High-quality healthcare providers are always in demand and the competition for recruiting top talent is fierce. That being said, recruiting at-home caregivers in 2024 doesn’t have to feel overly challenging. Having a clear recruitment strategy will increase your chances of scoring top talent, and will help you to fill up your potential hire database for when you need support fast.
Here are four ways to find and recruit home care caregivers in 2024:
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Online Job Boards
To be a competitive employer, you need a good culture, competitive pay/benefits, and the best possible caregiver experience. To recruit the best home care providers you need to tell that story effectively online.
Start with identifying exactly what the role is and be clear about expectations. Try to be transparent about any perks or benefits that are included and don’t be afraid to infuse a little personality into your writing when doing so.
People like feeling like they are joining something special or unique, so show your spark!
Once you’ve identified what you want to say, explore your options for the best online job boards.
While an industry-specific board like myCNAjobs.com is a great place for targeted recruitment, don’t forget the traditional outlets like ZipRecruiter, Hireology, and Indeed. With millions of people visiting those sites each day you’re sure to find at least a few good candidates.
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Local community job boards
While some may think that posting to a local job board (in person) is outdated, it’s actually an overlooked potential spot for great new hires.
Local colleges, community centers, churches, libraries, and even grocery stores, often have physical bulletin boards for local news and events. These can sometimes also be distributed to an online bulletin or, even more impactful, be sent via email to a targeted list of subscribers looking specifically for new jobs.
Posting your job to local resources will widen your candidate pool, and give you brand visibility at the same time. Let people know not only about your available positions, but about the great services, your home care health agency offers in the area. You might get a new hire and a new client!
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CNA referral bonus programs
Your existing certified nursing assistants (CNAs) are an incredible source for potential new hires. Prospective employees are more likely to submit an application if they’ve heard first-hand accounts of your company culture and work environment. Current staff members are the best for recruitment marketing!
Create a program for providing recruitment bonuses to your existing CNAs so they are incentivized to talk about their work experiences. CNAs move around often until they find a good fit. They probably have their own network of past colleagues who would be a great fit, and they won’t suggest people who they don’t want to work with. Motivate them to dig into that network and you’ll have a pre-qualified candidate pool to draw from.
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Social media advertising
It’s a new world and in it, we post ads on social media for almost everything. Social media is the ultimate way to get eyeballs on your job openings while creating awareness of your company’s services.
Using Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, TikTok, and Snapchat, you’ll be able to reach pre-selected audiences that are a perfect fit for your employ. For example, Facebook had 1.93 billion daily active users at the end of 2021. If you’re looking to recruit where your future caregivers are already spending their time, social media is a great place to invest your energy.
When creating your first social media campaign keep the following tips in mind:
- Building a consistent schedule for maintaining your job ads is important for optimal visibility.
- Creating multiple ads in a rotation keeps ads fresh and engagement high.
- Always upload engaging imagery. Avoid stock photos if possible as they are known to appear disingenuous and less effective.
- Keep ads simple and short to be more engaging.
- Share your ad to relevant communities, like dementia care forums, and encourage your employees to share as well.
Develop your ad strategy so that it targets providers with simple and clear messaging. Use a call to action (CTA) that draws them to your website or a specialized HR landing page. Get their information into your recruitment funnel and save it for later so ongoing needs can be met when you need support fast.
Social media advertising campaigns will optimize and get cheaper over time if you stay consistent. If you find success with social ads, you might want to keep them going for longer than you anticipated (just with less of a budget maybe) so you never have to be without qualified candidates again.
Final Thoughts
While caregiver recruitment can seem daunting, using the right incentives and tools can help you stand out from the crowd. Use local bulletin boards and online job databases to give your job opening more visibility. Create a caregiver referral program to improve morale while getting prequalified candidates from your current employee pool.
Don’t shy away from social media advertising; find a reliable resource to help you get started if the process seems confusing. Your future workforce is already online at least 50% of the time. Go get them!