Digital transformation: New perspectives for human resource management in health care

Over the years, the health care sector in Quebec has experienced significant growth, primarily driven by the ageing population and the increasing demand for care for chronic and acute health issues. However, this remarkable expansion faces a major challenge: unmet labour demand, an issue already present and amplified by the recent pandemic. The need to meet this demand for qualified personnel remains urgent to ensure a strong and functional health care system.

In this context, how can we improve the management of internships and job offers in the health care sector in Quebec to address the ongoing challenges related to recruitment, retention of qualified personnel, and the optimisation of training and employment opportunities?

Recent figures from the labour force survey reveal a striking surge in vacant positions in this field, rising from 52,700 in the fourth quarter of 2019 to an unprecedented peak of 95,800 in the fourth quarter of 2022. These startling data highlight the recruitment and retention challenges faced by the health care sector, requiring innovative solutions to effectively manage internships and job opportunities.

Critical industry context

The health care industry in Quebec is currently undergoing significant upheaval following the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the labour force survey highlight the major impact of this health crisis on the health care workforce. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the health care sector experienced an unprecedented spike in vacant positions. This massive increase presents major challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified staff, raising crucial questions about human resource management in this vital industry.

The pandemic has also led to a significant rise in absenteeism among health care workers, particularly nurses. On average, these professionals recorded 19.5 days of absence in 2020, an increase of 4.6 days compared to the previous year. At the same time, overtime and workloads have significantly increased, leading to growing fatigue and burnout among health care staff. These increased pressures on health care employees have led to a stronger intention to leave their jobs, particularly among nurses (41.6%) and personal care attendants and caregivers (23.5%). These indicators reflect the persistent challenges facing the health care sector, highlighting the urgent need to rethink human resource management strategies to address the shortage of qualified labour and burnout.

Critical industry challenges post-crisis

Data from the labour force Survey starkly reveal the major consequences of this crisis on health care staff. These revelations highlight key issues that the health care industry must urgently address.

The recruitment and retention crisis of qualified staff:

The significant increase in vacant positions is severely affecting the ability to attract and retain competent staff, posing obstacles both for internships and for staffing needs to meet available jobs. This situation requires more effective and strategic human resource management to optimise their use.

Increased absenteeism and burnout:

This affects the quality of supervision for students in training. More appropriate management of internships could help alleviate this burnout by ensuring a balanced distribution of workloads and providing adequate support to health care professionals in training, thereby improving the practical experience of students.

The growing intention to leave employment:

A problem caused by the pressures on health care staff raises issues of retention. This impacts not only the continuity of internships but also long-term employment prospects. More strategic management of job offers and career opportunities could create an attractive professional environment, thereby promoting the retention of qualified personnel.

The skills gap:

There is a gap between academic training and the expectations of the health care job market. This underscores the need for better coordination between training programmes and the real needs of health care institutions. More prudent management of internships could facilitate a smoother transition for students into the workforce, reducing skills gaps and improving the adaptability of new health care professionals.

In this context, it becomes imperative to adopt more effective management of internships and job offers in the health care sector in Quebec. An innovative and better-coordinated approach can play a crucial role in mitigating these challenges, thereby creating a professional environment better suited to the evolving needs of this vital industry.

The rise of digital tools in health care

The transition to digital transformation in managing processes such as internship and job offer management in the health care sector offers revolutionary perspectives for solving existing problems and optimising recruitment, training, and retention processes for qualified personnel. Here's how these digital tools can provide concrete solutions:

• Centralisation and accessibility: Digital platforms centralise job offers and internship opportunities, providing 24/7 access to a wide range of candidates and students. This centralisation facilitates the visibility and dissemination of vacant positions and available internships, offering increased transparency for all actors in the health care sector.
  
  
• Optimising recruitment, training, and retention processes: The tool ensures the tracking and validity of certifications, training renewals, and evaluations of salaried operators, thereby guaranteeing rigorous document management. This is essential to ensure the safety of every workplace.
  
  
• Profile personalisation and matching: These tools allow candidates to create detailed profiles, including skills, qualifications, and professional preferences. Through advanced algorithms, they can be matched with job offers or clinical internships corresponding to their skills and professional goals, thereby promoting more appropriate and effective matches.
  
  
• Process automation: Automating repetitive tasks such as collecting applications, scheduling interviews, and tracking applications frees up time for recruiters and internship managers. This increases the efficiency of the selection and internship management process, allowing for more judicious use of human resources.
  
  
• Data analysis for proactive management: Digital tools provide advanced analytics and reporting tools. By analysing recruitment trends, training paths, and the needs of health care institutions, these tools allow for anticipating future personnel needs and adapting training programmes accordingly, ensuring a better match between supply and demand.
  
  
• Optimising integration and skills: These tools promote optimal integration of new employees by reducing training times. By enabling comprehensive documentation of workstations, they encourage versatility and adaptability within teams, thus facilitating better skills management and optimisation of available human resources.
  
  
• Improving user experience: These platforms offer an improved and intuitive user experience, simplifying navigation, information search, and communication between various stakeholders: health care institutions, training schools, students, and candidates. This promotes a smoother and more effective exchange of crucial information.
  
  

The digitalisation of internship and job offer management in the health care sector represents a major step forward in addressing current challenges. By integrating digital tools that offer centralisation of opportunities, profile personalisation, process automation, advanced data analysis, and user experience improvement, this transition provides concrete solutions to meet the challenges of recruitment, training, and retention of qualified personnel. These tools not only optimise existing processes but also revolutionise the way actors in the health care field interact, thereby facilitating a more transparent, agile, and efficient ecosystem. The implementation of these digital solutions thus offers a promising path to meet the changing needs of this essential industry, ensuring a more robust future aligned with the demands of health care in Quebec.

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