Healthcare Recruitment

Yesterday I had the opportunity to listen in on a webinar about setting up a recruiting function in healthcare. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to enjoy the entire presentation. But, what I did hear was important and is worth discussing.

Our speaker was prepared with some interesting data from customer surveys she had conducted. She reported the following applicant to hiring ratios:

• RN's: three applicants for every one hire (3:1)
• Support Staff: ten applicants for every one hire (10:1)
• Allied Health: five applicants for every one hire (5:1)

She was also an advocate for pay-for-performance. The recommendation was to set monthly recruitment goals and then bonus pay the recruiters for exceeding those goals. I had a bonus program at one of my recruiting jobs. However, it was difficult to meet the goal because much of the process was out of my hands.

Another interesting point that was made was the number of applications that go unreviewed due to the volume of electronic applications that recruiters receive. I believe the number was "thousands". She did make a good point. All applications should be reviewed within 24 hours of receiving them. This is a great goal and very achievable if you use good time management.

The speaker also discussed a recruiting tool that is rarely used today. The email address. This is a technology that has great potential in that you can contact the masses with a simple click of the mouse. Recruiters today don't mine their applicants like they should. If you tell your applicants that their information is active for 30 - 60 - 90 days or a year, then you should be sourcing through that information.

Sourcing in applicant tracking systems should be easier than ever. Many have resume search capabilities. The ATS I used has saved searches so I can set my criteria and the system sends me the applicants right to my inbox.

The point I'm trying to make here is that we have tools, resources and abilities to get the job done. As recruiters we need to use all of these things to make our jobs easier. But so many of them fight for the way things used to be. We don't live in Kansas anymore... get used to the way things are.