August 20th, 2008 by jrussell
Social Media has become the new buzzword in recruiting, along with Web 2.0. What do these terms mean, what do they incorporate, and how can any of this help you in your recruiting efforts?According to Wikipedia, social media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio.
(See Attachment A: Darren Barefoot created this starfish based on a video where Robert Scoble explained it. http://conniebensen.com/blog/2007/11/03/scobles-social-media-starfish/ ).
In other words, social media incorporates social networks, blogs, podcasting, user generated videos, chats and mobile media, to name a few.
What’s the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0?
The term Web 1.0 actually came out after the introduction of Web 2.0 and includes the time span 1994-2004 which featured the development of the World Wide Web.
Information and career sites that were launched during that time all had static verbiage. There was not any interaction between individuals. (If you recall, many of us actually used dial-up during those years.)
In 2004, the term became notable after the first O’Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference.
According to Tim O’Reilly:
“ Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.”
Web 2.0 is sharing information and collaborating on the Net. Attachment B demonstrates different media, services and software used in order to enhance interaction between two individuals on the Internet (A Tag cloud constructed by Markus Angermeier presenting some of the themes of Web 2.0.).
In upcoming posts we will talk about some of these tools and how you can utilize them to attract your hard-to-fill health care candidates.
In the next posting, we will first look at Social Networking sites, particularly because there is so much hype over these sites and so much discussion about them these days.
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August 11th, 2008 by pdaurizio
For many of you “going on the road” may be an entirely new experience which for others may seem “old hat”. Registering to exhibit at a conference can be a daunting experience. The purpose for exhibiting at conferences and conventions is to introduce yourself and your organization to the attendees in order to present your organization as a potential employer. What many people fail to realize is that you are planting the seed and building a pipeline of future employees. It is extremely rare that you will come home with a hire from the event you just attended. What is critical is to position yourself so your organization is one that attendees want to consider for themselves as well as sharing your information with their friends and family.
You want to make it easy for them to give you their contact information.
Several things will help you accomplish your goals.
Registering early usually gives you a discounted booth price and also gives you preference in booth selection.
Look at the exhibit hall layout to see traffic flow. Being near entrances, exits, food or restrooms usually has an advantage. If you can select a corner booth do so; this gives you more room and also increases your traffic from exposure to two aisles rather than one.
Invest in the electronic badge scanners if they offer that and see if the attendee registration list is available for exhibitors. You want to maximize obtaining as much contact information as you possibly can, in a manner that frees you up to have good face-to-face time. Some organizations will provide you with an advance registration list as well.
Read the fine print carefully and order only want you really need. If you are exhibiting in a hotel, most of the time the exhibit area is carpeted already, so you do not need to order additional carpet. Convention centers typically do not have carpeted floors. Make sure a table skirt is included. Rent chairs if you feel you need to, but make sure you are accessible to TALK to people, never put yourself between your exhibit table and the attendees.
Make sure your booth is colorful and visually attractive. You want to stand out from all the other exhibitors. Offer a door prize or a unique giveaway to attract traffic to your booth. Position the giveaways so the attendees have to talk to you and can’t just grab a giveaway and run from the booth without making contact with you.
Be pleasant, smile, show an interest in the attendees and their conference.
Do not socialize with your booth neighbors during exhibit time. Network in-between exhibit sessions; this is an excellent opportunity to see what others are doing all over the country or state. Keep your ears open and you can pick up a tremendous amount of helpful information while building your own network.
Follow the instructions for tearing down your booth and shipping it back. Whenever possible take the booth with you or ship it to and from the business center of the hotel. Many major conventions do not allow you to do this (they require you to ship to the decorating company warehouse), so always pack some of your handouts and giveaways with you in the event something happens to your shipments. Do not pack the paperwork associated with the event; keep it in your carry on luggage.
Check hotel and airline prices yourself before you book and join hotel and airline travel programs. With hotels, you can often get a better price from your hotel rewards program or other discount programs you may belong to.
Travel wisely; do not bring or wear flashy jewelry and be aware of your surroundings. Travel in groups whenever possible. Keep your receipts and follow your organizations reimbursement policy.
Remember, the key to all of your exhibiting is making contacts. Make sure you send a follow-up correspondence to all who stopped at your booth. An e-blast or e-card is one option, a personalized letter is another. Just make sure you follow up and in a timely manner so that the attendees still remember the conference and who you are.
Keep notes on the event so when you are doing your budget for the following year you can determine the value of the event and whether to participate or not.
Posted in Tips for New Recruiters | 1 Comment »
August 4th, 2008 by khart
We’ve just added some excellent resources to the Hodes Health Care site.
Two articles summarizing findings from a survey we did in partnership with the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and Gannett on the critical care RN work environment. There were over 4,000 responses to the survey, which looked at communication, workload, recognition and respect, workplace abuse, resources, intent to stay in nursing, etc. These articles originally ran in AACN’s Critical Care Nurse journal. We are replicating the survey this fall and will have new results along with new articles next year.
Additionally, we have two articles by Health Care Division team members that were recently published in our regular column in Nursing Economic$:
• Steve Mitchell on branding
• Judith Russell on technology and its impact on nurse retention.
Enjoy and browse around for other articles and research reports of interest!
Posted in Articles | To leave a comment, click here »
August 4th, 2008 by pdaurizio
In order to gauge if our efforts have been successful, we need to measure a number of things. Many organizations will clearly define what they want recruitment to measure. Data that we typically measure will fall into two categories:
Quantitative: Metrics or the numbers
Qualitative: Customer satisfaction surveys, new hire surveys, focus group feedback, exit interviews, employee satisfaction surveys etc.
Quantitative Data
Listed below are some of the more common metrics that organizations collect:
• Vacancy Rate
• Turnover Rate
• Days to Fill
• Days to Start
• Net Loss/Gain
• Cost per Hire
• Labor Cost per Hire
• Applicants by Source
• Hires by Source
• Retention Rate by Source
• Decline Logs
Data to calculate many of these formulas are found in your applicant tracking system, payroll system, HRIS system, position control system and by actual recruiter tracking.
Both the National Association for Health Care Recruitment and the American Society of Health care Human Resource Administration have formulas for calculating the different metrics. Always make sure you are calculating the formulas the same way, so that you are comparing apples to apples. For example, some facilities consider a person who transfers from a benefited category to a per diem position as a termination and include them in the turnover reports. Other facilities do not. Check with your HR department and/or your HRIS department to see if they are collecting metrics and if so what formulas they are using.
Qualitative Data
Should always be trended and the participants’ confidentiality protected at all times. Many times, especially with exit interviews and employee satisfaction surveys, it is worthwhile having a third party conduct the surveys for you. When a third party conducts the survey there is usually a higher return rate as well as more candid responses. No one wants to burn his bridges behind him. When these types of interviews are conducted internally, people tend to be more cautious and concerned about anonymity and end up giving you what they think you want to hear, rather than the truth. Dealing with a third party offers some protection to the employee and they often feel more comfortable, which leads to more candid and honest feedback.
Posted in Tips for New Recruiters | To leave a comment, click here »
