It’s no secret that there is a nursing shortage in the US. Every day, healthcare facilities and organizations strive to find qualified candidates to meet the needs of their patients. If your assisted living facility is experiencing difficulties attracting and retaining quality nursing staff, there are some steps you can take to change that. Here we offer six tips to find nursing candidates for your assisted living facility.
Finding the right candidate to solve your nursing shortage means defining the type of staff you wish to attract. What roles are you looking to fill? Do you need RNs, LPNs, and CNAs? Someone more specialized? What areas of your assisted living facility are under the most stress or in most need? Use this information to help hone down the type of candidate, then apply these six tips to find the right nursing candidates for your staff.
1. Utilize Job Boards
Job boards relevant to nursing candidates offer a great opportunity to attract the right nurse for the job. But it’s best to work on your post and finesse it in a way that attracts the nurse you need.
- Include the job title in the post header
- Use keywords that attract candidates who are looking for the job you offer. Is the position part-time? full-time? Do you need a CNA or RN? Someone certified in wound care? These keywords tell the candidate exactly the type of employment you offer.
- What is the minimum level of education/licensure/certification required?
- Convey the basic duties of the job.
2. Consider Partnering with A Nursing Program
Offer clinical hours for CNAs in training. In doing so, you provide a pipeline to your assisted living facility upon graduation. And the onboarding process for those candidates familiar with your facility is much easier.
3. Use Your Employee Referral Program
Never, ever downplay the importance of an employee referral program. In fact, according to research published by LinkedIn, employee referrals are far more likely to get the job and save your organization time and money. Invest in a strong employee referral program that rewards your current staff, and your return on investment will prove amazing.
4. Alert Your Local Nursing Schools
When you connect with local nursing schools, community colleges, and CNA programs, you have direct access to recent graduates hungry for employment. Your candidates come to you eager to work and hit the ground running. Attending job fairs at the schools, connecting through social media, supporting school programs, and making sure your presence is recognized in your community are all great ways to get the attention of recent graduates as well as more experienced candidates.
5. Focus on Retaining Your Nursing Staff, and Candidates Will Follow
Of course, your assisted living facility will always need to hire nursing staff, but when you focus on retaining the quality nurses you already employ, attracting potential new hires will be far easier. How do you effectively retain your current staff? Here are some tried and true strategies.
- Offer flexible schedules
- Implement a mentorship program when onboarding
- Check in regularly with your nursing staff, especially the new hires, to stay ahead of burnout, workplace issues, and problems adjusting. Take measures before these issues become more difficult to manage.
- Practice communicating effectively with your staff. Allow them to ask questions and really listen to their needs. Take a course in communication if necessary.
6. Look to BOS Medical Staffing
At BOS Medical Staffing, we understand it’s a difficult time to find the right candidates for your assisted living facility. But we are here to help solve your nursing shortage. Please contact BOS Medical Staffing today and let’s work together.
