In this economic climate a consistent refrain we hear from nurse staffing agencies is that the open jobs have plummeted, leaving agencies fighting to fill fewer open positions. Many agencies struggle with this new reality in the marketplace and those that do not adapt are facing grim prospects.
What to do to stay competitive
The saying goes that the early bird gets the worm, and this is unsurprisingly the case in the staffing industry. The agencies that are quick on their feet and have reacted with refinements to their nurse recruitment process fare better than those who stick with antiquated processes and a falling fill rate. With fewer jobs to go around agencies that struggle to fill the positions open to them find that fewer and fewer such openings are being made available to them in the future. Agencies that have placed increased emphasis on filling the job orders they receive are holding their own while others in this industry falter. If you think your process needs improvement consider the following basic strategy:
- Turn you job orders around as quickly as possible. Gone are the days of open orders for weeks, to compete in today’s market you need to be able to fill within days, sometimes hours.
- Forecast job orders two to four weeks out, and try to have nurses who are currently interested in those jobs lined up waiting for the order.
- Synchronize your marketing with your job order forecast. Now more than ever it makes no sense to be spending time and money on broad marketing that does not target the specific jobs you need to fill. Make sure your nurse acquisition strategy is in tune with your needs.
- Recruit with a sense of priority. Get in touch with the nurses who are looking for jobs where you have needs as soon as possible, a day can make a difference these days so it makes even less sense to recruit broadly. Synchronize your nurse recruiting with your needs.
Stay tuned to our blog for more ways to optimize your nurse recruiting and contact us if you are interested in targeted nurse leads that can revolutionize your marketing spend!