Are you struggling to recruit new talent to fill positions in your senior living organization? Then it’s time to revamp your recruiting process to attract the talent your community needs.
There’s a small pool of talent and high demand for workers in the healthcare industry, so you need to ensure your recruiting process is as effective as possible. Otherwise, you may miss out on some amazing potential candidates.
Understanding the Recruitment Funnel
Your goal is to attract applicants to your open positions, get them to apply, hire them and keep them at your organization. One way to think about this process is the recruitment funnel, which has four steps:
- Attract
- Engage
- Hire
- Retain
Let’s look at each step and how you can get the best results to move the most applicants through the funnel.
Attracting Candidates
You’ll need to cast a wide net to make sure enough potential applicants know about your open position while also making sure you’re reaching the right people.
Let’s say you don’t see many applications come through for an open position. By doing some research, you may find this could be due to poor traffic on the job listing, which means it needs more promotion.
You may be on the wrong channel - maybe you're posting on Indeed but missing out on Facebook or Instagram. Maybe your ads aren't targeting the right audience or geographical area - if the wrong people are seeing your ads, it's a waste of spend.
Or, your posts are getting a lot of traffic but few applicants. The issue could be a vague or lackluster job description, a complicated application process or a website that’s not user-friendly.
Once you figure out where things are going awry, you can change your recruiting process to make it more efficient and successful.
Related: SEO for senior living - 10 tips to rank higher on Google >>
Engaging Your Applicants
Too many organizations think that once someone has applied, their recruitment work is done. Not so fast!
I get it - you’re busy, and it takes time to get back to the applicants and schedule an interview. But by the time you get back to them, the applicant may have moved on to the next job opportunity.
There are many resources and tools you can use to reach out to candidates immediately so they know you’re interested.
Are you using AI tools or automation to help you reach your applicants in a timely manner? If you have a tool that emails or texts them right away, are you crafting a unique message to them? Do they know the expected next step in the process?
Many applicants aren’t receiving clear communication after applying and are unsure of the next steps, causing them to move on to the next opportunity.
Hiring Candidates
You may have noticed more and more job-seekers dropping off during the hiring process. This means that quality candidates are leaving your talent pool.
Why is this? You may be failing to engage with these candidates early and often enough.
Senior living organizations can have a longer hiring process due to the nature of the industry. If the steps and process are unclear, the candidate will be confused and possibly look for another opportunity.
A better strategy is to clearly lay out the recruiting and onboarding steps for them to bring them clarity and comfort in the process. Don’t delay in making an offer or explaining why the candidate isn’t the best fit for the position. Candidates are applying to multiple positions and reviewing multiple job offers, so if you’re slow to respond, they may move on.
Retaining Talent
Setting the stage for your employees to stay, grow and thrive begins on their first day - or even before.
Having clear preboarding and orientation processes that take place even before the official onboarding can make sure the new employee knows what to expect and that the culture is the right fit. Even if it’s not, they can choose to leave before you spend more time and resources training them for a position they may not stay in.
During this process, you can continue to take advantage of technology to make the process smoother for the employee and easier for you. For example, if all employees need to take harassment training, you can set up a digital training or video series they can complete at their own pace.
Consider a mentor program or buddy system as well to pair more experienced employees with new ones. Studies show that having meaningful relationships at work contributes to workplace happiness and engagement. So, help create those relationships from the beginning.
Buddy or mentor programs are not a substitute for management. The buddy should also receive training on their role; the last thing you want is someone passing along bad habits and information to a new hire.
Next Steps: Where Do You Need To Improve?
Out of the four steps in the recruitment funnel, which one do you think is your organization’s biggest weakness?
Is it attracting enough people, engaging them during the hiring process, the actual hiring process itself or retaining them?
If you’re struggling with filling the gaps in your recruitment funnel, or you’re just not sure where to begin, our new digital course can help. This course is completely free, on-demand and self-paced. You’ll learn:
- Why your senior living recruitment strategy may not be working
- How to uniquely position yourself as an employer of choice
- Ways to generate candidates through digital marketing
- How to boost interest through traditional marketing
- Ways to increase engagement prior to hiring and during the hiring process
- How you can improve your employee onboarding and retention program
Sign up and get ready to boost your recruitment marketing efforts!
