Candidate Personas in Nursing

 
Alexander (29), a registered nurse, is on a break. While eating a pasta bake, he scrolls through his Instagram feed, lost in thought. He gets stuck on a reel. The hospital in the neighboring town advertises flexible working hours. In the video, Anna, the head of the ward, explains how he can easily create his own duty schedule using an app - without having to consult with his superiors or colleagues. Alexander finds this practical and clicks on the Instagram profile. There he also sees that the hospital is currently looking for OR nurses. Alexander is not actively looking - after all, he likes his team and his work. However, the duty hours could be better. So, why not give it a try? It's also good that he can apply via LinkedIn in just a few clicks - not even a cover letter is needed. Shortly before the next shift starts, Alexander sends off the application.

How data-driven persona profiles facilitate recruiting

You probably now feel like you know Alexander a little better. However, he is not a real person, but a data-based candidate persona. In concrete terms: a constructed personality that helps recruiters to put themselves in the shoes of potential candidates. Working with personas is a method that makes even demanding recruiting easier. It helps you get to know the habits of your target group. Recruiters then know exactly where, when and with what content they can best reach specialists. Especially in industries with a shortage of skilled workers, candidate personas pay off. After all, it takes an average of 174 days for a position to be filled. With the persona method, this time can be shortened. Using Alexander as an example, we show three steps that are crucial for successful recruiting.

1. determine touch points based on data

For successful recruiting, the first step is to identify the touch points at which recruiters come into contact with candidates. A data-based persona profile provides all touch points at a glance. From this, strategies can be derived as to where and how you can best reach your target group: For example, via print ads, social media ads, or by addressing them personally. Using Alexander as an example, the touch points are as follows:

The young nurse has little time. In his private life, Alexander uses his smartphone mainly during his lunch break or at the end of his shift. To switch off a bit, he then scrolls through his feeds on Facebook or Instagram. Amusing and informative video formats featuring people catch his attention most quickly.

The hospital's recruiting department uses this habit to its advantage: It shares a post on social networks about flexible working hours - and thus indirectly promotes itself as an attractive employer. As a reel, the post has exactly the format that interests people like Alexander. It is also important to note that Alexander is not actively looking for a new job - one more reason why the format is more effective in this case than a Facebook story with a job ad.

2. consider pain points

Shift work, overtime, rigid duty schedules - nurses are confronted with numerous challenges in their daily work. In order to stay one step ahead of the competition, you should address the pain points of nursing staff and offer suitable solutions as early as the recruiting stage. The data-driven persona helps by showing what nursing professionals really want. The following applies here: Pain points and possible solutions can vary depending on the character of the persona. This is why several personas are often used, especially in recruiting. In general, however, three points apply to almost all nursing professionals

• Low staffing ratio: There are too few nurses for the large number of patients. For example, one nurse in geriatric medicine looks after an average of 10 people during the day. In many places, however, it is not possible to comply with this legal requirement, which leads to a great deal of mental and physical strain on the nursing staff.
• Lack of say in working hours: Due to a lack of staff and a lack of digitalization, nurses have little say in working hours. As in the case of Alexander, this aspect is often a reason for changing employer or even a change of industry.
• Lack of continuing education and career options: There are few continuing education and career opportunities in nursing. In addition, rigid duty rosters and low staffing ratios make it difficult to pursue continuing education while working.

Alexander knows these problems. He could well imagine continuing his education or studying while working - but after the exhausting workdays, he thinks it's unrealistic to still be studying or even writing a term paper. In addition, he is one of the few in his team who does not have children. That's why he often helps out his colleagues during afternoon and evening shifts. Times when he would rather be doing sports or meeting up with friends.

In Alexander's case, other employers can score points with flexible working hours - after all, they solve two of his problems at once. By being able to set his schedule flexibly, he doesn't have to take his superiors or colleagues into account. After all, his free time is an important factor for Alexander, so that he feels balanced even after stressful days.

But potential employers can also address the pain points of nurses during the recruiting process itself. Taking Alexander as an example, this takes place in four important phases of recruiting. According to the AIDA principle, short for Attention, Interest, Desire and Action, recruiting relies on measures that take little time for the potential candidate. For example, the Reel attracts Alexander's attention, interest and desire in less than a minute. After all, it starts exactly there, what the nurse has been wishing for a long time. The link to the job ad and the ability to apply with just a few clicks makes for quick action. In short: Despite difficult working conditions and little time, Alexander is able to apply for the new job.

3. formulate job advertisements correctly

Another hurdle that often causes recruiting to fail: job ads that demand a lot but give little. Particularly in the healthcare sector, this is a problem that deters more specialists than it attracts. In addition, nurses like Alexander, do not actively look for new jobs - they lack the time, the motivation or both. That's why the rule in such cases is: A company must attract attention - even before a candidate reads the job ad. Once the time has come, the following applies: Formulate briefly and concisely. In terms of content, the relationship between benefits and requirements should be balanced. Whether you are on first or last name terms and which choice of words is the most convincing depends on the persona - and can vary depending on age and social environment. Depending on the target group, a video can also be useful. Using Alexander as an example, the job ad might have looked something like this:

Operating room nurse (f/m/d), OTA (f/m/d) or medical assistant (f/m/d)

Who we are:

Our mission: It is not enough for us if our patients get healthy - we want them to stay healthy. You share this attitude? Then you'll fit perfectly into our team.

Our nurses and medical assistants work in the Clinic and Polyclinic for Orthopedics, for Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, in the Center for Spine and Scoliosis Therapy (Orthopedics II) and the Center for Orthopedic and Rheumatologic Rehabilitation.

This is how you work with us:

• Preparatory, monitoring and aftercare measures and the assistance
  during surgical interventions
• Professional and expert instrumentation
• Preparation and post-processing of the surgical unit
• Jumping activity during the interventions
• Handling of the medical devices according to the regulations of the MPG
• Compliance with hygiene regulations
• Tasks related to the operating room, such as ordering materials and supervising sterile supplies
• Participation in on-call service

What you bring:

• You are a health care and nursing assistant (f/m/d), surgical technical assistant (f/m/d) or medical assistant (f/m/d)
• Ideally, you have further training as a specialist nurse in the surgical service or initial professional experience in the OR area
• To make the work fun, you should have at least 2 years of professional experience in the field of orthopedics/trauma surgery
• You enjoy working with new teams and people
• You are curious to get to know new ORs
• You are characterized by a high willingness to perform
• You are open to new things

What we bring:

• Regulated working hours from Monday to Friday without shift and weekend duties
• Flexible working time models (e.g. also part-time) and well-plannable vacation periods between assignments for better compatibility of family and career
• A long-term employment relationship with an attractive salary (based on TVöD)
• company pension scheme
• Professional, future-oriented training and development opportunities
• A varied activity, through different surgical techniques such as fast track
• Planned elective orthopedic surgery
• Equalization of salaries for OTAs and specialist nurses
• An attractive bonus if you can inspire suitable new employees for us
• Networking across wards and clinics through our social intranet
• Workplace health promotion and prevention
• Employee discounts in many online stores and numerous discounts for leisure activities and events

Note: The advertisement is based on a job advertisement of the Asklepios Klinikum Bad Abbach GmbH and was subsequently adapted to the described persona.

10 practical tips for recruiting in the healthcare sector

In the previous steps, we showed how the data-driven Candidate Persona can help with nursing recruiting. In the following, we provide 10 tips and tools for recruiting and employer branding in healthcare that they can implement in a timely and cost-effective manner.

1. data-driven persona with the Persona Institute: data-driven personas are a great help. The sticking point: their development costs time and money. As a rule. The Persona Institute offers a cheaper alternative. We create your candidate persona in just 48 hours - on a scientifically sound data basis.
2. Download job ad kit for free: Make your job ads even better with the Persona Institute's job ad kit - even if you don't yet have data-based personas. Download now for free.
3. Rely on corporate influencers: Are your employees active on social media? Encourage them to report on their day-to-day work. Authentic reports of experiences on social media go down particularly well with younger target groups such as Alexander. Hashtags like #pflegeberuf #pflegeberufe #krankepflege and others show what this can look like.
4. Organize information events: While face-to-face events often involve a lot of effort, online events with question-and-answer sessions are easier to implement.
5. Use social media for recruiting: Facebook, Instagram, and in some cases TikTok can take your employer branding to a new level. All you need for authentic content is a smartphone and staff who like to get in front of the camera now and then. Info sessions on social media are also possible - as a simple FAQ via Instagram stories or live format, where they gain visibility along the way.
6. Employees recruit employees: Do your employees like working for you? Then an employee recruitment program is just the right thing to attract new talent. After all, nurses are often well networked with others through vocational school and continuing education. This is an advantage that you should take advantage of.
7. Anonymous employee surveys: Sur veys help to find out what employees really want. They can also provide input on how to improve the hiring process. In addition, regular surveys and feedback sessions with new employees can help you collect data to improve your candidate persona.
8. Create simple communication channels: Whether it's a digital meeting to get to know each other or questions via WhatsApp - make the application process as simple as possible for candidates. That is sure to be well received.
9. Active sourcing: Are your ideal candidates on Xing and LinkedIn? Then you can also attract new talent by contacting them directly. In the search, recruiters can filter profiles precisely according to the desired requirements and contact potential candidates in a targeted manner. It is important to formulate the cover letter as personally as possible.
10. Think about former colleagues: The working conditions have improved, the team has changed or you have recently started to offer targeted training? Then you should also think about former colleagues when recruiting. Because often even small changes make former colleagues want to return to their former workplace.