BE A HIRING WINNER IN A WORLD OF CANDIDATE COMPETITION.
Unless you have been living alone in a hospital basement for the last 2 decades, you have probably heard someone talk about a nursing shortage. You may have even heard us mention this Groundbreaking Study confirming that patient satisfaction and care improves with the use of supplemental or travel nurses. However, for some hiring managers, either clinical managers or those in HR, hiring travelers can be a little frustrating.
Maximizing the benefits of using temporary staffing (getting the biggest bang for your hiring buck) really boils down to sourcing the best candidates and bringing them on-board quickly. With so many options out there for top performing travel RNs, your recruiting process MUST be evaluated for efficiency. A single wasted hour can mean the difference between a fantastic new hire starting the next week or your core staff continuing to struggle with critical census rates and high patient risk.
With 17 years in the business, we know that there are a few top motivating factors that drive a nurse’s decision to accept a particular travel job or to keep looking.
- Pay: Which you may or may not have input on.
- Location: Your hospital isn’t moving anytime soon.
- Unit/Shift/etc: Also not really controllable factors.
- Engagement from Hiring Manager:… WAIT! This is something you can influence!
Nurses and Allied Health pros may sometimes appear be a fickle bunch, but they are typically bombarded with offers from multiple agencies and will quickly jump on a job that meets their needs. We frequently present “the perfect job” to a travel nurse and have them get all fired up about the opportunity, only to spend days waiting on the hiring manager to interview. Then it could be another few days before we hear about an offer. Unfortunately, these managers are offering a position to a nurse that has already accepted another travel assignment somewhere else. This highly qualified healthcare professional has slipped through your fingers, and now the process must start all over.
Just a few simple steps can DRASTICALLY increase the offer acceptance rate and reduce the number of missed candidates. It all really boils down to feedback.
1. Prompt notification that the candidate’s profile is being reviewed. Set up an email template, call the staffing agency, find some way to quickly let the candidate know that they are “On The Desk”. The fact that they know they are being considered can be enough to make them hold off on accepting other offers.
2. Phone Interview immediately after the candidate’s profile has passed review. Don’t wait until the next day, don’t have lunch first. Make the call! A quick response by the interviewer gives candidates the feeling of being desired, and when they feel needed they may also feel more obliged to wait for an offer from you.
3. Have the power to make an offer to qualified candidates immediately at the end of the interview. If the offer must come from someone other than the interviewer, make sure that call gets to the candidate within an hour of the interview. You can be sure that good candidates will be getting a job offer from someone. You have a better chance at a hire if your offer is extended without delay.
Take a look at everyone involved in the hiring process at your facility. They ALL must possess a real sense of urgency in hiring! Have a plan for shortening the hiring process and execute it.
If you would like to speak with an account manager about your hiring process and how it compares to other hospitals in your area, click here or the link below. We greatly appreciate your feedback on this post!
