healthcare.

After being on the frontlines of a global pandemic for more than two years, it's understandable that today's healthcare workers are experiencing burnout — but how can their employers help them overcome it now that the pandemic appears to be waning? And how can those same employers find the talent they need in a marketplace so short on qualified health professionals — all while trying to navigate the peaks and valleys of healthcare's ongoing digital transformation? See salaries for today's top healthcare roles, and get answers to these questions — and more — in this chapter of our 2023 Salary Guide.

Healthcare workers were already struggling with long shifts, little downtime and high pressure before the pandemic. Now, three years after the initial outbreak of COVID-19, many in healthcare are reaching their breaking point — if they hadn’t already.

A 2022 study found that the number of nurses who reported being emotionally exhausted increased during each year of the pandemic, rising from almost 41 percent prior to the pandemic to over 49 percent in the pandemic’s second year. That same study found that interventions like adjustments to workload and schedules along with coaching can have a meaningful impact on reducing burnout, and healthcare employers may wish to consider implementing similar practices in order to keep their nurses healthy, happy and on the team. In fact, personalized on-the-job support has emerged as a top job seeker preference, with 50 percent of workers reporting in a 2022 Randstad survey that they’d be willing to speak with a professional career coach if given a chance. In addition to providing schedule flexibility, personalization is the name of the game for healthcare employers going forward, ensuring their team members are getting the support they need to press forward in high-stress roles.

The healthcare industry’s ongoing battle with talent scarcity may get worse before it gets better. Even with skyrocketing salaries, some providers simply can’t find the talent they need to keep their doors open. Meanwhile, amid inflation and rising costs, some providers have turned to contract workers to fill positions once occupied by full-time staff, and while that’s a wise choice in the near term, it may not be a viable long-term solution. To compete for today’s top healthcare talent, healthcare providers will need to not only pay competitive wages, but offer work-life balance benefits that can mitigate burnout.

For shift-based work, flexible scheduling will be key. Allowing workers to select shifts that fit into their schedules can help alleviate work-related pressures, and allow employees to devote their full attention to the duties at hand. For roles that can be completed offsite, remote work remains a powerfully attractive benefit for today’s workers. The rise of telehealth has made these options now more available to healthcare employers, and allowing employees to take on “digital” shifts from home can go a long way to preventing burnout.

Speaking of telehealth — and talent scarcity — the rush of digital transformation initiatives brought on by the pandemic showed healthcare employers that they could use technology to adapt to the crisis. However, adopting solutions like telehealth and improving EMR systems showed them that they also had to adapt their hiring plans, as well.

Providers need robust IT and cybersecurity teams, in addition to their traditional clinical, admin and support staff. Unfortunately, there’s a shortage of those workers, too — which means understaffed employers may be vulnerable to the kind of cyber attacks that are already having negative impacts on patient care. As with clinical talent, employers in healthcare need to offer competitive compensation and today’s most in-demand benefits in order to keep their patients, records and profits safe in 2023 and beyond. With the nature of the work being highly technical, employers should seriously consider providing either full-time remote or hybrid work options along with other market-leading incentives like childcare or flexible scheduling if onsite work is required. Tech talent is in high-demand, so healthcare employers will need to think and act like today’s most attractive tech companies to remain in play for top talent.

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