Communities most likely to corral the best talent are those who treat employee recruitment like prospecting for new clients.

By Susan Saldibar

No one has to tell a senior living community operator how hard it is to find good people. Basically, you’re looking for a level of dedication and compassion that either scares people away or burns them out after a year or two. So the quest is ongoing to find creative ways to get good talent through your doors. And you probably have put a lot of work into building up your brand, touting your person-centered culture, and perfecting your messaging. Sounds a lot like sales prospecting, no?

What if, after all your hard work, they don’t even see you out there?

Celena Canode, Marketing Campaign Manager for G5, (a Senior Housing Forum partner) recently wrote an eye-opening article on how today’s recruitment challenges are being met. I spoke with Celena, recently, about her article and how the process of attracting and engaging the best and brightest has changed from a traditional recruiting model to hard-hitting prospecting that looks and feels more like a sales cycle.

Two words for the HR folks out there: Digital Advertising.

Basically, the way things are today, those communities most likely to corral the best talent are those who treat employee recruitment like prospecting for new clients. Knowing that this is an area where G5 excels, I asked Celena what methods they recommend to their senior living clients. Her answer, hands down, is “digital advertising”. It is simply the best way nowadays to get attention and bring potential employees to your website.

Just so that we’re straight on what digital advertising is, in a nutshell, it’s the combination of strategies and tools that help senior living communities get in front of their prospective employees at all stages of their 20+ point decision-making journey. (Remember, these are now sales prospects!) So it will include everything from paid search, display ads, paid social and calibrating your SEO to get it seen.   

That said, here are some key points and facts Celena relays in the article:

  1. Digital advertising takes up 100% of the mobile search screen. If you aren’t investing in digital advertising, you’re missing out. Plain and simple.

  2. As you build your brand online, catering to millennial online behaviors should be at the forefront of your strategy. Your digital presence on Google, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even SnapChat, matters. So, get familiar with them.

  3. According to the Jobvite Recruiter Nation Report, 67 percent of job seekers use Facebook in their job search. So any serious recruitment effort must involve that channel.

  4. Effective digital advertising utilizes big data to help target the right people. For example, a nursing student may be active on Facebook, posting news about their practicum or a lesson on skilled-care facilities. They may have even included their degree and university in their profile data. That data can then be used to help you target that individual since they meet the criteria for a great potential employee.

The takeaway, at least to me, is that, along with a new approach, new platforms need to be used to reach and engage with your prospective employees. Treating them like customer prospects means centering your marketing and advertising strategies around them; what they like, what motivates them, where they go to get information, and so on. And to be successful, you need to have people on your team who not only understand this new demographic but know how to use the new tools out there to reach them.

As always, there’s much more. To get all the details, you’ll want to read Celena’s full article. You can learn more about how G5 can help with your digital marketing needs here.

For more information about G5, please visit their website:

 

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