Job Boards vs. Data-Driven Databases: Which is More Effective for Physician and APP Recruitment?
In part I of 3 Strategies to Avoid Physician and APP Staffing Shortages, we looked at why physician and APP recruiting can take such a long time and examined some of the tools physician and APP recruiters have available to make the job more efficient and effective. In part II, we explore the benefits and challenges associated with online healthcare job boards and data-driven databases.
Online Healthcare Job Boards
In this market, physicians and APPs know they have options for where they go. Utilizing an online healthcare job board might be one of the most competitive strategies to mitigate staffing shortages because your open position has the potential to be seen by such a wide variety of candidates. That’s also what makes online healthcare job boards so beneficial – they allow you to reach potential hires you might not otherwise come across during your job search. They aren’t without their challenges, though.
Benefits
- Broader candidate pool
- Many are free
Challenges
- They are potentially costly – Some healthcare job boards require not only monthly or annual subscription fees, but there could be a cost associated with posting job ads. You might also need to pay to access a candidate database.
- You might spend more time reviewing candidates – When you choose to utilize online healthcare job boards, your internal recruiting team will need to allocate time to vetting the applicants. And if you go this route, there will likely be more to vet.
- There are a lot of specialty-specific job boards – This means your team might need to budget and allocate time to managing multiple job boards.
Intelligent or data-driven databases
The utilization of intelligent or data-driven databases is starting to pick up steam, and I’ve seen some real growth in this area. Where healthcare facilities tend to see the most return is when they’re hiring specialists because they’re getting access to a smaller subset of clinicians. However, facilities typically don’t see the return for general practitioners, primary care physicians or family medicine providers, so if you’re seeking these candidates, it might not be the most effective resource.
Benefits
- Some provide pre-screening interviews – This feature will save your internal recruiting team time.
- Provide more benefits than a job board
Challenges
- Often more expensive than job board subscriptions – If you’re utilizing more than one, these costs will start to add up.
- Not as comprehensive as full-service recruiting firms
Learn how permanent and temporary physician and advanced practice staffing firms can complement your staffing strategy in part III of Top Strategies for Avoiding Staffing Shortages.
To read more of the series in the coming weeks, be sure to follow LocumTenens.com on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About the author
Alan Ashby
Vice President, Primary Care
After starting his career at LocumTenens.com in 2008 as a Research Consultant for the Surgery Division, where Alan quickly moved up the ranks to Managing Director. In November of 2016, he transitioned to the Primary Care Team where he served as Managing Director until being promoted to Associate Vice President. In 2018, Alan became Vice President of the Emergency Medicine Division and in 2021 Vice President of Primary Care, continuing to oversee Emergency Medicine. Since joining LocumTenens.com, Alan has been the recipient of numerous awards, including “Producer of the Month” and “Manager of the month,” and was recognized as the 2012 LocumTenens.com Producer of the Year. Alan graduated magna cum laude from Georgia State University in 2005 with a B.B.A. in Risk Management and Insurance. Prior to joining LocumTenens.com, he spent three years in the insurance industry serving small- and medium-sized businesses with commercial insurance planning.
