Smarter Recruitment Strategies Boost Home Care Agency Outcomes
It’s no secret that recruitment and hiring can be expensive. I recently saw data that indicated the upfront cost for hiring an aide can be anywhere from $500 to $3,000, depending on how your recruitment system is designed. If you add in the associated costs of hiring (ads, orientation, etc.), you can put out as much as $2,000 to $5,000 per employee. That’s a lot of money.
If you’re making that kind of commitment, you want to make sure it’s paying off. Over the years, I’ve implemented a range of strategies that help clients minimize the cost of recruitment. The steps are pretty straightforward and anyone can use them to streamline their hiring process.
First off, write out a clear profile of the ideal healthcare worker you want for the position. Stick to your guns. If a fabulous person interviews for that position but they don’t meet your criteria, hire them elsewhere or let them go on their way. Next, create a prescreening test that is appropriate to the position. This will help determine whether or not the candidate has the basic knowledge you require for the position. Don’t fudge on this. It’s reasonable to do some tweaking and training once you’ve hired, but you don’t want to start from scratch.
Save yourself time when you’re interviewing. Ask a qualified clerical staff member to conduct a pre-interview. He or she can make sure the candidate really meets all the regulatory requirements (licensure, certification, etc.) and find out if a candidate truly does have the basic knowledge identified in the prescreening test. Clerical staff can also be taught to interview to the profile so that only candidates that have a good chance of being selected are sent to the manger or recruiter for a formal interview and decision. Be on the lookout for my next post for tips on how to increase employee retention.
Category: Ginny's Blog, Specialized Support
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