The New Zealand healthcare sector continues to grow and evolve, and opportunities for those looking to enter the industry are on the rise. Roles such as health and social services, medical and technical support, and allied health professionals are all areas that are seeing an increased demand due to the aging population and increased demand for specialised care.
The rapid growth in the healthcare sector in New Zealand is driving a shortage of skilled workers and employers face an increasingly competitive hiring market. Candidates are shopping around and applying for multiple roles simultaneously – all which place pressure on hiring managers to make faster decisions and ensure a smooth employment experience.
Like many healthcare systems around the world, New Zealand’s healthcare system is also under immense pressure due to clinician burnout, patient dissatisfaction, and rising costs.
Employers competing for staff in such an environment may face internal pressure to cut back on pre-employment screening and compliance checks to help reduce administrative overheads or perceived delays in the process.
While this may seem like an intuitive solution, the downstream effects of reduced screening are more likely to add to the administrative burden when dealing with poor hiring choices, increased performance management, challenges in procedural compliance or patient care, or even extreme outcomes that involve legal or reputational damage.
The reality is that the regulatory landscape and public expectations dictate thorough background checks and screening processes as an essential element of the healthcare hiring process.
In our work across health and social care, I’ve seen the benefits that a proactive and positive approach to screening brings in terms of simplifying and standardising hiring and ongoing workforce management.
– James Sutherland
For employers, comprehensive background checks provide insight into a person’s past experiences and qualifications and go directly to reducing the risk of placing an unsuitable candidate in a sensitive role. Background checks can include credit reports, criminal history searches, employment verification, and educational verification, and will uncover any reports of negligence in a previous role.
Brand equity and streamlined, candidate-centric hiring processes are increasingly important factors in the competition for talent. However, the ideal response to these competitive pressures is to create cross-functional processes that optimise internal administrative processes and engage with a specialist employment screening partner who can assist with an integrated and brand-aware screening program.
Providing a safe workplace and patient environment is a key priority for HR and OH+S teams alike. Working together with an experienced screening partner, people and culture teams can engage in initiatives or policies to alleviate hiring pressures while providing more accessible care options for all.
Whether you’re a business or an individual looking for assistance with background checks or screening processes in New Zealand’s, our team has over 17 years in the workforce screening and verification space and is here to help you onboard and comply.
