Successful nurse recruiting
more than just recruiting
By: Lisette Hilton
May 7, 2002
Source: MedZilla.com
The traditional way of recruiting nurses is a
zero-sum game in today's market, says Joe Bannon, recruitment solutions
product manager, Atlanta Journal and Constitution. "There are not
enough nurses to go around and the nurses that you recruit today, your
competition will recruit from you tomorrow. In a zero-sum game nobody
wins. You end up spending energy that should be focused elsewhere,"
says Bannon who will be speaking on innovative programs that are helping
with the nursing shortage at the July 2002 National Association for
Health Care Recruitment annual meeting in Marco Island, Fla.
Solution #1: Brand the hospital as a great
place to work
"Employer branding pays dividends to hospitals
and the image of nursing beyond just finding the med-surg nurse that
you need to put on staff tomorrow," Bannon says. "Hospitals
should focus on how they are perceived as a place to work.
According to Bannon, more employer energy also
needs to be focused on changing the image of nursing to a profession
that young people would desire. Advertising and promotional efforts
should not only communicate what type of care hospitals provide but
also the quality of an institutions' caregivers. That, in turn, communicates
how you provide healthcare to the community."
Solution #2: Employers drive future image
of nurses
Dennis Sherrod, associate director of recruitment
and retention programs, North Carolina Center for Nursing, agrees
that image is important and thinks creating an image for teens and
even younger people should no longer be the job of nursing schools.
Employers need to get into the game, he says. "The shortage that
we're seeing now is becoming almost a feeding frenzy among recruiters
and agencies and it's only going to become more of a challenge. What
many try to do is throw some money at it. We're trying to get employers
to grow their own and enlist them to become part of the profession,"
Sherrod says.
Solution #3: Retain, retain, retain
Sherrod, also a speaker at the upcoming NAHCR
conference, develops the statewide infrastructure for the recruitment
and retention efforts of the North Carolina Center for Nursing, a
state agency, charged with recruiting nurses for North Carolina health
facilities. The other solution in the nursing shortage is to focus
on retention. "My new saying … is that retention is your
best recruitment strategy. [That means having] a workplace that allows
nurses to meet personal and professional needs--offering such things
as quality patient care, decent salaries, workable workloads, flexibility
in staffing--then that word of mouth goes out," he says.
The key to retention is knowing that it's all
about people, Sherrod says. "We're trying to help employers see
that they have to look at retention as being long-term. There has
to be someone who is responsible and accountable in agencies for retention.
The best thing I've seen recommended is that nurse managers would
take the responsibility of retention. I'm entirely fine of even putting
some money with that-to provide some monetary incentives for people
to go above and beyond. Why couldn't we have nurse mangers when they
have a certain turnover rate and they decrease it, they get a bonus
in that unit," according to Sherrod.
Don't sacrifice a good fit for quick fix
Jayne Kerns, RN, BSN, nurse recruiter St. Lukes
Hospital, Chesterfield, Mo., concedes there is no magic answer but
despite the challenges and pressure to fill positions quickly, recruiters
still have to keep a good fit in mind. "Everyone is motivated
by different things," Kerns says. "I think you still have
to really keep in mind that you want a good placement-one that's going
to last and not just be a quick fill."
"This is a new era in healthcare,"
says Frank Heasley, PhD, President and CEO, of MedZilla.com, a leading
web site that serves healthcare professionals and employers. "Employers
are an important part of the solution in making the long-term commitment
to rebuild the nursing population. Moving forward over the next several
years, changing demographics and an aging population in the United
States will place even greater burdens on our healthcare systems.
We will need to devote substantial public and private resources and
energy toward reestablishing nursing as a profession worthy of the
respect it once commanded."
