12 Best Practices for Actively Recruiting Senior Care Providers

The #1 challenge senior care organizations will face this year is solving the employee recruiting crisis. If you or your recruitment team is guilty of making ‘panic hires’ and/or sitting behind a desk sifting through thousands of resumes garnered from a public job-site – you are doing it wrong!

With the competition mounting and the tight labor market showing no immediate sign of lessening, senior care leaders are realizing that effective recruiting is the key to their success.  Many are adopting a more flexible and diverse approach to their recruitment practices to meet these challenges. Below, we have compiled a list of 12 best practices for actively recruiting senior care staff:

1. Implement the 80/20 rule

Spend 80% of your time actively recruiting employees and 20% of your time interviewing them. The best way to accomplish this goal is to mark-off one day on your calendar every week dedicated to interviewing and onboarding. Utilize the other days to plan and implement active recruiting strategies.

2. Poll current clients

Ask each client, “Can you tell me about your favorite care provider to date?”  Ask if they remember the individual’s name, and do your best to reach out to that person via LinkedIn or a quick Google search.

3. Get social

Start with LinkedIn. Add current staff to your network and start to mine their contacts for potential new hires. Reach out with a personalized invitation to connect.

4. Consider a pay differential for weekend and second-shift employment openings

Start by presenting your most current team members with the opportunity to accept this work. If they accept the position, it means a pay raise for that staff member, the most difficult shift is filled, and your focus turns to filling the easier employment gap. If no one is interested, current staff will be more understanding of you offering a pay differential and looking outside the company to hire for these shifts.

5. Contact local churches, synagogues, and places of worship

These tight-knit communities often know of members looking for employment. Ask if you may utilize their newsletters, bulletins, etc. to advertise open positions. Offer free refreshments after one of their services and present your employment opportunities to attendees.

6. Reach out to high schools, community colleges, CNA/nursing schools and universities

Contact the career coordinator at each school. Offer to do a résumé-building or interview skill-building presentation on-site for their students. Spend five minutes at the end of the presentation discussing open opportunities and providing details on how to apply.

7. Host an out-of-the-box job fair

Who says a job fair must occur at the office? Instead, host a casual event at a coffee shop, favorite lunch spot, or nearby park. Invite current employees to bring friends interested in open positions.

8. Create a recruitment video

Include employee testimonials, discuss the company’s mission and goals, and add glimpses into the unique benefits your company offers.

9. Request feedback

Conduct a survey of each new hire. Ask for immediate feedback related to your recruitment and hiring practices.

10. Schedule off-hour interviews

In senior care, our caregiver and clinical candidates may work odd hours. To accommodate these individuals, consider offering weekend or evening interview sessions once a month.

11. Develop an employee referral program

Employee referrals are the #1 source of quality candidates for the most successful organizations. Educate current employees on the positive impact of referrals and set up an appropriate incentive structure for referring candidates.

12. Revisit low-hanging fruit

Utilize a tracking system to manage each and every candidate.  Create a call schedule to reach out to quality candidates, who, for whatever reason, didn’t join your team initially.