Many organizations around the nation are combatting challenges created by nursing shortages. These shortages are largely driven by an aging nursing workforce and the limited capacity of nursing schools. The issue is compounded by high attrition rates among new nurses. Approximately 20 percent of nurses leave their positions within the first year, according to a 2014 study by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
One 2016 survey administered by Avantas, an AMN Healthcare company, found nearly 70 percent of nurse managers reported high levels of concern regarding the effects of nurse scheduling and staffing problems on the patient experience and patient satisfaction. Another 2016 survey conducted by NSI Nursing Solutions, found 81.8 percent of hospital leaders said nurse retention is a key strategic imperative for organizational success. However, only 51.5 percent reported having a formal retention plan in place.
During a March 1 webinar sponsored by Select International — a provider of workforce solutions — and hosted by Becker’s Hospital Review, Laurie Wasko, PhD, healthcare consulting manager for Select International, and Kristen DesPalmes, director of employment strategy at DaVita — a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest kidney care and dialysis providers in the U.S. — discussed strategies for customizing nurse recruiting efforts and hiring processes to reduce turnover and ultimately improve patient care.
DaVita is a clinical outcomes leader in the field of kidney care and known for a unique workplace culture where employee engagement is essential. The average dialysis patient suffers from several comorbidities and sees their nurse multiple times a week, making the patient-nurse relationship crucial to the overall patient experience. To establish a hiring process that reflected DaVita’s culture and need for long-term nurses, the company entered a collaborative partnership with Select International.
“We say we are a community first and a company second,” said Ms. DesPalmes, during the discussion. “It was uber important for us to customize our recruiting efforts to reflect our brand.”
A crucial part of the hiring process for nurses is conducting an assessment to identify a candidate’s strengths and possible opportunities for success. While assessments are just one part of the hiring funnel, they can increase hiring manager objectivity and thereby improve the likelihood of a quality hire. Assessments should be tailored to align with an organization’s hiring goals.
“For DaVita, we wanted to create a candidate experience and a tool that contributed to the DaVita brand and culture,” said Dr. Wasko, during the webinar. “We wanted the assessment itself to be nursing specific, so we made sure to incorporate realistic, day-to-day scenarios that nurses encounter.”
DaVita nursing candidates begin their online “NurseFit” assessment with an online quiz featuring seven questions phrased in engaging language to help determine what nursing role would best suit the candidate.
In a validation study designed to qualify the new hiring process, DaVita found nursing candidates who passed the NurseFit assessment were more than twice as likely to be promoted in two years. Nurses who failed the assessment were found to be twice as likely to be rated as very unlikely to be rehired by their leader at DaVita. Also, nurses who scored in the top 80 percent were 3.2-times as likely to be rated as top performers. The Davita team found RNs hired with assessment were 19 percent more likely to stay than RNs hired without an assessment.
The DaVita nursing assessment includes questions designed to evaluate a candidate’s competencies with regards to workplace adaptability and communication skills. Other aspects of the assessment include inquiries into job and shift preferences.
“We want to make a fun, positive, experience. One example question is ‘I prefer to work in a place that is similar to Groundhog’s Day, every day is fairly predictable, I don’t need to be in a high-energy, dynamic environment to stay engaged,'” said Ms. DesPalmes. “Or [I prefer to work] ‘in a place that is dynamic and unpredictable, I prefer to be like 007 where my workplace and assignments change day by day.'”
Candidates are then filtered to a realistic job preview video on the position for which they would be a best fit based upon their questionnaire responses. Then, prior to beginning an application, candidates must first answer “knockout” questions which are designed to filter out nurses less likely to excel and remain at DaVita. In addition to the workplace videos, the online recruiting process at DaVita features a photo campaign designed to highlight the care provided by the organization and the workplace culture.
“In the design of the assessment, we also wanted to make sure to create that positive candidate experience,” said Dr. Wasko. “We want candidates to start that assessment, then complete the assessment, and overall, when they’re done, have a really positive view of the organization.”
To view the webinar, click here.
To view the webinar slides, click here.
To view past webinars, click here.
