I am pleased to have Maggie Keen, VP of Strategic Initiatives at mycnajobs.com, as a guest writer for this week’s newsletter. Maggie speaks frequently on the topic of caregiver recruitment and how senior care companies can position themselves for success. Read her analysis of the caregiver recruitment market. Learn what you can improve to get to the finish line first!

The Caregiver shortage is the #1 threat to business growth in home care. And the biggest challenge to recruit caregivers might be the clock.

Imagine your staff has just completed an interview with a lovely caregiver candidate who is a good fit for your agency. You are thrilled at the idea of having them join the team. As the candidate walks out the door, the race against the clock is on. Only agencies with streamlined processing systems will come out on top.

New research shows the importance of processing times after a candidate has completed the interview. A national study of 100k+ caregivers, CNAs, and HHAs conducted by myCNAjobs and compiled in the 2018 Caregiver Trend Report: Get Competitive Edition found 54% of caregivers don’t wait more than a few days after an interview before interviewing with another company, with 27% not waiting at all.

The same study also found caregivers are now receiving 3 or more calls a week for work. By the time that caregiver you just interviewed gets to their car, a competitor is calling to offer them work. Home health agencies and senior living are not your only competitors in the recruitment market. Fast food, retail, and more are also going after the same workers to join their ranks. Every one of them is also competing against Father Time. So what steps can you take to win in the race for talent?

Start processing right away

The quicker you start the vetting process, the quicker you can get candidates to work. Set aside time after each interview to start right away. Don’t wait to do it the following morning. Get started on the background and reference checks right after interviewing a successful candidate.

Streamline processes

Examine what your agency currently does to process candidates. Look for opportunities to streamline. Consider using technology to your advantage. Digital reference checks are a great example. While traditional reference checks take a week or more, using an online processor can trim this process down to just a few days.

Communicate clearly

Any ambiguity will hurt your chances of hiring. Tell candidates where they stand in the recruitment process. Mention what the next step is. Tell them early if they need to take action on their own. You need to rise above the noise. Candidates often have hectic schedules, may be working multiple jobs, and are definitely getting multiple calls a week for new job opportunities. It takes work to keep them engaged and across the finish line of starting working for you. Check out the Interview To Hire Guide from myCNAjobs.

Speedy orientation

It doesn’t matter how quickly a candidate is processed if they are required to wait ten days until the next scheduled orientation. New hire orientation is critical in both retention and quality of work from care staff. Providing a high-quality, engaging orientation should be a priority. However, a rigid and infrequent orientation sessions mean you are losing out to competitors operating with a higher sense of urgency. Too often agencies delay scheduling an orientation until they have five new hires, only to find out that four of them have left for other opportunities by the time the orientation happens.

Clearly, there is no single improvement that will drastically change the face of your recruitment. But when it comes to caregiver recruitment, every little bit counts.

Remember, even a few hires will have a positive impact on your ability to provide quality care and your bottom line. For more insights like these, the myCNAjobs 2018 Caregiver Trend Report: Get Competitive Edition is available for free download, as well as the Interview To Hire Guide mentioned above.