What solutions are then available to improve the nursing shortage? (continued)
Let us discuss the Group 2 recruitment and retention practices. If you want to fill more positions, get better quality candidates, and decrease the time to hire, there is more to it than a great recruitment software. Here are some of the best recruitment strategies you need to use (in the next post I will discuss contingent workforce and I will end with a discussion on retention):
- Improve the language your institution uses to attract candidates. You can either appeal to a large range of diverse candidates… or not. In a market with a large deficit the options need to be broad.
- Work on your institution brand. Branding is perhaps the most important element in attracting, hiring, and retaining great nurses.
- Create a “refer a nurse” program. Employee referral programs should get the credit they deserve. This underused hiring tool is the secret weapon of some hospital’s recruiters. Setting up a quality employee referral program does not cost much, and you can get results quickly.
- Simplify and delegate: The top talent is usually gone from the job market in less than a week. That means your institution needs to know how to hire quickly and make the right offer fast.
- Go for passive candidates: there is no lack of passive candidates. Our research shows that more than 1/3 of the nursing workforce would gladly change their job for a better opportunity. Bear in mind that passive candidates will not be as motivated to apply, and definitely not under a cumbersome process!
- Improve your job interviews: nurses that are being interviewed need to be sold on the institution and the role. This is where many recruiters and managers fail miserably.
- Reach out to applicants from the past. Those candidates that did not get hired or did not commit could be your best asset for recruiting.
- Reach out to previous employees. Hiring nurses who worked for your institution before may not sound like a terrific idea, but if they left on good terms, they may be the perfect candidate for their old role, a different role, or a new role higher up on the ladder.
- Make internal mobility a priority: while creating an internal mobility program might not be the first thing that comes to mind it helps in attracting and retaining nurses looking for institutions that help them develop their skills and fulfill their professional aspirations.
