The most effective healthcare recruitment strategies

Recruiting skilled nurses is one of healthcare’s top talent challenges. A nationwide nursing shortage is causing real problems for healthcare providers who need to maintain a productive and knowledgeable workforce. With so many options for employment, nurses have their pick of a wide assortment of jobs, making it increasingly challenging for employers to attract top talent. To ensure a steady talent pipeline, organizations need superior healthcare recruitment strategies that can both attract and retain talented personnel.

Bright Horizons is a leader in creating and implementing education management programs. We support healthcare recruitment strategies with tuition reimbursement programs, on-site child care, and back-up care benefits that can help to recruit top talent and improve engagement in the workforce.

Why healthcare organizations need recruitment strategies for nurses

Industry projections suggest that the current nursing shortage may soon reach into the millions. As they seek to increase patient satisfaction and improve the quality of care, healthcare organizations need strategies that can address the most significant needs of their nursing staff and potential job candidates.

Nurses often struggle to find a comfortable balance between their work and home lives. Many are caring for young children as well as aging parents, and the demands of managing family responsibilities can add pressure to a job that is already quite stressful. Nurses also want to pursue the kind of training and education that can help advance their careers and increase earning potential. Still, the realities of student debt and challenging work and family schedules often make that pursuit impossible.

It’s no wonder, then, that education and family support are among the most popular employee benefit trends – and the most effective healthcare recruitment strategies. Employers who provide programs like nursing tuition reimbursement and on-site child care can help to significantly reduce the stress and improve the lives of nurses, attracting and keeping more talented workers. 

Healthcare recruitment strategies from Bright Horizons

For more than 30 years, Bright Horizons has been a leader in creating and implementing employee benefits and workforce development programs for companies in a wide variety of industries. Today, we help employers pursue a variety of healthcare recruitment strategies to successfully address nursing shortages. Our offerings include programs that help medical professionals advance their careers and benefits that promote a more successful work/life balance while assisting organizations in maintaining a workforce with the skills to compete in a complex marketplace. More than 175 of the nation’s top healthcare providers depend on our solutions to build talent pipelines and maximize productivity in the workplace. 

Education benefits for nurses

Research shows that education for nurses improves patient outcomes, and today’s nurses are highly motivated to learn. An educational assistance program is one of the most potent healthcare recruitment strategies for employers. Bright Horizon’s tuition reimbursement programs present nurses with a streamlined path to a degree or certification, removing financial barriers while helping to learn relevant skills that benefit both workers and employers.

Benefits of Bright Horizon’s tuition reimbursement for nursing programs

• Expert Administration: Bright Horizons’ tuition assistance programs are based on a clear understanding of the critical skills needed in an organization, the educational institutions that can provide them, and the learning style of employees. Organizations benefit from a powerful administrative platform that offers customized eligibility rules, multiple tuition payment options, and detailed analytics on participation, retention, and other outcomes.
• Education Access: Bright Horizons has partnered with over 220 non-profit universities and certification providers that offer exclusive discounts for employees and a variety of learning options. Vetted for quality and fit, our partners offer both in-person and on-line programs to accommodate the schedules and the preferred learning methods of nurses. 
• Personalized Coaching: Our expert advisors, well-versed in tuition policies and program options, guide nurses toward educational choices that align their career objectives with employers’ critical skills needs. With superior success coaching, nurses can maximize tuition discounts and find the fastest paths to completion.

In addition to tuition assistance programs, Bright Horizons can help employers establish a student loan repayment program to promote financial wellness for employees while meeting organizational talent recruitment goals.

Family benefits designed for healthcare workers

Working parents make up a significant portion of the nursing workforce. Studies show challenges at home cause considerable stress and an inability to concentrate on the job. Consequently, dependent care is one of the most effective retention strategies for employers, helping nurses to find a more manageable work/life balance, and avoid burnout caused by competing work and family demands. The family education and care benefits guide and building a child care center guide provide insight for solution and vendor evaluation. Our dependent care solutions include: 

• On-Site Child Care: The lack of high-quality, affordable child care is a serious challenge for healthcare workers, leading to distraction and absenteeism. By offering on-site child care, employers can free working parents from the stress of managing child care while increasing retention and improving recruitment.
• Elder Care: A growing number of nurses are caring for aging parents or other elderly relatives, and the emotional stress of these sensitive situations can hinder job performance. Elder care services support nurses by providing in-home and center-based options staffed by trained and vetted caregivers. 
• Back-up Care: Family emergencies and unexpected events can cause disruptions at work, impeding productivity and compromising an organization’s standard of care. Employers can help nurses solve crises quickly with comprehensive back-up care options. Bright Horizons provides back-up care for children, elders, and other family members needing special attention, with in-home and center-based care provided by qualified caregivers. 

FAQs: What are healthcare recruitment strategies?

What are healthcare recruitment challenges?
The shortage of skilled nursing professionals has created a highly competitive environment for recruiting top talent. Nurses have endless options for employment, causing many employers to attempt to hire nurses away from other organizations. To successfully recruit  and retain skilled workers, healthcare employers must offer the kind of benefits and workplace culture that is highly attractive to this in-demand talent pool.

What are the most effective healthcare recruitment strategies? 
Educational assistance and dependent care are among the most effective healthcare recruitment strategies for employers. Structured programs for tuition reimbursement enable nurses to pursue additional training that can advance their careers and increase their earning potential, while providing dependent care for children and elders can help to reduce the stress of balancing work and family obligations.