How to Stop Caregiver Candidates from Ghosting
How to keep caregiver candidates engaged in the recruitment process from start to finish!
If you’re a recruiter or hiring manager, you’ve likely encountered a candidate who ghosts you during the hiring process. Maybe they were your top candidate, or at the very least they looked promising, but when you’re ready to move them to the next stage, you hear nothing but radio silence.
So, how do you stop caregiver candidates from ghosting you?
What is ghosting?
Ghosting is when a job candidate drops out of the interview process without notice or follow-up—just like that, they go poof!
Ghosting, which is sometimes called “candidate drop-off,” is frustrating for employers because it slows down the hiring process and costs them qualified caregiver candidates. But the reason most job candidates ghost a potential employer is because they’re frustrated too.
Why job candidates ghost potential employers
Ghosting is common in the current job market. Upwards of 80% of employers have had a candidate ghost them, according to Indeed. There are many reasons applicants ghost recruiters, some of them employers have no control over, but most they do.
According to CareerBuilder, 69% of candidates drop out of the hiring process during the application stage and 56% drop out during the interview stage due to poor communication on the part of the employer. This means that it took too long to hear back from the employer or the next steps were unclear and/or not personalized.
Some job seekers drop out of the hiring process because they don’t know what to tell the employer or they don’t know what to do next.
Other reasons a candidate might ghost, according to Indeed: They decide the job isn’t the right fit for them, or they receive an offer for a different job with better pay or benefits.
4 ways to keep caregiver candidates from ghosting
While you may not be able to offer new caregivers more money or benefits, you can improve communication between your agency and potential caregivers and give them a recruiting experience that makes it tough to turn down a job.
1. Build a consumer-grade employee experience for recruiting caregivers
The employee experience begins from the first moment a caregiver interacts with your employer brand. Make it a good one by treating your job candidates with the same care, respect, and attention you would your clients. If you wouldn’t let a potential client inquiry go unanswered for two days, don’t let a job application go unanswered for two days.
When clients come your way, you make the case for why they should choose your home care agency for their loved ones. When caregivers come your way, make the case for why they should choose to make their career with your home care agency.
2. Make the caregiver recruitment process clear, from start to finish
When applicants know exactly where they are in the hiring process and what comes next, they’re less likely to ghost.
- Let candidates know their application was received.
- Provide applicants with an easily referenced list of events in the recruiting process. This should include each stage, who they will meet and how they will be evaluated, how long each step will take (an estimate is fine), and how you would like for them to prepare.
3. Automate the recruiting process
We’re big fans of recruiting automation because it saves so much time and money for recruiters and hiring managers.
A smart automation platform can track applicants and flag those that have gone silent (or are at risk of doing so) so you can reach out and engage them in the hiring process again.
Keep your caregiver candidates engaged between human touchpoints with digital touchpoints that remind them where in the process they are.
4. Keep it personal the whole time
Automation will take the grunt work out of hiring caregivers, but it cannot replace the human element, and job seekers will ghost if communication feels cold and impersonal.
- Job seekers need to know there is a person on the other end willing to answer their questions and guide them through the stages of recruiting, so give your caregiver applicants a real person they can contact (and who will respond in a timely manner).
- If you find recruiting is taking longer than expected, reach out to applicants directly, via phone or email, to check in and update them on your progress.
- Engage qualified caregivers with video that introduces them to potential colleagues.
Need help with preventing caregiver candidates from ghosting?
Reach out to us at Home Care Marketing Pros to see how we can help your home care agency find and recruit the caregivers it needs!
