Using the Voice of Your Caregivers in Recruitment
Are you tired of scraping the barrel for postings that will stick and resonate with potential caregivers? Learn how to speak to them by using their language in your job postings and descriptions.
Home care is a market ripe with competition and that means that you need to stand out in whatever ways that you can. Each interaction with your business that a caregiver has is a reflection of your business and how it is run.
Home care is unique in that it has to market to two different audiences: clients and caregivers. And while you might be putting a lot of effort into marketing for clients to grow your business, putting additional emphasis on recruitment can help balance the scales to make sure that you have enough caregivers to grow your business with.
Help caregivers find a job by using their own language.
Have you thought about the readability of your job postings before? The average adult reads at a 7-8th grade reading level. Do you know where your recruitment efforts stand by that metric?
Make sure that your job postings are scannable, easy to read, and correctly formatted. Single paragraph job postings are incredibly hard to read and may prompt a caregiver to skip onto the next one.
In addition, you can make your postings speak more personally to caregivers by using their voice, diction, and tone. You can do this by infusing caregiver reviews and feedback in your job postings. Whether your caregivers came to you because of flexible scheduling or because your home care agency is family-owned, use that in your recruitment marketing efforts.
You could also have your veteran and top-performing caregivers create their own “recruitment videos” explaining why they enjoy being a caregiver with your agency, and what their day-to-day looks like.
Caregivers may not be completely swayed by what you say about your agency. However, when a caregiver hears about a position from someone who already works as a caregiver with your company, this will help them develop rapport and trust with you, your office staff, and their prospective coworkers.
Interview your caregivers to see what drew them to your job postings.
While it can be hard to place yourself in the shoes of a caregiver, it can be easier when you take the time to listen to those who are taking care of your clients.
Take some time each month or every other month to revisit your job postings with your caregivers, ask them some questions to fuel your caregiver recruitment efforts. For example:
● What drew you to our job posting?
● Is there anything in particular that stood out? Good and bad?
● What language should be altered for future postings?
● What are we not saying?
On the flip side, during exit interviews, you can do something similar. By observing what went wrong, you can improve the experience for future caregivers, and fix what hasn’t been working.
There may be things that you are doing well that aren’t being talked about in your job postings. For example, if you have a well-crafted agency story - while it’s not the centerpiece of your job posting - it’s important for caregivers to know what got you into the industry. What motivated you to start your business? This could also reassure candidates of your dedication to clients, and your commitment to caregivers, etc...
In addition, don’t forget to thank them and appreciate them for this time. Passive recruitment is a powerful tool at your disposal. Make sure to give your caregivers business cards so that they can promote your company to their friends, family, and other people who may be interested.
Your caregivers can explain to their peers why they applied, why your company is the one to go with, and here’s the kicker: they are explaining the job in their own words.
Are there any patterns in your caregiver recruitment efforts?
Is there a certain group of people that are applying for your jobs more than others? For example, teachers, veterans and their spouses, or nursing school students?
Lean in on these patterns in your recruitment efforts as well. If you see any of these trends in your recruitment efforts, capitalize on those in terms of targeting certain groups. By calling out to these groups, in particular, your recruitment will feel more personalized, targeted, and individualized to that applicant.
Or, if you notice that more applicants are applying through one posting over several others, keep track of which ones perform better. For example, if you do some job posting A/B testing, and you include “passionate” in one and “dedicated” in another, see which one produces more applicants. You might be surprised by what you find.
Utilize recruitment buzzwords and #trends.
There are some buzzwords you may want to consider including in your job postings too. For example, many applicants want to find a company that is environmentally friendly and cares about sustainability.
You could also talk about this in a two-pronged way; taking the time to talk about what green initiatives you’re making in your business, and how you are making your company sustainable for employees (such as finding high-quality and experienced caregivers that will stay with your agency long-term).
Other buzzwords include “unity” and “new normal” according to Refined Impact. You can do some A/B testing of your own to see which words resonate the most with your applicants, whether “community” or “unity” fits better with your target applicant persona. In addition, you could target certain towns or cities that you are needing for your clients.
By knowing your caregivers, you’ll find many more.
If you take some time to optimize your caregiver job postings and job descriptions, you will find some interesting insights to incorporate into your recruitment marketing programming.
Treat your recruitment strategies and efforts as marketing. Just as you take time marketing to get new clients, you need to take time marketing in order to get new caregivers.
Matthew Jeffrey, the Global Head of Sourcing and Employment Brand at SAP said, “Recruitment is marketing. If you’re a recruiter nowadays and you don’t see yourself as a marketer, you’re in the wrong profession.” Take some time to reframe your recruitment efforts as a marketing strategy by using the voices of your caregivers in all of your recruitment channels.
From Indeed messaging to the phone screen, through onboarding, and throughout a caregiver’s employment with you, treat the entire situation as a marketing deal. The deal isn’t over when a client signs on, or when a caregiver is hired; it’s a continuous commitment to keep a customer loyal, and a caregiver loyal to you.
Are you having a hard time improving your recruitment program?
Recruitment of quality and experienced caregivers is a key component of any home care agency’s growth strategy. A good place to start would be taking a holistic overview of your current recruitment efforts to see what sticks and what doesn’t. It’s also worth taking a look at your overall employer brand; what are caregivers saying about you?
If you would like some assistance from our recruiting experts, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Contact Home Care Marketing Pros today and schedule a 30-minute consult. We’re happy to take a look at what you have and see where we can help.
