Quick wins to boost recruitment in the care sector

In recent years, care recruitment has been heavily impacted by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. Now more than ever before, the sector need to find ways to attract new recruits to their care homes and the care sector as a whole.

Website’s can play a pivitol role in this. Candidates will almost always check out a business’ website before applying for a role, even if they have come across your business through a different route – whether an online advert, a recruiter, an employment centre or word of mouth. So it is important to maintain and develop the careers section of your website. A little attention can have a big impact on your recruitment success..

Here are some quick ways to kickstart your recruitment strategy and boost the number of job applicants for open roles, as well as build interest in your care home as a recruiter of choice for future candidates. When staffing is stretched, you want to fill roles quickly, so these handy tactics will help to ensure you are keeping your care home in front of mind of the people that matter.

Photos

Photos are extremely powerful, and seeing the rest of the team is a great way to introduce prospective staff to their future colleagues. Smiling photos are ideal, as are staff in action photos across the site. This will reassure proactive candidates that they will be working in a great environment and are able to provide excellent care

Benefits information

List out the benefits of working at your care setting. Clearly highlight the different areas of benefits – hours, holidays, family leave, rewards; training and professional development opportunities; and any wellness and work environment extras. Tea and coffee doesn’t count! The key thing is transparency and sharing the full package with future applicants will make you stand our from the crowd and make you an aspirational place to work.

Awards and Accreditations

If you have won any awards or possess key industry accreditations, ensure these are actively displayed. Anything employer brand-related will be particularly useful, and experienced, knowledgeable staff will know what all these awards mean, whether they are local or national in origination.

Glassdoor

Glassdoor has become an influential tool in recruitment. To attract the best talent, you want to be visible to future staff, and you want to showcase your culture, values and the benefits of working for you in authoritive places other than your own website. You should encourage reviews from your staff, respond to feedback and also promote your Glassdoor profile through your social channels. Candidates will be actively looking for firsthand information about you, so it is worthwhile.

Employee Handbook

An employee handbook or similar gives employees a detailed overview of the policies that are specific to your organisation, along with other key procedures, guidelines and benefits. In a nutshell, it sets out clear expectations for your employees while also stating your legal obligations and defining employee rights. The handbook is a crucial introduction to new hires, so let people download it, and find out more about you.

Social

79% of job seekers use social media as part of their job search, so it’s vital you include employer branding focussed posts and promote live roles as part of your social media strategy.

Salary

Candidates are 66% more likely too apply for a job if salary information is listed, according to StandOut CV but many roles are still advertised without a salary information. You can include salary range or grades if this is relevant, but salary should be listed. Salary inclusion builds trust, and is also utilised in numerical searches and within Google Jobs.

Forms

Finally, we advise using short forms. Asking for loads of information during the application process will massively reduce the number of applicants you receive. Short forms are proven to gain better results and greater engagement from prospective clients. More in this piece from Venture Harbour

Summary

Whilst alone these changes may seem minor, collectively they have a huge impact. In the ultra competitive world of care recruitment, they may be the difference between successfully filling a role in-house or having to use expensive recruitment agencies or agency staff.