1. Make a Great First Impression
In an industry where just about every healthcare organization has openings, the task of competitive differentiation can be extremely challenging. And, while any hospital or healthcare organization can quickly articulate the selling points as to why a job-seeking prospect should choose their opportunity over the competitor, the first key is getting their attention and making your opportunity stand out from the other, similar opportunities. In essence, the candidate is interviewing you every bit as much as you are interviewing them, so your first impression is of utmost importance. And while a great first impression can make all the difference, a negative first impression can do more harm than good. It is important that the candidate experience is easy and fluid.
Within most industries, the first impression is usually made through an on line job advertisement. And while Internet Advertising is very efficient and simple to administer, it requires that the target audience be on line to see the job advertisement. Unfortunately, in the healthcare industry, most employees are bed side rather than sitting in front of a computer terminal. This, combined with the fact that most people look for a job while they are at work, heavily limits the effectiveness of on line job advertising for healthcare organizations.
If you just finished working closely with your advertising agency on the development and creation of an aggressive on-line advertising strategy, no need to worry, the branding certainly can’t hurt and some potential new hires will surely result. After all, anyone (even nurses) who graduated in the last 5 years grew up in the MySpace era. The fact of the matter is that virtually everyone is on line; it is just a matter of how often they are on line and what they do while they are on line. Internet browsing at work is one thing; precious time spent on line at home is something else entirely. Most nurses have a hard time keeping up with personal emails, much less browsing around researching for an opportunity. The fact that most nurses are aware that they could very likely walk into just about any healthcare organization and have an offer of employment by the end of the week doesn’t help matters.
2. Follow Through
While getting the attention of prospective candidate’s and making a great first impression is a major key to the hiring process, equally important is following through with a consistently impressive message. “When you get a marlin on the hook, the last thing you want to do is lose focus and miss the opportunity to convert” says Scott Briner, VP of Marketing and head of campaign development at Appendant Marketing Group. One way to accomplish this end-to-end follow through task is through Personalized Direct Mail.
3. Make It Personal
Direct mail itself is anything but a new concept. In fact, if you are reading this article, it likely means that you are in some way tied to hiring healthcare professionals. It also means that the likelihood is very high that you have at some point tried direct mail and perhaps even use it regularly today. But, have you tried personalized direct mail that is tied to a customized, personalized website, designed specifically to answer your candidate’s questions about the specific opportunity that they are qualified for? If not, you should strongly consider it.
Appendant Marketing Group, a team of highly seasoned marketing and recruitment advertising professionals, recently launched RecruitCard, a comprehensive system for identifying qualified prospects and converting them into interested candidates. Essentially, the RecruitCard process allows employers to create a personalized (unique to the individual) postcard and to direct candidates to a personalized Internet landing page where an Internet based Experience Profile is collected and distributed back to the employer. With Internet based tracking software, campaign-effectiveness can be measured, providing real return on investment data.
A distinct advantage of direct mail is that every postcard (or letter) is delivered to a qualified and targeted candidate. Not only can a well-designed direct mail campaign make an immediate impact on recruiting efforts, it can also be one of the best branding vehicles you could hope to find. And, by the nature of licensure and the correlating database availability, it is the only way that you can know that every dollar spent is spent on placing a relevant message in front of a qualified candidate.
4. Choose Your Own Battlefield
So, you have identified great prospects, you have converted them into interested candidates, and you have collected their profiles, now what? There are two highly effectives ways to manage the back end of a RecruitCard Campaign:
First, you can designate someone (recruiter, Hiring Manager, etc.) who will receive the completed profiles and follow up with them immediately while they are at the point of interest. Your window of opportunity can close quickly, so you have to smother the candidates with attention while they are fully engaged in the job interest mindset. A good first impression can make a tremendous impact, but it can quickly dissolve without follow through.
Second, (and this is highly recommended) use the RecruitCard campaign to drive the marketing for an open house event. The candidates are impressed and they are interested, now it is time to close them! The best way to “follow through” is to roll out the red carpet and show them the facility where they will be working. Let them meet the team. Feed them. Entertain them. Sell them. They are at your facility. Just ask for the business.
The war for talent is no different than any other war. It takes a good strategy, well-executed tactics, and commitment to the original plan. And as any military veteran will tell you, if you can chose the battlefield and prepare for the battle with a good strategy, your chance of winning increases dramatically! The war for healthcare talent is growing more fierce every day, are you prepared?
Posted by appendmark 
