Clinical Recruiting During Pandemic Requires Creativity and Patience

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Recruiting for inpatient and outpatient clinical positions—like nurses, nursing assistants, licensed practical nurses, virtual monitor techs and certified medical assistants—is difficult under the best situations. Add in a pandemic and it becomes even more challenging.

Our Talent Acquisition team has faced the situation head-on and successfully made hires that help us improve the health of the communities we serve.

Recruiter Sarah Boswell, who focuses on filling several inpatient and outpatient positions, said everyone has had to become creative.

“The biggest challenge is the visitor restrictions in all facilities. This has forced managers to conduct online interviewing and halt job shadowing,” she said. “Managers use their phones to facilitate unit tours and ‘meet and greet’ sessions with their staff. While video interviews are not new to Talent Acquisition, the pandemic has forced us to use this platform more.”

She said another challenge is that many new graduates delayed graduation and certification exams, which had an impact on staffing.

Nurse recruiter Emily Allen said it's been tough to find candidates who are willing to take a leap of faith during a pandemic. “We have to be much more proactive with our recruitment activities to reach candidates,” she said.

Those activities are on a mix of platforms, including:

  • Direct texting
  • Social media (Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn)
  • Online interview events
  • Billboards
  • Quarterly mailed multi-state newsletters
  • Direct channels to colleges and universities
  • Virtual tours and orientations
  • Pre-recorded video messaging
  • YouTube
  • Flyers (online and print)
  • Resume sourcing
  • Online job boards and ads
  • Messaging at Radford and Liberty Universities' athletic events and websites

Other than typical key messages to candidates—like salary, benefits, hours and educational opportunities—there has been one message that has been stronger than any other.

“It is extremely important to provide job seekers with the reassurance of a safe working environment,” Sarah said. “My messaging has changed to really speak to that in the job offer process and during virtual job fairs. Patience and compassion are critical.”

Through quarantines and contractions of the virus, it has also been hard filling spots that are left open when a nurse must step away for several days.

“It's important to our staff to have a full team and feel supported so they can focus on providing their best care while they are working,” Emily said. “And it's important for our patients, too, so they know they are receiving the best possible care and see us working hard to get them well again.”

Emily added that it is a taxing time for health care workers, both physically and mentally. “As one team, we can support each other through these times and be a resource for each other." Sarah added that open communication with new hires, current employees and managers is critical to help with morale.

Talent Acquisition has been able to offer various shift differentials for certain employees working in designated COVID-19 areas and been able to offer referral bonuses to employees who refer new employees to certain positions. 

“For the leaders I work with daily, I try to take the time to thank them for all they are doing. Sometimes, they need a listening ear or a laugh to get through the day. We are all in this together!” Emily said.

To learn more about our recruiting efforts, contact the HR Service Center at 800-599-2537 or hrservicecenter@carilionclinic.org.

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Key points
The pandemic has made it even tougher to recruit clinical talent.
Our Talent Acquisition team has become creative in finding talent.
Offering candidates a safe work environment is critical.
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Our Referral Rewards program is an investment in the recruitment of quality candidates. We value your referrals of nurses, nursing assistants and other positions, which result in experienced, diverse candidates. 

Applicant referrals from employees are one of the best ways we can recruit great talent! Your referral is a positive first step for potential candidates and helps us build our workforce with top-tier employees. 

Referring a friend for one of our hard-to-fill positions is really easy, too. Just go online to SAP SuccessFactors to make your referral. A job aid is available on Cornerstone OnDemand (CSOD) to walk you through the process. You can also access the job aid by going to CSOD and searching for SAP: Referral Tracking. 

How does the program work? 

  • You refer an external applicant for a Referral Rewards-designated position through either the new online process or the form on the Referral Rewards hub. 
  • The applicant identifies you as the referral source to the HR recruiter.  
  • If the applicant is hired for that position, you will receive a bonus based on the position.  
  • Bonuses are paid in full after the referred employee has completed 90 days of employment.  

Managers and supervisors are eligible for the program if their referral is outside their departments. Select provider roles are also eligible, including CRNA, with an employee reward of $10,000.   

For more information, call 800-599-2537 or visit the Referral Rewards page. 

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Refer an R.N. or N.A. and Cash In! Earn Up to $5,000.