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10 Tips for Warp Speed Hiring in Senior Living By Julie Rupenski, Founder & CEO, MedBest
- By: Barbara Miller
- On: 05/16/2022 10:25:45
- In: Human Resources
- Comments: 0
Hiring senior living professionals has always been challenging. However, in this intense talent market, it's even more so. The pressure is on to fill key senior care positions despite stiff competition and candidates who have plenty of choices and options.
That said, gone are the days of interviewing and hiring at a snail's pace. It's time to review your hiring process and cut any unnecessary steps to pick up the pace. Speed in hiring could be your magic bullet for landing talent before your senior living competition snatches them up.
Hiring senior living professionals has always been challenging. However, in this intense talent market, it's even more so. The pressure is on to fill key senior care positions despite stiff competition and candidates who have plenty of choices and options.
That said, gone are the days of interviewing and hiring at a snail's pace. It's time to review your hiring process and cut any unnecessary steps to pick up the pace. Speed in hiring could be your magic bullet for landing talent before your senior living competition snatches them up.
Now, we're not suggesting that you skip the thorough vetting and hiring process needed to make a thoughtful decision. Rather, as senior living executive recruiters, we recommend that you make a commitment to speed. The average nationwide time it takes to fill a key position is 25 business days and conversely, the best candidates are off the market in 10 days.
Hiring faster improves your chances of acquiring top talent before they accept a competing offer. It also strengthens your position as a senior living employer of choice and saves the high cost of keeping key positions open for a long period of time such as Assisted Living Administrator, Nursing Home Administrator, Executive Director, Nurse Leader, etc.
Here are 10 Suggestions on How to Increase Your Speed in Hiring:
- Write Accurate Job Postings. Know who you're looking for. Be very accurate with your job description to attract the right candidates. Be sure to include keywords to increase the chances of your job showing up in search results. List requirements for the job and then, make the case for why they would want to work for your senior living organization. Include what's important to today's workers: Flexibility, Extra PTO, Employee Wellness Programs, etc. If your long-term care facility offers shorter and flexible shifts, highlight it. Employers have found that by advertising their job opportunities with “flexible hours” they receive twice as many inquiries and applicants.
- Post Jobs to Social Media. Post your open positions in front of the people you're seeking to hire. The quickest way to do that is to go where they are…on social media including LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Also, consider posting on senior living association job boards such as LeadingAge and Argentum. Posting jobs on these platforms helps to increase the visibility of your jobs and therefore, can help you capture candidates' attention in a speedy manner.
- Involve Your Employees. Notify your employees of an urgent job opening that must be filled immediately. Post the job opening on your organization's Intranet, website career page, or bulletin board. In addition, create a rewards program where current employees receive referral bonuses when recommending a candidate who is ultimately hired. The most attractive bonus is cash. However, some organizations prefer to reward employees with gift cards or extra time off.
- Implement Recruitment Software. The days of sifting through resumes and job applications to find that one perfect candidate have ended. Today, it's about powering your recruitment processes with the right technology in order to speed up the hiring process, grow your database, decrease paperwork, keep track of job applicants, increase hiring quality, and more.
- Implement Live Interviewing Tool. An automated video tool helps organizations to screen more candidates in an expedient manner using video interviews before in-person interviews. This is a smart way to shortlist candidates and save time. A live interview tool will allow you to connect in real-time for a face-to-face interaction. Plus, you will be able to record your live session and as a result, share it with your management team for their input so time isn't wasted.
- Reduce Number of Interviews. If a highly qualified candidate meets your criteria and shows interest in working at your organization, act quickly. Again, start with a virtual interview and then, find a way to shorten the length of your next steps. One way is to decrease the number of managers involved. Also, cutting out any unnecessary steps or delays will save time. Any delays during the interviewing process can cause candidate frustration and a loss of interest.
- Consider Off-Hour Interviews. When conducting an in-person interview, consider same-day interviews as well as off-hour interview times such as evenings and weekends. That makes it ultra-convenient for employed candidates or passive candidates to interview. The more convenient, the more likely they will be impressed and show up. This will cut down on the chances of a candidate ghosting you.
- Focus on Candidate-Engagement. Keep your candidates interested! Stay in touch with your candidates by communicating often. This builds trust and a relationship. Show genuine interest about what they're looking for personally and professionally. The feeling of being mismanaged or badly treated during the hiring process significantly reduces your chances of landing any candidate.
- Check References Sooner. Often, references aren't checked until an offer is about to be made. But there's no reason to wait that long. Ask for references from your top candidates much sooner, so you can start calling sooner.
- Hire a Reputable Senior Living Search Firm. Professional and reputable senior living search firms have access to a network of highly qualified industry talent, both active and passive candidates. Some recruit for both permanent and interim placements. They already have an existing pool of vetted talent, understand the senior living skill sets required at all levels, possess the acumen to evaluate CV's and resumes along with the ability to identify the right fit. They work in an expedient manner and in the strictest of confidence.
In today's intense senior living job market where competition for talent is stiff, if you don't reduce the time it takes to make a hire, you stand to lose top talent. Make sure your senior living organization recognizes the need for speed when hiring.
https://www.medbest.com/10-tips-for-warp-speed-hiring-2022/
ABOUT MEDBEST
MedBest is an award-winning national Executive Search Firm exclusive to the Senior Living Industry established in 2001. We recruit and acquire exceptional senior care talent, permanent and interim executives, for the full continuum of LTC facilities across the US including Assisted Living CCRC, Life Plan Communities, Independent Living, Memory Care, Home Health Care, and Skilled Nursing. Contact us at 727-526-1294 / jkrupenski@medbest.com
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