The future of healthcare staffing? It’s already here.

Takeaways from SIA Healthcare Staffing Summit 2024

Across the many insightful sessions, strong camaraderie, and illuminating conversations at this year’s SIA Healthcare Staffing Summit, there existed a recurring theme: optimism. 

After a tumultuous few years following the pandemic — bill rates dropped 23% in 2023 alone — it’s refreshing to see the industry looking forward. But change is needed to remain competitive in today’s and tomorrow’s ever-changing environment. 

So, how can your firm forge success in this new landscape? Read on to see what we learned from this year’s conference, along with insight from SIA’s new The Credentialing Revolution report. 

2024’s key themes and challenges in healthcare staffing

While the industry shows promise of a rebound, it’s not going to be a return to business as usual. As outlined in event sessions, the industry is experiencing margin pressure from both health systems and MSPs, which is pushing it to become leaner and more cost-effective. 

On top of these challenges, the industry will undergo consolidation, and the firms that operate most efficiently will emerge as the winners. The closing keynote brought up a galvanizing point: the status quo is now antiquated. Change is inevitable, and embracing it is essential.

This “new normal” and related pressures are ushering in a renewed need to modernize. Companies willing to embrace new technology and practices will see competitive advantages in reduced drop-offs, more efficient use of time and money, and higher profitability. 

Event sessions centered on several key themes for remaining relevant in today’s marketplace:

• Cost effectiveness
• Faster placements
• Candidate experience

Credentialing and compliance are key parts of staffing. Gone are the days where the “back office” is an overlooked necessity. Firms are feeling a pressing need to modernize this often burdensome process so that credentialing becomes a strategic advantage. 

While 97% of staffing firms surveyed in The Credentialing Revolution considered credentialing a key priority, few believe their current systems are equipped for the challenges ahead. Struggling to adapt and modernize can place firms at risk of losing business.

Our takeaway? Modernized credentialing is crucial to becoming competitive in today’s environment. Technologizing your systems will contribute to a stronger candidate experience as well, differentiating your firm from competitors. 

The role of AI and automation in healthcare staffing

Eric Ly, LinkedIn Co-founder and KarmaCheck CEO, joined several other key opinion leaders for a panel discussion on this hot-button topic. Throughout the panel, he emphasized the importance of technology in the modern healthcare staffing landscape.

It’s no surprise that an HR Tech leader would advocate embracing new tech in healthcare staffing. But Eric recognizes that technology isn’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to addressing gaps in the industry.

Eric acknowledged that “AI isn’t a silver bullet” and stressed the need for a combined approach that incorporates high tech with high touch. Technology can streamline tedious processes, such as cutting down the manual work needed to track down a candidate's employment verification information. But human touch and expert industry knowledge remain essential.

As revealed in The Credentialing Revolution, 87% of staffing experts noted that they expect compliance to be the area most affected by AI in the next three years. At the same time, over 75% of credentialing leaders rated human contact as very important for the most common screening issues, showing a commitment to combining tech with high touch.

KarmaCheck aims to seamlessly blend human attention to detail with technological efficiency. On the tech side, KarmaCheck Wallet and our numerous ATS and HRIS integrations make credentialing and screening smoother and more efficient. On the human side, our experts assess customers’ workflows to find ways that simplify and expedite tedious processes with best practices and technology.

In summary, it’s all about using the high touch to make sure the high tech works. We need to maintain the human side to ensure that the tech is doing its job, making our processes more streamlined while minimizing error.

The next steps for healthcare staffing leaders

We can’t overemphasize how those looking to get ahead in today’s landscape should invest in technology and automation to optimize for cost and efficiency.

Technology can lead to an improved experience on the candidate’s end as well. As mentioned in our Ideas in Action breakout session, features like automated reminders, the ability to upload documents from one’s phone, and the option to choose clinic locations all lead to happier candidates and smoother screening processes. Firms that fail to provide a smooth candidate experience are likely to suffer from missed placements.

While it’s crucial to incorporate technology, the commitment to strong customer service and candidate experiences should never wane. We can’t lose sight of the marriage of high tech and high touch.

The Summit was a reminder of the collaborative spirit needed to address the biggest challenges in the industry. Let’s combine our brainpower to create a more resilient, forward-thinking industry that’s ready to weather change.

Ready to see how modern credentialing tech can give you these advantages? Talk to one of our experts today.