OR Manager - September 2019 - 21

Human resources
Soup to nuts recruitment: Finding and onboarding
OR nurses-Part 1
S
taffing remains an ongoing challenge
for OR managers, according
to the 2019 annual OR Manager
Salary/Career Survey, with open positions
and turnover creating headaches.
Attracting and retaining top talent is a
crucial part of any OR leader's job. This
three-part series explores successful recruitment
strategies: marketing (Part 1),
interviewing and collecting data about a
candidate (Part 2), and making the hiring
decision and onboarding (Part 3).
Market effectively
Jane McLeod,
MS, RN
" As leaders, we can't
recruit the way we've always
recruited, " says
Jane McLeod, MS, RN,
co-founder/principal for
Capstone Leadership
Solutions, Inc, in Sault
Ste Marie, Michigan.
" You can't go to a job
fair, stand there, and wait for people to
come and talk to you. " Instead, leaders
need to partner with human resources
(HR) staff and use social media, make
connections, and leverage the marketplace.
HR
partnership
To be good partners, managers need to
help HR staff understand what the job
of an OR nurse entails. " When they're
recruiting for you, they need to know
that a nurse is not a nurse is not a
nurse, " McLeod says. " They have to
know very specifically what you need for
your team at that time. "
Natasha Luster, MSN, RN, CNOR,
nurse manager of surgical services for
Premier Health-Miami Valley Hospital
in Dayton, Ohio, explains to HR staff
what she is looking for, what screening
should be done, and what are automatic
disqualifiers for a candidate, such
as unwillingness to take call and multiple
jobs in a short period of time.
Preston Miller, MAOM, SPHR, SHRMSCP,
human resources director for Houswww.ormanager.com
You
want to
convey that your
work environment
is amazing.
ton Methodist Hospital-Texas Medical
Center, says that specificity is especially
key for hospitals that perform a wide
range of procedures, which require different
skill sets. " It's not just the number
of hands that we need, but the types
of hands, " he says. He also talks with
leaders about general staffing concerns
to help anticipate needs. For example, a
new surgeon who adds volume or a high
turnover rate that leaves positions vacant
may trigger a new recruiting effort.
The bottom line is that OR leaders
and HR staff should be in regular contact
to anticipate needs and plan recruitment
strategies.
Social media and websites
LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
and other social media outlets are playing
an increasing role in recruitment. A
2017 study in the Journal of Advanced
Nursing found that nurses exposed to
a hospital's LinkedIn or Facebook page
felt more attracted to working at the
facility. And younger nurses are accustomed
to seeking information and connections
online.
But social media must be used
strategically. " What's most effective
is to get people to follow you on social
media as a great place to work, "
McLeod says. " You want to convey that
your work environment is amazing. "
Examples of postings include videos of
fun employee activities, awards the organization
or employees have received
for quality and excellence, posts about
popular physicians or surgeons, and
employee feedback such as satisfaction
scores. Job postings can then be
woven into that, with links to more information
and an online application.
A valuable resource to learn more
about social media and how it can help
with recruiting is the Mayo Clinic Social
Media Network (https://socialmedia.
mayoclinic.org/). The free basic membership
allows access to discussions
and blogs.
A user-friendly website also ranks high
on the list of marketing tools. The design
should be current, and the website
should be easy to view on mobile devices.
Managers can provide feedback
about those elements and recommendations
for how to highlight nursing on the
home page. Nursing should also have its
own page that includes mission, awards
(such as Magnet® recognition), and information
about nurse leaders and staff.
The most effective social media and
websites integrate technology to attract
potential employees and speed the application
process. Miller says Houston
Methodist offers a chatbot named
" Mia " (a computer program that simulates
conversation with humans). When
an applicant clicks on a nurse position
posted on the website, the chatbot
asks questions such as: Is there
anything I can help you with? Can I answer
any questions for you about the
position? Can you tell me a little about
yourself?
By obtaining some basic information,
the recruiter can connect with candidates
more quickly and effectively earlier
in the process. " Nobody has the attention
span to go through multiple screens
and assessments to apply, " Miller says.
" We make sure we're having text-based
or chat types of conversations rather
than long phone conversations. "
At Indiana University Health (IU
Health)
in Indianapolis, potential employees
can apply via a mobile app.
" Most people look for new jobs when
it's convenient, including when they're
in bed at night, so this makes it easy
Continued on page 22
OR Manager | September 2019 21
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OR Manager - September 2019

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