Based on SIA’s January Pulse Survey, travel nursing once again flourished in the month of December with participants reporting revenue up a median 37% year over year and a net 91% of firms reporting positive year over year revenue growth. Per diem revenue was up 7% year over year.
However, despite survey data showing that certain segments of healthcare staffing have been thriving business-wise since the pandemic began, there remain significant challenges from a people perspective. One report shows healthcare workers are having trouble getting vaccinated. Another report explains that foreign-trained workers are having difficulty getting licensure/residency in spite of the high demand for healthcare practitioners in many parts of the US.
Curious as to what might help all staffing firms perform optimally in the new year, we asked in the January Pulse, “In 2021, what factors do you believe will improve your ability to supply talent?”
Seven of the 19 healthcare responses (37%) pointed to the use of tech tools/automation, and four responses (21%) mentioned higher pay rates or better work incentives.
Here are two responses from healthcare staffing firms that highlight the necessary factors needed in supplying talent this year:
“Technology upgrades and additional talent acquisition specialists.”
“Complete transition to mobile technology for faster onboarding; clinical support for field staff as Covid exposure continues; quarantine pay for nurses put on quarantine by hospital; competitive pay packages.”
Technology was a theme in the previous December 2020 Pulse as well. We asked respondents about their spending on talent acquisition technology in 2020 (based on SIA’s Workforce Solutions Ecosystem: 2020 Update).
Seventy-one percent of firms serving the healthcare staffing industry responded that their talent acquisition technology spending per internal employee increased in 2020; 86% of travel nurse staffing firms and 78% of per diem nurse staffing firms increased technology spending.
For a breakdown of travel nurse and per diem staffing, 76% of travel nurse staffing firms increased spending on candidate engagement technology over the year, 67% increased spending on online job advertising and 62% increased spending on sourcing automation. More than half of per diem nurse staffing firms, 56%, increased spending on online job advertising, while 33% increased spending on each of candidate engagement technology, candidate processing technology, and candidate verification and assessment.
Looking beyond technology, let’s jump to the January Pulse again, where we asked about another important topic: the extent of temporary workers and internal staff working remotely vs. on site/in the office. Of staffing firms primarily serving the healthcare industry, 84% of temporary workers were working on a client site at the time of the survey, whereas 63% of internal staff were working remotely.
Seventy-seven percent of internal staff at travel nurse staffing firms were working from home at the time of the January survey, yet 99% of temporary workers at travel nurse staffing firms were working on site.
Keep looking out for Pulse data and trends in the coming months to see how healthcare staffing plays out. To participate in the next Pulse survey and receive the full report of results, go to our Surveys page.
Corporate members of SIA can download the January Pulse Survey Selected Highlights report here.
