Updated February 20, 2023
Basic Administrative Skills Test: Hire Medical Support Staff
The healthcare sector is growing at an unprecedented pace. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be approximately 2.6 million new healthcare jobs between 2020 and 2030, which is higher than any other industry sector. The number includes doctors, nurses, and medical support positions such as medical assistants, health aides, medical transcriptionists, and medical billers and coders.
Industry experts are asking who will fill all these jobs because there is an acute shortage of people with the required skills. Industry analysts say staffing shortages have cost hospitals $24 billion since early 2020, and the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) foresees the situation getting worse as the average population age increases.
An abundance of current and future open positions and a lack of qualified candidates means HR leaders in the healthcare industry are under a lot of pressure. They and their teams receive several employment applications. Reviewing them to find qualified candidates is time-consuming and unproductive.
They must also avert hiring mistakes. Wrong hires are harmful to an organization’s productivity. It negatively impacts the outcomes of patient healthcare. LinkedIn and the US Department of Labor state that a bad hire can cost up to $240,000 after considering team disruption, recruiting expenses, potential litigation, and customer goodwill.
It is why many healthcare organizations are adopting skill tests for medical support staff to simplify their hiring processes. By requiring applicants to complete basic administrative skills tests as part of the application process, HR teams can instantly eliminate applicants who do not have the necessary skills for a position and focus their efforts on qualified candidates. By automating applicant screening, they eliminate hours they would have spent reviewing resumes and scheduling interviews while streamlining their hiring process.
How Basic Administrative Skills Tests Help Health Care Organizations
Incorporating skill tests for medical support staff into your healthcare organization’s hiring process can reduce recruiting costs and decrease time-to-hire. When you review basic administrative skills test results, you can immediately see which candidates are best qualified for jobs and schedule an interview with the hiring manager.
An industry-leading solution like the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM provides access to a library of hundreds of pre-prepared skills tests. All you need to do is select the best match to your needs, add or delete questions as needed, and send it to applicants.
You can also build skill tests for medical support staff by selecting questions from several skills tests and adding your questions. For example, if you are recruiting administrative assistants and need candidates with strong data entry skills and a good understanding of HIPAA regulations, use the Administrative Assistant Skills Test and include questions from the Data Entry and HIPAA Privacy and Security Standards Skills Tests.
Many HR teams opt to include video questions so applicants can record answers to specific questions. It helps them evaluate skills that foreign language abilities, a written test, and verbal communication cannot easily measure. It is also possible to include simulations that replicate on-the-job scenarios. By observing how applicants perform, you can quickly determine whether they have the required skills to do a job.
For example, suppose you were recruiting customer service representatives and needed to ensure applicants were good multi-taskers and fluent in Spanish. In that case, you could use the Healthcare Customer Service test, include the Multitasking Simulation, and add video questions to test Spanish language skills.
Other Skills Tests for Medical Support Staff
The eSkill Assessment Library includes many basic administrative skills tests that HR teams can use to recruit applicants for specific support roles. For instance, hiring medical billing or coding specialists can require candidates to complete the Medical Billing or Medical Coding skills test. To ensure applicants understand both areas well, choose questions from both assessments that cover the areas you want to measure.
Other helpful skill tests for medical support staff include Medical Transcription, First Aid, Infection and Prevention Control tests, and Bloodborne Pathogens.
Final Thoughts
Since bad hirings are expensive and harmful for all organizations, it is vital to select the correct staff. These selections are made easy and accurate with the help of skill tests for medical support staff. These tests are a good investment for an organization’s future, and you can conduct them hassle-free.
Get Started with Skill Tests for Medical Support Staff
The number of available healthcare administrative support positions is increasing, and fewer candidates are in the talent pool. The staffing shortage problem will not disappear anytime soon. So, HR leaders need to use basic administrative skills tests to identify candidates best qualified for each job role.
If you are prepared to know how to build a high team with the help of skill tests for medical support staff, give us a call and request a demo.
