Top 3 recruitment challenges for healthcare companies

Recruitment in healthcare is under more pressure than ever. In fact, it would not be an understatement to say that today, it’s one of the toughest sectors out there. Aging populations, rising demand for services, and a limited talent pool mean healthcare providers are under constant pressure to hire and retain staff. For many organizations, this leads to longer patient wait times, heavier workloads on existing staff, and higher turnover costs. 

Based on insights from our 2025 Nordic HR and Recruitment Reports and close work with healthcare employers, we’ve identified the three recruitment challenges leaders highlight most. 

1. A lack of qualified professionals

Healthcare faces a critical shortage of nurses, doctors, and specialists. Retirements are accelerating, and too few young professionals are choosing healthcare careers to replace them. At the same time, the skills gap is widening with new technologies, digital patient systems, and advanced treatments requiring competencies that aren’t always available in the market. 

For our healthcare customers, this shortage means longer hiring times, understaffed departments, and a constant risk of burnout for the people already in place. 

What can companies do? 

• Partner with universities and nursing schools to create early pipelines
• Invest in upskilling and continuous training for existing staff 
• Highlight career stability, purpose, and growth opportunities in job ads 
• Offer relocation support and incentives for hard-to-fill roles 
  

I speak with HR teams in healthcare who are eager to break out of reactive mode. The organizations that invest in building long-term talent pipelines are the ones truly leading the way in overcoming the shortage

Britt Gelderblom, Customer Success Manager at Talentech  

2. High turnover and staff burnout

Even when roles are filled, retention is a major pain point. Long shifts, high patient loads, and administrative demands lead many healthcare workers to switch employers or leave the profession altogether. And what is the result of this? Constant rehiring and disrupted care. 

We see this reflected in our healthcare customers’ recruitment data. High turnover drives up costs, increases time-to-fill, and makes it harder to maintain stable teams and patient trust. 

Burnout and turnover aren’t abstract HR metrics in healthcare. they directly affect the continuity of care. When teams are constantly understaffed, patients feel the difference, and so do the colleagues left behind. That’s why retention strategies, from onboarding to career development, are just as critical as sourcing new candidates.

Britt Gelderblom, Customer Success Manager at Talentech

What can companies do? 

• Strengthen onboarding to create early engagement 
• Promote flexible scheduling and mental health support to reduce burnout 
• Build clear internal career paths, so employees see long-term growth 
• Use structured exit interviews to understand why staff are leaving 

Retention, especially in healthcare, shouldn’t be just about benefits. The aim should instead be to create an environment where healthcare professionals can see a sustainable future for themselves and therefore want to stay. 

3. Complex and slow recruitment processes 

Healthcare hiring is often slowed down by fragmented systems, manual credential checks, and heavy compliance requirements. For candidates, this can mean long silences, confusing steps, and a poor first impression. For employers, it means losing talent to faster-moving competitors. 

We often hear from healthcare leaders that by the time approvals and paperwork are complete, strong candidates have already accepted other offers. 

What can companies do? 

• Centralize recruitment in a single platform to reduce manual work 
• Automate routine tasks like background checks, scheduling, and reminders 
• Standardize workflows across departments to ensure consistency 
• Give hiring managers real-time visibility into the process 

What's next?

Healthcare recruitment will never be without its challenges, but it doesn’t have to stay reactive. By addressing shortages, tackling turnover, and modernizing processes, providers can build stronger teams and deliver better care without constant staffing crises.

At Talentech, we partner with healthcare organizations across the Nordics to:

• Build long-term talent pipelines with education partnerships and talent pools

• Reduce time-to-hire through automation and centralized workflows

• Strengthen retention with smoother candidate journeys and clear career growth paths

Explore how our recruitment solutions support healthcare teams HERE.