While hiring dependable healthcare professionals has always been a challenge, the pandemic has likely made your open roles harder to fill than ever before. An influx in patients to care for along with safety concerns has created the perfect storm for many agencies, so when it comes to finding top talent, you’ve got to do whatever you can to stand out.
We’ve put together some pointers on how to make sure your agency is a cut above the rest to help you attract the talent you need right now.
Make Your Job Descriptions Pop
Boring job descriptions may draw in some applications, but your applicants should want to work for your company. To make your company stand out from the competition, focus on the big picture of each role. Go into detail about what the role looks like and the requirements, but make sure to give an idea of how each role contributes to the overall success of your agency and the wellbeing of your patients.
Use visuals of your staff at work or your team doing something fun together. Try out video testimonials of what it’s like to work for your agency, or use video to showcase your culture and brand. This can be an easy way to break up text and show applicants what working for your company is really like.
Get Rid of Buzz Words
While you do want your job description to stand out, buzz words like “detail-oriented” and “team player” don’t give more clarity to the role, and are a given for almost any job, so there’s no reason to harp on it. Think about what information is truly helpful and important when describing your roles and company. Focus on what is absolutely necessary for the job seeker to know — like requirements, day-to-day tasks, compensation, benefits — and leave the rest for the interview process.
Don’t Be Too Casual
A study by LinkedIn that asked 450 participants to highlight the most useful pieces of information on three different types of job descriptions found that 42% had a negative response to casual job descriptions. A generic job description had a positive reaction from 75% of participants, so lean more toward a traditional tone than overly formal or super casual.
This means leave out trendy phrasing like “guru” and “ninja” and refrain from using hashtags. You want to sound human, but don’t go too overboard, especially if the casual tone doesn’t reflect your culture.
Build a Strong Brand and Reputation
The way your brand is perceived matters just as much to your employees as it does your customers. Applicants will check Glassdoor and other online resources to see what your company’s reputation is, so work hard to make sure your internal culture matches what you’re advertising in your job descriptions.
Likewise, providing a great customer experience will help you attract the best and brightest. No one wants to work for an agency that doesn’t value their patients. Ensure that your clients are taken care of with the utmost care and you’ll attract the industry’s top talent.
Aim For Diversity
Attracting a diverse workforce starts with the job description, so make sure you’re using inclusive language and descriptions that would attract all types of people. Use gender neutral language and don’t go overboard with requirements. Some roles, for example, don’t need to have a college degree, so make sure all requirements match the position, or you’ll miss out on highly qualified candidates. For more ways to make sure you’re attracting diverse candidates, read our post about diversifying your workforce.
Keep the Process Moving
The last thing applicants want is for the hiring process to take months. Hireology recently surveyed new hires to find out what they expect from the hiring process from start to finish, and we weren’t surprised to learn that 68% of healthcare applicants receive multiple offers from varying companies. If your process takes too long, top applicants have many other offers to choose from and will likely be lost to your competitors.
With Hireology’s mobile app, moving candidates that are a right fit through your hiring process has never been easier. You and your hiring team can instantly assess new candidates, move them to the next step in the process, and contact them via email, text, or phone call, all from your mobile device. You can even inform those that won’t be moving forward in the process of your decision with one simple tap which triggers a customizable email to be sent to their inbox.
Treat Your Candidates like Customers
The amount of respect you provide your customers with should extend to your candidates as well. The interview process is a two-way street, and while you’re trying to find the right fit for your team, your candidates are also vetting your company. Cut down response time, communicate often with your applicants so they know they are valued, and be on-time and prepared for interviews and conversations.
And when it comes to applicants that you don’t think are the best fit, make sure you communicate that to them. Ghosting applicants is the fastest way to get a bad wrap, so be respectful and let them know that you won’t be moving forward with their application.
Everyday brings new challenges to the healthcare industry, and your agency is probably feeling that deeply. But by making sure you’re attracting the right talent, you can stay afloat through all the uncertainty. If you’re looking for more ways to stand out in today’s hiring landscape, give our 2020 Applicant Experience ebook a read.
