Key Workforce Trends in Non-Clinical Healthcare for 2025

December 3, 2024

The healthcare industry job growth reached a three-decade high in 2023¹, yet strong headwinds such as cyberattacks, claims backlogs, tightening budgets, inadequate technology and other factors are influencing the non-clinical healthcare labor market as we approach 2025.

Brandon Martin, President of Harmony Healthcare, an Addison Group company, shares his perspectives on key workforce trends for the coming year. His insights are drawn from Addison Group’s, 2025 Workforce Planning Guide, along with leveraging Harmony’s extensive network to facilitate over 200,0000 annual conversations with both active and passive candidates. This wealth of real-time market intelligence enables Harmony to provide practical advice to customers and candidates, ensuring they stay head in today’s rapidly changing labor market.

Executive leadership trends

While most non-management staff in mid revenue cycle and population health have been remote for several years a new trend is emerging with virtual leadershp roles. Nearly 80% of Harmony’s talent network of interim leaders traveled less than 5% of their overall engagement in 2024. With cost containment being a significant priority for healthcare organizations, the opportunity to save on travel costs and, instead, utilize platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams allow for sufficient collaboration and coaching without sacrificing productivity and results. In addition, more organizations are increasingly hiring permanent leaders that live outside of a daily commute and often in different states altogether.

AI’s impact on the non-clinical labor market

It is impossible to know exactly when certain roles will be replaced or reduced because of AI innovation but we do know that it’s a matter of when and not if. Instead of ignoring reality, healthcare organizations should start preparing by getting acquainted with the tools that are available in the market and also staying on top of the future product roadmap of AI companies. Harnessing the power of AI and data analytics has benefits outside of reducing labor costs for employers. Identifying & exposing employees to tools that can improve performance, work at the top of their license, and have a better overall job satisfaction and engagement will be a key factor in our capability to attract and retain the best talent and creating more value for our customers.

Increased demand for healthcare technology professionals

The evolution of AI and digital transformation is quickly increasing the demand for professionals who are adept at learning and applying these new technologies. The integration of technology like electronic health records, telehealth platforms, and AI-powered tools is creating new job opportunities for tech-savvy healthcare workers This includes roles in health informatics, data analytics, telemedicine, artificial intelligence, and other tech-driven fields.

The downstream effects of the nursing shortage

The Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) forecasts that the nursing shortage will peak around 2027² and it’s safe to assume downstream affects could impact several markets including clinical documentation integrity, case management and appeal writing to name a few. Although the potential effects are alarming, there is an opportunity to create programs that infuse new talent into the market and help recent graduates and nurses exiting bedside roles to develop new areas of expertise. For example, Harmony Healthcare does not provide clinical staffing services but approximately 40% of its 400+ employees are licensed nurses.

How Harmony Healthcare drives healthcare excellence

Since its founding in 2010, Harmony Healthcare has been a trusted partner by healthcare organizations providing talent solutions across coding, audit/validation, clinical documentation and revenue integrity, oncology data management, trauma registry, and care coordination. Over the past five years, Harmony has developed value-added solutions by hiring dedicated internal experts that oversee managed service offerings and lead project-based work ranging from new program development, change management, process improvement, and more. A key to Harmony’s success is its hyper focus and in-depth understanding of labor markets across the services it offers.

We’re eager to help your organization! Harmony Healthcare provides talent solutions and expert consultants within population health, reimbursement, and health information technology. Let’s start a conversation today!