Multiple facilities and large employee base were problems requiring simultaneous solutions
Recruiting employees for a single healthcare facility is a never-ending process. Now imagine that workload if the task was to keep an employee base populated for more than 500 facilities, and more than 61,000 staff members.
That’s what a national provider of both short- and long-term care was facing. They needed staff for both their short-term operations, which focus on post-hospitalization series, as well as a thriving and growing long-term care operation focused on seniors.
Problems with staffing overspend and chronic shortages
The issues weren’t hard to identify. For starters, the hiring load was 1,600 positions across 350 facilities at all times. The inability to do that meant that millions were being spent on overtime and premium pay, cutting into revenue and also creating a chronic burden for existing staff.
Systemic issues also included a human-resources operation that couldn't keep up and was always behind the curve when it came to recruit, onboarding and retaining g hard-to-keep talent like nurses and other skilled healthcare professionals. No real strategy, coupled with an unclear budget for recruitment, retention, branding and overall employee strategy only added to the problem.
Creating processes, protocols and a project approach brought results
The first task was to evaluate the current state of employee recruitment, onboarding and retention. That internal human-resource work was followed by outreach by way of more communication with the employee base, as well as meetings at key sites in order to build a knowledge of the on-site workplace culture and to build a location profile.
All that data was pulled into a more formalized onboarding process, including building a dedicated team that could live and breathe the brand’s position in the healthcare arena. That meant the ability to tell compelling stories, which in turn were used to intrigue and draw in top talent.
A top-down approach creates strong talent pipeline and lowers hiring costs
Over the course of two years, this comprehensive, wide-ranging approach saw a 53 percent reduction in cost per hire, as well as a $1.6 million drop in marketing costs coupled with almost $2 million in additional margin for the company.
The result? An employer who can get and keep top talent by building a workplace culture that encourages engagement and fosters a sense of community — and is able to offer competitive wages thanks to savings realized by reduced staffing costs. Want to know more about how our team brought this project to life, and what we can do for you? Click here and let’s get that conversation started.