The pool of available RNs throughout the Southeastern U.S. seems to be getting smaller every day. The current nursing shortage is the result of the “perfect storm” of the region’s population growth, nurses who are aging out, and too few individuals pursuing a healthcare career. Unfortunately for employers, that means the competition is fierce. Those hiring strategies that once worked for healthcare organizations seem to be less effective today.
To become an employer of choice for nurses in the Southeast, you need an honest assessment of your hiring practices and strategies. Without a good look at what hiring strategies and styles may or may not be working for you, it’s impossible to tweak and retool your process so you can become an employer of choice for RNs in the Southeast.
Here, we offer you five deliberate hiring strategies you can use right now to find the best nursing staff for your healthcare organization.
1. First and Foremost, Fix Staffing and Scheduling Issues
No matter how well thought-out your hiring strategy, no recruitment plan can overcome unsafe staffing and unpredictable, unfair scheduling. Any new RNs you do hire will be out the door in short order if you don’t fix these problems. Practices like easier scheduling through streamlined software, guaranteed nurse-to-patient ratios, float pools, and available agency nurses demonstrate your dedication to maintaining a safe and equitable workplace.
This is often an immediate game-changer, as nurses talk, and word travels fast when you take the time to address your staffing and scheduling issues.
2. Transparency in Compensation is Powerful Among Hiring Strategies
Thanks to social media platforms, nurses today can compare offers with others openly and quickly. If your healthcare organization posts clear salary ranges, sign-on bonuses, and shift differentials for open staff positions, you build trust before scheduling the first interview. Also, employers of choice in the Southeast should highlight the lower cost of living in many of the top areas of the region. By including this information, employers are framing the total compensation and allowing potential RN candidates to imagine the benefits of living in the Southeast.
3. Offer a Structured Career Path Up Front
Lack of career growth opportunities is one of the biggest out-the-door drivers in nursing. Let candidates know you support their career growth by offering tuition reimbursement for bridge programs, certifications, and specialized training. Not only does this demonstrate that you are investing in your nursing staff, but nurses are less likely to leave a healthcare organization that supports their growth.
4. Streamline Your Application and Interview Processes
A weeks-long hiring process loses RN candidates to your faster-moving competitors. Avoid this common hiring strategy mistake and pare down the time between application and offer. When you streamline credentialing, have same-day interviews, and empower your recruiters to make the offer, you jump ahead of the competition. Also, the new generation of nurses was raised on text communication. Utilize texting.
5. Call on Real Employees to Showcase Your Workplace Culture
Dazzling recruitment videos and website banners do little to promote the real culture of your organization. For that, peer testimony works best. Equip your current RNs to offer testimonials through social content, alumni outreach, and facility tours. Seeing your organization through an employee’s eyes builds the powerful credibility that advertising just can’t. In the Southeast, nursing networks are tight and powerful. The authenticity of word-of-mouth testimony can be the factor that swings the decision in your favor.
Let Us Help
Becoming the employer of choice for RNs in the Southeast isn’t about one single tactic. It’s about carefully planned hiring strategies that are open, honest, and supportive. If you need qualified nurses for your healthcare organization, please contact BOS Medical Staffing.
