How Labor Market Analytics Drives Smarter Healthcare Recruiting

Workforce shortages across the country have resulted in strong competition for healthcare talent in specific roles and markets. According to a new study by Mercer consultants, a shortage of 100,000 healthcare workers is predicted by 2028. To address staffing challenges, hospitals are focusing on recruitment efforts to hire permanent staff and implementing data-driven strategies to better understand local labor market trends to recruit more effectively. 

About Labor Market Intelligence 

Workforce analytics include a wide variety of data points that support HR and talent management. Labor market analytics focus on metrics that identify local and regional talent availability, supply and demand, and compensation benchmarks. 

Hiring dynamics can vary widely across local markets, impacting an organization’s ability to recruit and retain staff. For example, salaries, benefits, and job perks can fluctuate based on regional supply and demand. Without understanding local dynamics, organizations risk not having competitive workforce strategies, over-reliance on costly contract labor, and missed opportunities to engage with top talent. With actionable local market intelligence, hospitals can engage with candidates more effectively, offer competitive benefits packages, and expand recruitment pipelines to meet staffing needs.

Labor Market Metrics Every Healthcare Organization Should Track

Understanding the importance of local intelligence is the first step. The next is identifying which metrics to track and how to use them effectively. To build competitive workforce strategies, healthcare leaders should monitor the following key labor market metrics:

1. Local Market Salary and Pay Rate Analytics 

Tracking local salary trends identifies how an organization’s compensation compares against competitors at local, regional, and national levels. Hospitals should identify whether salary or non-monetary benefits are necessary to attract top talent based on local market conditions.

2. Recruitment Activity and Open Positions at Competing Hospitals

Monitoring real-time job postings from competing hospitals provides an instant snapshot of local hiring demand. Local intelligence can inform proactive recruitment and retention strategies and help hospitals position as an employer of choice using competitive benefits and timely incentives.

3. Labor Market Supply-to-Demand Ratios 

Tracking the ratio of available talent to open positions helps predict recruitment challenges to determine whether the local labor market can meet staffing needs. For example, a low supply-to-demand ratio for registered nurses may necessitate strategies to attract out-of-market candidates or the need to develop internal resource pools. The market supply-to-demand metric can also identify underserved labor categories, such as new nursing graduates.

4. Time-to-Fill  

Time-to-fill metrics determine how well recruiting efforts are working during the hiring cycle, starting from when a job posting opens until a candidate accepts a job offer. A lengthy time-to-fill can indicate that there may be bottlenecks or inadequate sourcing practices that are affecting productivity. By continuously tracking time-to-fill, hospitals can optimize talent acquisition processes to help ensure hiring success and lower the risk of losing the best talent to competitors.

5. Competitor Perks and Benefits Packages

In addition to salaries, sign-on bonuses, quick pay policies, or tuition reimbursement are important benefits in a competitive labor market, and healthcare organizations need to identify how they align with current market trends and expectations. For example, offering childcare or flexible work options may be key to attracting top-tier candidates.

6. Job Qualification Benchmarks

By benchmarking against local job postings, hospitals can determine whether their job qualifications required for key roles ‒ such as degrees, licenses, or minimum years of experience ‒ are relevant compared to competitor job qualifications. Healthcare organizations should identify overly excessive requirements that may be excluding qualified candidates and limiting the talent pool. 

Local Healthcare Employer Ratings and Applicant Experience

A hospital’s reputation may also influence job seekers’ perceptions and decisions. Hospitals that regularly monitor online reviews and employee satisfaction ratings can identify competitive advantages or address potential threats to their image and brand. Hospitals should also ensure a positive job candidate experience throughout the initial application and recruiting process. AI-driven talent marketplaces that seamlessly connect job candidates and employers can serve as a digital front door for recruitment initiatives and be a key differentiator in creating a favorable impression that helps secure top talent.

Investing in Workforce Analytics Technology

To position your organization as a leader in workforce management innovation, it is important to integrate workforce management technologies that provide local market metrics to enhance talent acquisition efforts and achieve better hiring outcomes. Advanced workforce management platforms and HR systems may include real-time local market analytics within the product dashboard, putting actionable data at users’ fingertips. These technologies enable hospitals to respond quickly to changes in the market and develop more sustainable workforce pipelines. 

Final Thoughts

While local labor market analytics provide critical insight into external metrics such as talent supply and salary benchmarks, healthcare organizations will also benefit by assessing other workforce benchmarks including sourcing and recruiting effectiveness, flexible workforce management efficacy, and conversion efficiency. 

The future of healthcare hiring requires data-driven decisions to remain competitive. Hospitals that invest in market analytics can empower their recruitment teams to make informed decisions, meet ongoing staffing demands, and help set their organizations up for long-term success.