Hiring the right talent has been a task for years, but waiting months to fill critical positions? That’s even worse. In today’s fast-paced world, businesses can’t afford to lose top candidates to slow, outdated hiring processes. Recruitment cycles that go on for months lead to frustrated and disheartened candidates, decreased productivity and high costs. Global recruitment is a different ball game altogether, where the challenges are even greater and factors like visa processing, cultural adjustments, and compliance requirements add an extra layer of complexity and navigation.

The solution? A streamlined hiring process that cuts down recruitment cycles while maintaining sheer quality. Seems straightforward, doesn’t it? Or is it still just out of reach? Well, companies are already on the path, leveraging efficient hiring strategies, using AI and automation to drive talent acquisition in various industries like healthcare are gaining a competitive edge. One such example is TERN, which helps businesses secure top talent faster by simplifying the hiring process, driving quality and empowering candidates through proper guidance. With an AI-driven platform for candidates and clients, TERN connects employers with highly skilled professionals, reducing hiring delays via on the spot hiring while improving long-term retention.

Challenges in global hiring

Let’s cut to it - what’s the biggest challenge to global hiring? Slow and tedious processes. We know that abundance of staff in the healthcare sector is necessary to ensure effortless operations and patient satisfaction. Plus, it helps in time management, avoiding mismanagement, and overburdening. However, a healthcare workforce shortage may lead to malfunctions in the daily activities of a medical set-up. Here’s why: 

1. Work Overload: Naturally, as an outcome of reduced staff, there is an increased burden on the existing staff. This results in an overall surge in exhaustion and decline in productivity. Also, it means that the time required to complete a single task is increased, resulting in delays and inconvenience.
2. Threats to Patient Satisfaction: Additionally, the healthcare staffing shortage means that fewer people are attending to patients. Hence, leading to longer wait times, frequent visits to the hospital, mismanaged appointments, and troublesome follow-up schedules. Overall, this signifies a drop in customer satisfaction levels and hampers the organisational image.
3. Difficulty in Finding Fill-ins for Positions: Mostly, the hiring process is laborious, time-consuming, and stressful. When the current staff quits their job, organizations have to repeat the entire process of finding the right replacement. Plus, trusting anyone with primary positions like managers, trainers, and healthcare supervisors is not so easy.

The message to candidates is clear: slow hiring and lack of proper communications means that the company is indecisive and disorganised. In industries with talent shortages, a slow recruitment process can mean months of critical gaps, leading to increased reliance on temporary staff, contract workers, or costly last-minute hires. These inefficiencies drive up hiring costs while reducing workforce stability. The longer a role remains unfilled, the more resources are wasted in extended recruitment cycles, repeated advertising, and prolonged screening processes.

Urgency in healthcare staffing

Fast hiring in healthcare is critical and essential. Healthcare staffing challenges have become increasingly severe, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. A shortage of qualified healthcare professionals, especially nurses, has led to significant operational issues across many healthcare facilities. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, there will be a shortfall of 63,720 full-time registered nurses by 2030. This shortage is driven by factors such as an aging population, high turnover rates, and burnout among healthcare workers.  

Staffing shortages lead to overworked staff, increased patient-to-nurse ratios, and, ultimately, compromised patient care. Reports indicate that over 50% of nurses are considering leaving their positions due to burnout and stress in the US. 

If we talk about India, then as per WHO norms, the doctor to population ratio should be 1:1000 but India has only around 1 doctor per 10,000 population, highlighting the yawning gap. This not only affects patient outcomes but also incurs high costs related to recruitment, training, and temporary staffing solutions. 

‍Financial impact

The financial impact of slow hiring is often underestimated. It is clear that unfilled roles result in lost productivity, delayed projects, and missed revenue opportunities. Research by Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that, on average, it costs $4,700 to hire a new employee. However, the hidden cost of an extended hiring process—lost business opportunities, additional recruitment efforts, and disengaged employees—can be exponentially higher. 

Companies with slow hiring cycles may also see higher attrition rates, as top performers leave due to increased workloads and uncertainty about the company’s future. The ability to attract and retain top talent is no longer just an HR concern; it’s a strategic imperative that directly affects an organization’s bottom line. 

Global recruitment solutions call for innovative use of technology. Healthcare professionals around the world are now adopting AI-powered solutions to tackle recruitment-related challenges.

AI-based recruitment in healthcare

Forward-thinking companies are adopting new-age hiring strategies to shorten recruitment cycles while maintaining high hiring standards. Here’s how:

1.     AI-Driven Global Talent Acquisition

• AI-powered tools are revolutionising how companies identify, screen, and match candidates to job roles.
• Machine learning algorithms analyse past hiring data to predict candidate success, ensuring better job fit.
• Automated chatbots enhance communication, keeping candidates engaged throughout the process.

2.     Predictive Analytics for Smarter Hiring

• Data-driven recruitment strategies have emerged as a powerful solution for companies looking to optimise hiring time.
• Predictive analytics allow hiring managers to forecast hiring needs, assess skill gaps, and identify trends that slow down hiring processes. By integrating applicant tracking systems (ATS) with real-time data insights, businesses can reduce time-to-hire while improving overall hiring outcomes.
• Workforce analytics help recruiters understand patterns in candidate drop-offs, delays in decision-making, and inefficiencies in interview scheduling.
• Addressing these bottlenecks can make recruitment cycles smoother and faster, ensuring that the best talent is secured before competitors. Businesses that embrace data-driven hiring can proactively adjust their recruitment processes, ensuring scalability and efficiency even in high-demand industries.

3.     Automated Interview Scheduling and Screening 

• Scheduling interviews is a major bottleneck in hiring. AI eliminates the back-and-forth automatically coordinating interview slots based on candidate and recruiter availability.
• Conducting AI-driven video interviews that assess speech patterns, facial expressions, and responses to evaluate candidate fit.

4.     Leveraging Recruitment Automation with AI

• Automating repetitive tasks, such as interview scheduling and follow-ups, eliminates bottlenecks in the hiring process.
• Cloud-based applicant tracking systems (ATS) ensure seamless coordination between HR teams, hiring managers, and candidates.

Read more to discover how AI is transforming healthcare recruitment.

AI-powered hiring in healthcare: Case Study

The healthcare industry, most affected by slow hiring processes, is facing the brunt of challenges. A recent study by Mckinsey found that prolonged staffing shortages across healthcare institutions lead to higher patient risks and financial burden. What helped? One hospital system in the US implemented an AI-driven global talent acquisition strategy to combat these obstacles. By integrating AI-powered candidate screening, predictive analytics, and automated credentialing, they cut hiring time by 50%, reducing the average recruitment cycle from 90 days to just 45. 

Using this AI-driven hiring strategy was a game changer for the hospital - it reduced any staffing pain points and improved patient outcomes due to a better-aligned workforce. These hiring efficiencies also translated into significant cost savings and improved long-term retention rates.

Where does TERN come in?

Finding the right job isn’t just about matching skills to a role—it’s about long-term success. That’s where TERN comes in. TERN specializes in helping individuals secure their dream jobs by providing career coaching, skill development, interview preparation, and personalized guidance. 

Unlike traditional recruiters, TERN’s AI-powered recruitment platform goes beyond job matching—it ensures candidates are fully prepared for long-term success. Using advanced data analytics, TERN identifies ideal role placements, reducing early turnover and costly rehiring. The platform continuously adapts to evolving global hiring trends, optimizing recruitment strategies for employers and job seekers alike. By leveraging AI-driven insights, TERN streamlines the hiring process, ensuring faster, more accurate talent placement in competitive markets.

Contact TERN Group to know more about the AI-recruitment platform and find the right match for your candidate or job!

Speed vs. Quality in Hiring: Why You Need Both to Win

In a competitive hiring landscape, speed alone isn’t enough—quality must keep pace. Organisations that move fast without sacrificing precision will have the edge. The right approach ensures that hiring quickly doesn’t mean settling; it means securing the best talent before the competition. Organisations leveraging AI-driven hiring, data-powered insights, and proactive talent engagement are redefining recruitment. Whether in healthcare staffing, tech hiring, or global talent acquisition, organisations that balance speed and quality in hiring will drive the future of global talent.