Labs need to rethink recruitment tactics to successfully hire younger workers
We’ve heard a lot anecdotally about the “Great Resignation”—a labor phenomenon rooted in the pandemic that has led to an abnormally large amount of workers, including lab professionals, quitting their jobs.
The trend has hit healthcare hard, as evidenced by the latest numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. From August 2021 through December 2021, the healthcare and social assistance workforce saw nearly 2.8 million workers quit—an average of 551,000 people each of those months. By comparison, in December 2020, 419,000 healthcare workers left their jobs.
Nearly 2.8 million healthcare and social workers quit their jobs from August through December 2021. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Anxiety from the pandemic is likely a contributing factor to some job departures. However, in clinical labs, other causes also are behind the abundance of open positions, such as early retirements, graduating individuals experiencing more specialized training programs, and a shift in the way the current working generation views employment, said Tara Luellen, Vice President of Laboratory Director Services at consulting and recruiting firm Lighthouse Lab Services.
“The lab industry has been hurt at the greatest extreme from this Great Resignation just in terms of the dire need for lab roles and the small pool of correctly qualified individuals in many instances,” particularly with COVID-19 testing demand, she noted.
Specialized Laboratory Roles Cramp Further Development for New Hires
Luellen explained that the labor shortage problem is exacerbated because fewer new lab technologists and pathologists are entering the field at the same time that many lab professionals are quitting.
Additionally, younger workers that do go into the clinical lab and pathology industry tend to be trained in specialty areas more so now than the broader training programs of the past.
“We don’t have as many individuals who are more broadly trained; instead, they’re very specialized,” she added. “So, it takes them years working at labs that do a variety of things to gain real-life, hands-on experience with other kinds of testing than that included in their specialty program, in many cases.”
“We don’t have as many individuals who are more broadly trained,” said Tara Luelllen.
‘They Want to Experience a Community at Work’
For clinical labs and pathology groups looking to fill open roles, it may be time to take action beyond just beefing up salaries.
Instead, look at what motivates lab professionals to come to an organization, Luellen suggested. She’ll explore the topic of how to successfully recruit new clinical lab leaders in further detail at her session during the 2022 Executive War College on April 27-28 in New Orleans.
One piece of advice she offered is for lab recruiters to carefully articulate to job candidates how an open lab director position or similar role may contribute to either the local or medical community. It’s also important to explain what type of culture an organization offers new employees.
“What we’re seeing is a big shift in what people are looking for,” Luellen said. “The compensation still has to be there, but it’s also a whole community that these people are looking for.
“They’re looking for more than just a 9 to 5, punch the clock, and go home gig,” she continued. “They want the job to enrich their lives. They want to experience a community at work. It’s a different paradigm in how they look at what work means for them.”
Brief Corporate History Slone Partners was founded in 2000 by Adam Slone. Adam recognized that the clinical laboratory industry was in need of search services that had a profound understanding of the nuances within this industry. Today, Slone Partners is a national search firm that provides a customized and expedient search process to clients that are committed to identifying and recruiting top talent. As the industry is expecting rapid developments in testing capabilities and the acceleration of the aging population continues, Slone Partners is well prepared to provide quality service to its rapidly growing clients that are seeking exceptional talent.
Short Bio on Principal Officers and Consultants
Adam Slone, CEO In 2000, Adam founded Slone Partners, one of the first executive recruitment firms specializing in the diagnostic and laboratory testing industries. After a decade of successful business development experience in the diagnostic laboratory industry, Adam recognized that his in-depth knowledge of this complex industry was necessary to help companies compete for talent. His industry knowledge and extensive contact base enabled Slone Partners to successfully place hundreds of professionals with clients in its first years of operation.
As the needs of the diagnostic and laboratory testing industries evolved, so did Slone Partners. In 2007, Slone Partners expanded its service offerings to include a comprehensive set of services, recognizing its clients’ desire to build and develop the skill set of its internal talent pool.
Adam holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Old Dominion University. Adam speaks regularly at some of the industry’s largest conferences.
Tara Kochis, Executive Vice President & Partner
Tara joined Slone Partners in 2004. She brings over a decade of solid healthcare experience to the company and she was consistently ranked as one of the top producing sales representatives with industry leaders such as VERSYSS, American Medical Laboratories and Quest Diagnostics. Her highly successful, award-winning sales career covered a wide variety of healthcare segments, including information technology, medical records and most importantly, the diagnostic and laboratory testing industries.
Prior to healthcare, Tara honed her recruitment skills in the banking and finance sector, expertly filling a wide variety of financial positions.
Tara’s executive recruitment skills, coupled with her extensive healthcare background, helps her quickly and accurately assess candidates for the benefit of Slone Partners’ clients. Her orientation towards action and persistence helps keep client searches moving towards completion. Tara graduated cum laude, receiving a Bachelor of Science, with a concentration in Human Resources Management, from Boston College. She is an active member of AACC, ACHE and CLMA.
Our work and clients are confidential. Our clients include smaller to mid size routine and esoteric laboratories. Approximately forty percent of our clients today are molecular and anatomic pathology laboratories. Our assignments range from building sales teams to building senior management teams.
