looking to work, in this sector.

Traditional staffing and recruitment solutions are failing long-term care facilities and nursing homes in dire need of fast, targeted talent recruitment and onboarding. The problem lies with the outdated database of established vendor managed services (VMS) and MSP systems that require hiring managers to personally find and reach out to candidates while negotiating the terms of the job.

While this process can seem effective, each day that passes where a vacant position appears and goes unfilled, the stress and work of existing healthcare staff in nursing homes and long-term care facilities increases. This can lead to severe burnout and force nurses to resign.

For facilities, this can affect the quality of care, lower the number of admissions, and lead to less revenue year over year. Compared to traditional staffing, direct sourcing with someone like SkillGigs helps you fill job roles faster while reducing the operating costs and time taken to select, screen, and onboard new candidates.

How is direct sourcing different?

To be direct, — direct sourcing is when companies and facilities alike search for and recruit their own talent rather than enlist third-party headhunters. And the most efficient method in implementing a direct sourcing program is by leveraging a talent marketplace, like SkillGigs. Potential candidates register on our talent marketplace and create their profile with information such as their work experience, education, skill certifications, personal details, and preferred job location among others. By aggregating all the data in one place, candidates get an attractive data-based profile – called a SkillGigs 3D resume – which captures an accurate picture of the talent without the problematic biases of other methods.

Unlike other job boards, direct-sourcing with a talent marketplace uses algorithms like those of ridesharing and dating apps to match the right candidates. The platform collects information about the market conditions, supply and demand equation, pay transparency, work hours of nurses, and other data to help both recruiters and workers make better decisions.

Powered by AI and real-time data, hiring managers find it easier to compare candidates and choose the best one for the role, while talent is more likely to be matched with a job that they’re satisfied with. Also, hiring managers for long-term care facilities can choose from a very large pool of candidates that are available ASAP. That means both their temporary gigs and full-time jobs fill up quickly, ensuring that the facility or nursing home is never short on staff when they need it most.

Using a talent marketplace is a better option than traditional staffing solutions because they provide all the candidate-related data in one place that is verified, accessible, and not colored by an individual recruiter’s biases. Data that becomes obsolete is invisible in the system, which helps you hire legitimate registered nurses, travel nurses, and CNAs in time to meet the high demand for nursing home and long-term care labor.

What is SkillGigs?

SkillGigs is a fast-growing IT and healthcare talent marketplace that allows you to browse millions of profiles of registered nurses based on seniority, experience, salary, and other important parameters. Simply bid for the ones that best fit your requirements, and in return, they provide the best care to the residents of your nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

Contact SkillGigs today for a free demo and consultation that could show you a newer, better way to hire.

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