Driving candidate engagement in an employee driven marketplace

The world of recruiting and hiring has changed. What have you done to compete in this employee driven market? What new approaches for recruiting have your put in place? What do your most recent hires say about your process? Has your volume of applicants increased?

Workforce challenges, including shortages and turnover, is not only a problem today, but forecasted to be a greater crisis over the next five years. The recruiting landscape has become an employee driven market with employers in competition with others just to ensure adequate staff ratios. How do you answer the question of “why should I come to work for you?”

I remember when my business partner and spouse Dr. Linda Shell entered the field of nursing. There were multiple candidates for each job opening. She applied with many organizations just to get an interview, let alone the job she really wanted. It was indeed an employer driven market at that time How times have changed!

If the key to successful recruiting is a well-prepared approach to an employee driven market, then you must take the time to access each step of the employee recruiting and hiring process and confirm each element is conducive to attracting the best and brightest. In simple terms you need to get a sales pitch down…yes, you are selling. In today’s marketplace recruiting and hiring is indeed a role of marketing, not simply HR or staffing.

Think about it…

1. How well are you prepared to complete for limited talent in an employee driven market?
2. Is your organization positioned to attract the best and brightest, or are you simply willing to take whatever comes your way?
3. How easy is it for someone to apply for the roles you have available? Is your online process simple and easy to use, or is it time consuming and discourages applicants?
4. What will applicants see when they check online reviews and social media posts? Yes, they will do this…and much more.
5. Is your organization’s mission, vision and values evident to candidates via social media? Are you living those out on a daily basis? The best applicants will be able to sense and observe if you practice what you preach.
6. Are your interview sessions a positive experience or simply a question and answer session where you do most of the talking?
7. Do you have a development plan in place for each application that you share with them at the time of their first interview?
8. Do you ask them about their professional goals and share opportunities for advancement with them during the interview?

You may wonder – Why are all these steps necessary? Are they going to leave us when a better offer comes along?

That is possible, and with most unprepared and poorly positioned organizations, this is a greater risk. But should you really be willing to simply settle for less than the very best for those you serve?

Are you willing to continue to bear the cost of time and valuable resources with constant turnover, or are you ready to enhance your recruiting and hiring process, taking incremental steps to not only attract, but also retain the very best?

Here are some suggestions for getting started:

1. Shop your organization from a candidates perspective – yes, I mean shop, just like you would for any significant purchase decision.
2. Play “the potential employee”
   1. Peruse your website and try to apply for an open position. Were you able to see all the positions available ? Was the online process simple to do and fast to complete (less than 3 minutes)? Did you receive a timely thank you and welcome via email after the online application process was completed?
3. Interview recent new hires to get their feedback on your recruiting process. What did they see as the pros and cons of the process?
4. Website and social media review. Access your organization as any potential employee would. What do you see that confuses or creates any areas of doubt? Is the vision and mission easily accessible?
5. Create caregiver features for your website and social media. Tell the stories of present team members and why they choose to work at your community.
6. Review your entire recruiting and hiring process. Simplify the steps, train the teams involved, get everyone on the same page.
7. Incentivize staff to share open positions with friends on social media pages.
8. Lastly, ask your staff if they would refer a friend to work for your organization? Be open to their feedback. Address any issues you come across. Your current employees are your best referral source.

In conclusion, workforce will continue to be a significant challenge, even more so in long term care. The question isn’t the challenges ahead (we can all see those) but the way in which we address the problem and turn it in an opportunity.

Think about this:

1. What will be your first steps to engage an employee driven marketplace?
2. What can your organization do today that will make it easier to attract the best of the best?
3. What will be your first move to fundamentally transform the way you approach the challenges ahead in workforce?

Email us at info@lindashell.com, we’d love to hear your thoughts and action plans.