How important is your job application process? VERY! In fact, you could be scaring capable applicants away. What are you doing wrong?
In 2018 HR magazine reported that 73% of job seekers abandon their applications after only 15 minutes. This is a huge problem on its own, but when you combine this data with the latest research that shows our attention spans are decreasing, it spells trouble for FQHC organizations seeking to attract talent. The problem is that the entire application process for many healthcare organizations is outdated and unwieldy. Is your job application process the reason good candidates aren’t applying? Let’s explore the issue to find out.
What Makes for a Bad Healthcare Application Process?
Your FQHC may be suffering from these common issues that negatively affect the candidate application experience:
- Complexity: Is your application process complex, lengthy, and difficult to understand? Is the job ad filled with healthcare jargon that doesn’t really say what you mean? When candidates go online, do they need to laboriously type in data that’s already on their resume?
- Inefficient: While some healthcare organizations still loves faxing, you don’t want to turn off a candidate by using an outdated, inefficient application process. Is your process slow, manual, with a high volume of paperwork and manual data entry? Some of this shows up on the candidate end, but if you’re passing paper resumes back and forth behind the scenes, it’s going to slow down hiring and turn off your candidates.
- Lack of transparency: One of the most common complaints of job candidates in any industry is the lack of transparency during the application process. Business News Daily says, “Common frustrations with applying for jobs online include not hearing back, completing lengthy applications, losing touch with employers, and receiving automated responses.” Does this sound like your organization?
- Limited accessibility: The irony is that the application process may assume the candidate has a laptop or desktop. But these days, an increasing volume of job candidates use their cell phones to apply. If your application process isn’t mobile friendly, it may not be accessible to everyone, including those living in the rural communities you’re trying to serve.
Community healthcare organizations that seek to remedy these issues will improve the volume of candidates who apply for their open positions. Here’s how to fix what’s broken.
5 Ways to Fix Your FQHC’s Job Application Process
1. Start by reviewing the process with an eye toward simplifying it. Make the process as user-friendly (for the job candidate) as possible.
2. Implement technology that automates repetitive tasks like resume screening, candidate communications, and scheduling interviews.
3. Go mobile-first to eliminate frustration with candidates who will apply from their smart phone.
4. Improve the transparency of your communications by teaching hiring managers to end every discussion with the next steps in the process. Train your recruiters to communicate frequently with job candidates from the application to the end of the process.
5. Hire UHC Solutions for those mission critical positions that need recruiting outside of your organizations core competencies. The benefit of hiring a professional recruiting team within the FQHC community is that we offer a tailor-made process designed to eliminate candidate frustration and reduce your time to hire. We have the technology tools to streamline your hiring process to ensure positive candidate interactions at every step in the process. Call on us to find out more.
