11 Apr Healthcare IT Staffing vs. Talent Acquisition: There is a Difference
What is your organization’s long-term plan for acquiring top healthcare IT talent? If your answer is job boards, candidate databases, or hiring a staffing firm, you don’t have a long-term plan for success. Why?
Because if you’re focused on just staffing your organization, you’re not hiring with the future in mind. You’re hiring for right now. As you’re about to see, planning for now, without an eye toward the future, can cost your company big bucks.
What is the difference between healthcare IT staffing and talent acquisition?
When it comes to healthcare IT staffing, all most organizations know is traditional recruiting, which, by definition, is passive and reactive. Here’s how it works: a company calls a staffing firm when it has a vacancy and needs to fill a role, fast. The firm, in turn, consults its database of candidates who are available, looking for work and have skill sets that are mostly in line with what the client needs. The recruiter identifies individuals who appear to be a match on paper–and presents candidates for the position.
In traditional staffing, time is of the essence. Because the client must fill the vacancy quickly, the recruiter doesn’t have a lot of time to determine whether the candidates they’re presenting are actually a good fit for the organization. As any hiring manager knows, “fit” isn’t just about credentials; it also has to do with a candidate’s personality, needs and desires and whether or not they complement those of your organization.
Because of its highly reactive nature, staffing is a short-term solution to your healthcare IT staffing needs. And if the candidate is not the right fit, it’s a very costly, short-term one, too.
Healthcare IT talent acquisition—which 1st Solution USA specializes in—is, on the other hand, recruiting with an eye toward the future. It’s about visualizing where you want your company to be years from now and filling a pipeline full of talented individuals to help you get there.
Talent acquisition is an on-going process, where you’re always looking for the very best talent and finding ways they can fit into your organization. It’s harder than it looks. Can you guess why? It’s because
The most talented and best qualified candidates are not actively looking for work
The healthcare IT talent you want and need to propel your organization forward is very likely already working for one of your competitors. They’re not hanging out on job boards or slinging resumes over databases.
But even though the perfect candidates aren’t hanging out in plain view, an experienced talent acquisition specialist knows where to find them. Most important, they’re willing to invest the time necessary to build relationships with candidates who might not be interested in being wooed away from their current places of employment.
Simply put, talent acquisition specialists focus on the long-term growth of your organization.
When should you develop a healthcare IT talent acquisition strategy?
Ironically, when your organization is fully staffed. Only then can you get an accurate picture of your company’s strengths and weaknesses. When you’re working at full capacity, you can glimpse areas where you’d like to grow, improve, or expand. You can contemplate your “nice to haves,” when your necessities are met, and that gives you a competitive advantage.
The difference between staffing and talent acquisition is more than just semantics. It really is the difference between planning for now and planning for the long-term success of your business. As seasoned healthcare IT talent acquisition specialists, we at 1st Solution USA are more than qualified and happy to help you identify and find your ideal talent. Contact 1st Solution USA today for more information or to get started.