Is your recruitment process engaging enough for care professionals?

Today’s candidates are searching for jobs with a strict set of criteria in mind, refusing to settle for anything but the best opportunities. In fact, according to CV-Library research, 64% of care professionals said that there are areas that they wouldn’t be willing to compromise on when job hunting. For this reason getting your recruitment process right is vital if you hope to attract the top talent. With the skills gap also causing problems for many organisations across the sector, ensuring you have a sleek and engaging recruitment strategy is key.

 
What’s putting candidates off?
 
The first step to identifying how you can streamline your recruitment process is to understand what is putting care professionals off in the first place. Unfortunately, many organisations are falling at the first hurdle, with one in five candidates being put off by unclear job descriptions advertised by companies. And it’s no wonder. Job hunters have to look through a stack of ads during their search, so it’s important that your posting contains only the key, relevant information and is easy to read. Be sure to outline the basics: the location, the salary, what the role entails and the qualifications/experience necessary. This will enhance your chances of talented and qualified candidates applying to your vacancy, instead of having to wade through a pile of irrelevant CVs.
 
A further one in five care professionals admitted that they are put off by low advertised salaries. Though this can’t always be avoided, particular in an industry that is battling ongoing cuts, it is important to try to offer fair salaries.  If you are aware that what you’re advertising is not the most competitive, be sure to shout about and workplace perks and company values that make your organisation unique. The salary might not be the deciding vote for a care professional; many candidates also want to work for a business that holds the same values as them, and where they feel they’ll be appreciated.
 
Finally, in a world where we’re used to thing instantly, it’s unsurprising that one in 10 are put off by lengthy hiring processes, and stringing it out could mean that potentially great care professionals lose interest in you and move on to another opportunity.. While some roles may require longer interview processes, there are steps you can take to keep the momentum going. Where possible, screening candidates with an initial phone call before an interview can save both of you a lot of time and effort when it comes to the next stage.
Are you engaging enough?

 
According to our findings, the majority (91.9%) of care workers think organisations should do more to keep candidates engaged throughout the recruitment process – but it’s important to find the right balance. After all, some candidates don’t take too well to being contacted every few days, while some want to be kept in the loop through all stages – so how can you go about getting the right balance?
 
Interestingly, nearly half of professionals in the care sector (42.2%) believe that organisations can keep them engaged by offering constructive feedback after the interview. While it sounds simple, many organisations don’t do this, but giving feedback post-interview is extremely important as it stops the candidate being left in the lurch wondering if they’ve got the job, and reduces the risk of them losing interest in your role. Not only that but it’s a great opportunity to let them know what the next stage involves if you do plan to move ahead with their application.
 
As previously stated, conducting an initial telephone screening before booking in an interview can be beneficial to both the organisation and the candidate as it saves both parties time and effort. It’s therefore unsurprising that a quarter of care professionals (26.5%) said a screening call would help to keep them more engaged. And finally, 23.5% of workers said that organisations should send them over an email the day before the interview to confirm the date and time. Having just that small bit of contact ahead of the interview enables candidates to know you’re still interested, keeps them engaged and also ensures that you both get the time and date correct (mistakes can happen!).
 
We live in a culture where we expect everything to be almost instant, and this appears to be carried through into our working lives. It’s clear that care professionals know what they want, and they expect to be kept in the loop throughout the recruitment process. It’s vital to engage your candidate at every step of the way to reduce the risk of them losing interest and looking elsewhere. By streamlining and perfecting your strategy from the start (nailing the job advert and setting out a clear process) you increase the likelihood of attracting talented care workers to your company.