Ask anyone that knows me; I move at a frantic pace, especially in the workplace. If you had a chance to look at my inbox, for the most part, it is continuously empty; yes, #InboxZero is a real thing in my world. Additionally, if you saw me work, you would think I had taken a funny drug and would probably worry about me. Why do I move so fast? Because simply put, speed kills. I want to have the best opportunity to land that standout candidate in this increasingly competitive healthcare sourcing and recruiting marketplace. Why is this important in sourcing/recruiting, and especially the healthcare space? Let’s unpack the “why” of moving fast and how we can leverage this skill to see success in our own practices.
Why should you move at a frantic pace?
Simply put, it all comes down to what the market is bearing. The reality in 2017 (and some would argue for the next three decades) is that healthcare professionals (regardless of if they are C.N.A.s, Caregivers, LPNs, but especially Registered Nurses) are getting multiple job offers on the daily. I see this quite frequently in my practice. Sometimes, we will miss out on that standout candidate by a mere number of days, sometimes, mere hours. To have the best chance, you must be efficient in your TA/sourcing/recruiting practice and have the ability to enable swift hiring decisions.
How can we move faster?
Text messaging is the new email. Most millennials (the largest segment of the labor population in the United States) prefer corresponding by every messaging; it’s fast and efficient. Simply emailing someone a time to set up an interview isn’t going to work; it’s too slow. That nifty calendar scheduling software? Not fast enough, plus your email might land in a “junk mail” box or underneath the 237237 emails that a candidate gets from a daily flash sale website.
Another way we can move faster is to lean on our hiring managers; understanding where a candidate is at in their job search and if they have other interviews or offers on the table. By having that information, we can communicate it to our hiring managers and instill a higher sense of urgency.
See that phone in your hand? It’s your best friend. Pick it up, and call someone. While some sourcers/recruiters only hide behind their computer screens, the sourcers/TA pros getting the “Ws” are picking up the phone and getting that candidate on the phone to push the process forward as quickly as possible.
Finally, don’t give too many options for a hiring manager to consider. Yes, I know your hiring manager wants to see ten resumes. However, what if there aren’t ten resumes to look at when two to three standouts will do? Less is more. Essentialism and minimalism are in play here and if you want a tutorial and great story about this idea, check out my buddy Derek Zeller’s article on this idea/concept.
Another way you can employ speed in the recruiting process is to push your hiring managers to move faster themselves. Communicating where a candidate is at in other recruiting methods, describing what the market is bearing for a specific professional, and continually creating a sense of urgency with them will help you move the process forward faster. One way I do this is to tell my hiring managers what the candidate’s schedule is and having a “working agreement” with the hiring manager for them to commit to at least scheduling that interview within a 72-hour time frame.
Pipelining and speed. A Sourcing marriage we all can get behind
One way you can bring value to the process and be faster is to build a robust pipeline of interested parties in your organization. While this might be “talent acquisition 101” for most sourcers/recruiters, it is worth noting: investing time every single week to build and foster that pipeline will pay dividends later on down the road. In my own sourcing/recruiting practice, I have started “pipeline development Mondays” where I have carved out a two-hour block in the afternoon each and every week to simply reach out, to check in, to interview for the future, and to build my pipeline. Why? When that role comes open, I have candidates who know my company and the role, and I can fill it faster.
By moving fast throughout the sourcing/recruiting process, in addition to making swift hiring decisions, we can get the highest quality candidates into our organizations to impact the bottom line and make you look like the standout sourcer/recruiter you are.