Gone are the days where you receive a great application but can sit and wait for four or five more applications before you organise interviews. The Health & Social Care candidate market is so competitive and with so many providers all competing for the same talent, you have to adapt your recruitment process to ensure you do not lose out on the top talent!
Top Tips for Contacting Candidates
Calling
Call the candidate within 24 hours of applying and conduct a Pre-Screen/Introduction call. This is key! Grab them while you have their attention.
Call once, Call Twice and Call Three Times / What if they don’t answer
A common theme when receiving & managing candidate applications is that candidates apply for a job then do not answer the phone. Calling an applicant at different times of the day can prove successful, key times for example before work, lunch time or evenings. Reasons candidates may not answer are:
They are busy working and it is difficult to talk
Your calling from a withheld number.
You are calling from a number that is not local
You are calling from a number they do not recognise.
Leave a detailed Voicemail
How many times have you received a voicemail and the person on the other end of the line speaks so fast and unclear you cannot even make out what they have said? So when leaving a voicemail speak very clearly, in fact slow down, State your name, Company and the reason for your call, leave your telephone number, your working hours and your email address.
However please be mindful that Voicemails can go un-discovered.
Our rule is always Call, Text, Email, however emails are not a sure way of contacting a candidate. The downside to emailing a candidate is:
The email could land in their spam / junk folder and never be seen.
The candidate may not regularly check their emails.
Send an SMS/Text Messages
It amazes me how many Providers and Internal Recruiters do not have access to a SMS/texting system. People are very much led by their mobile phones, not many people have access to their emails, but more often than not Text/SMS messages are instant. Texts are less likely to go undiscovered or ignored.
Health & Social Care Jobs have partnered with IceTrak http://www.icetrak.com/index.php Icetrak is a UK based and owned company specialising in the supply of cloud based SMS text messaging services to the corporate and SME marketplace.
Using an SMS Text messaging system means we can send a text message via our CRM System or simply use our email to send a text message. This has made a massive difference to our candidate conversion rate over the last three years. If you are interested in using an SMS/Texting system, there are lots of products on the market.
What to include in the text?
Make the text exciting/make them feel valued instantly and include your contact details and opening times. For example
Hi Janine, thank you for your application for the Registered Manager job , I am very keen to speak to you. So, we can progress your application, hopefully to interview stage please could you call Vicky Marsden on 01134166900 (Mon – Friday 8.30-5.30)
Immediately they think they have the chance of an interview and it should prompt them to call you.
Look out for further blogs in this series
“Your first contact with a candidate”
“Application Forms”
“Candidate Tracking and why you should do it”
“Face to face interviewing”
“How to create a great induction process”
“Reasons People Leave a Job”
“How to retain your staff team”