The healthcare industry often hears about the physician shortage, but health IT workers are also in short supply.
A December report from Burning Glass Technologies found job postings for health informatics workers tend to stay open longer than the national average posting.
An October 2014 survey from Robert Half International, a staffing firm, found inadequate salary and benefits is the top reason employees quit. John Reed, senior executive director of Robert Half Technology, the IT staffing sector of Robert Half International, told CIO that compensation is almost always the top factor when it comes to recruiting and retaining IT talent. He said employee prospects tend to accept the job that offers more money, even if it is just a little bit more.
Charles Christian, vice president and CIO of St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, Ga., and CHIME chairman, said in the CIO report that candidates have walked away from job opportunities due to pay being below what they want. Mr. Christian tries to include benefits such as job stability and flexible schedules to make up for the difference in pay, according to the report.
Mr. Christian did say that sometimes they will adjust pay for a potential employee. "There were times we'd bend the pay scale because someone had a skill we needed," Mr. Christian said in the report.
However, pay doesn't always have to be the main indicator of job recruitment or retention. Shafiq Rab, MD, vice president and CIO of Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center, said in the report that when an employee's pay is within $15,000 of market rates, the No. 1 factor in retention is the relationship with direct mangers. Pay, he said, is No. 2.
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