Tag: #talentadvance

Hiring Solutions for Healthcare Providers with Krista Sullivan de Torres

Posted on by jpatel

As organisations around the globe confront the challenges presented by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, even the most seasoned talent leaders find themselves in uncharted territory. We’re creating a mini-series with our experts here at PeopleScout about the issues that are most pressing during this uncertain time.   

This profile shares insights from PeopleScout Global Leader of Solutions Design, Krista Sullivan de Torres. Krista is a seasoned professional with more than a decade of human resources and talent acquisition experience. While Krista’s professional experience spans many industries, she has a passion for and deep expertise in healthcare. Her experience includes launching RPO programs for healthcare startup organisations, managing RPO operations for managed care, population health, behavioral health, and healthcare system clients. Krista’s specialties include global talent acquisition team design, talent acquisition operations, analytics and reporting, recruiting, sourcing and retention. Krista holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of California, Santa Cruz. 

Krista shared her insights about hiring solutions for healthcare providers from her home office in Florida. 

What are some of the hiring challenges facing the healthcare industry right now? 

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, there were already many challenges around healthcare hiring. We all hear about the shortage of nurses, but there’s also a shortage of clinicians across the board. With the outbreak of COVID-19, we’re now seeing an increased number of patients, so these shortages have become even more acute — particularly in the areas that have been hit hardest with the disease. In addition, some challenges arise when clinicians who have COVID-19 risk factors, or live with someone who does, are now unable or unwilling to work in order to protect themselves and their families — causing a large strain in hiring for these specialised roles.  

Hiring for a healthcare role, clinical or nonclinical, is much more difficult than hiring in many of the other essential industries right now. How and why is that? 

Regardless of whether we’re hiring for a role that is clinical or nonclinical, there are a lot of additional requirements for working in healthcare than there are in most other fields. If a candidate is going to be working directly with patients, particularly those that are most vulnerable, an extremely thorough background check is necessary to protect the safety of patients. So, rather than a traditional pre-hire online form and standard background check, healthcare candidates will undergo additional criminal history checks, fingerprinting and more. These critical checks tend to slow down the hiring process and can add a layer of complexity when we’re looking at the available workforce. 

Another factor affecting hiring is that a lot of people are a little afraid to work in the healthcare industry right now. As I mentioned earlier, people may be cautious about taking a job in healthcare in order to protect themselves or high-risk family members against COVID-19. In addition to there being a challenge in the number of candidates available to start, we are faced with the challenge of selecting the right people for the job and ensuring we have a pool of candidates who are excited and available to work during this unusual time.  

Lastly, a major factor we consider in the healthcare industry — particularly in a clinical setting — is ensuring workers are extremely customer-focused. We look for people who are very focused on the patient and the patient’s family at any time, but especially right now. We’re facing challenges in the spike in the number of people who are severely ill, so ensuring we have workers who are correctly educating and caring for patients is of the utmost importance.  

What sort of hiring solutions are available for healthcare organisations right now? 

A lot of healthcare organisations are really trying to get creative during this critical hiring time. They’re looking to potentially bring back previously retired workers, flexing up hours for part-time associates and bringing in traveling nurses or clinicians to support them where their internal teams are at capacity. Many organisations are also interested in implementing a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) solution to quickly get short-term support in locations that are particularly hard-hit.  

How do these RPO solutions work in practice? What are some of their benefits? 

That’s a great question. One of the many benefits of RPO is that we’re able to ramp up very quickly to meet client needs. For example, a client came to PeopleScout recently and let us know they needed to rapidly scale up hiring to support their hospitals. We spoke with the client, came up with a solution and worked through the contracting phase all within three days. It helps that PeopleScout has a large team of clinical and nonclinical healthcare recruiters who are trained to know the industry and can identify high-quality candidates to get the pipeline filled quickly. 

When it comes to on-demand recruitment support, the beauty lies in rapid engagement and disengagement. Once immediate hiring needs are fulfilled, an RPO provider can pull recruiters back in-house and assign them to a new project. This is a great benefit for clients — they don’t need to deal with the stress of layoffs and furloughs because they’re able to engage and disengage experienced recruiters as needed.  

The most important thing right now is to keep everyone safe and healthy. What is the best kind of solution for that? 

One important way to keep people safe while still meeting critical talent needs is to use a virtual hiring solution. PeopleScout has a bit of an advantage here because we were a virtually based culture even prior to the COVID-19 crisis, so many of our recruiters were already working from home. Our virtual solution allows us to conduct digital interviews — on-demand or live — so we can continue to safely service our clients without interruption. We’ve been able to effectively maintain — and in some cases exceed — productivity while also minimizing the risk for our clients, candidates and internal teams. 

Are there any final thoughts you’d like to leave us with? 

We’re all going through a really challenging time right now and trying to support one another. We’re all in this together and PeopleScout is here to support our clients, candidates, teams and prospects in any way we can. 

To learn more about ways employers can respond to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, visit our Resource Center. 

PEOPLESCOUT’S RESPONSE TO COVID-19: Working Together to Prevent, Protect and Contain

Posted on by Kate

PeopleScout
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response
March 17, 2020 Update

At PeopleScout and the broader TrueBlue organization, the health and well-being of our employees and clients around the globe is our top priority. We are operating with an abundance of caution to keep our employees and clients safe during the fast-evolving coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. We also stand committed to supporting our clients and suppliers through this time.

The PeopleScout and TrueBlue crisis response team is monitoring the situation closely and adjusting our internal policies in alignment with global, country and local health organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. Department of Labor and the National Safety Council.

Policy Approach: In setting policies and taking action related to the coronavirus, our intent is, at a minimum, to follow guidance from relevant authorities such as the WHO, CDC and OSHA. When additional or more extensive actions are prudent in light of the nature of our operations, we will do more than the standard guidance suggests to safeguard our employees.

Information Sharing: We have established a coronavirus information hub for our employees to make it easy for them to stay informed and protected with access to safety recommendations, frequently asked questions and links to useful resources. On the hub, employees can also submit individual questions and report risks to our crisis response team for immediate action. We also are producing a regular cadence of outbound communications and in-office communications to ensure that our employees are kept up to date on policy changes and critical developments. 

Work From Home Policy: The vast majority of PeopleScout employees are equipped to work from home, which provides us with a great deal of flexibility when the situation calls for work site restrictions. Work from home protocols are part of our business continuity plans and have been implemented at our locations around the world and at client sites based on elevated risk, mandated social distancing measures and changes to client policies.

Healthy Work Environment: As part of our usual protocol, PeopleScout promotes a healthy work environment by encouraging sick employees to stay home and by providing office cleaning services and hygiene supplies such as hand sanitizers. As part of our coronavirus response, we have implemented enhanced environmental hygiene measures and are regularly sharing and reinforcing the measures recommended by the WHO, CDC, OSHA and other health authorities to help protect against coronavirus.

Travel Policy: We have temporarily suspended international travel and have restricted all non-critical domestic travel. Employees who have traveled to high-risk areas will be asked to work from home. Our goal is to reduce the risk that anyone at PeopleScout might contract or inadvertently spread the virus. These policy changes are important steps to help minimize the spread of coronavirus. We will continue to monitor the situation and adjust this policy as additional information becomes available from world health authorities.  

Self-Quarantine Procedure: All employees and contractors who have traveled (or whose household members/those with whom they have close or frequent contact have traveled) to, or transited through, any high-risk area, or who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 are required to complete a 14-day waiting period at home before returning to an office or client site. The timeline begins the date the individual undergoing the waiting period or household member returned to their home country or when they came into contact with the infected individual.

Business Continuity: PeopleScout has well-planned and documented capabilities for continuing to provide world-class service to our clients no matter what challenges we may experience in our work environments. This includes crisis-management, emergency response and business continuity plans, as well as client-specific protocols. Our scalable global delivery centers and virtual teams provide a great deal of flexibility about where work is performed, and our client-specific plans take into account our work sites as well as our clients. As part of our response to the coronavirus outbreak, we are currently conducting exercises to ensure our readiness to implement regional business continuity plans and client-specific protocols and that our employees are well-informed and prepared.

Supply Management: We have implemented rapid-reporting cycles to enable us to quickly identify potential candidate or worker availability shortages and are implementing plans to increase candidate benches for in-demand worker types. We are ready to work with our clients to redirect recruiting or staffing efforts to different facilities or regions as well as to examine current talent acquisition processes to find ways to make them more virtual through our technology platform.

MSP Supplier Management: PeopleScout’s MSP supplier management team is sharing the steps that PeopleScout is taking to promote a healthy work environment with our MSP supplier network and asking them to follow the WHO, CDC and OSHA recommendations. Suppliers are being instructed to engage with clients on local facility business continuity plans, to bring questions to our team for triaging and to notify us immediately of any concerns. We are also communicating regularly with our suppliers to ensure that we have as much advance warning as possible about issues that could disrupt supply and are proactively evaluating our supply base to ensure that we have adequate coverage in high-risk areas and high-demand skill types.

Virtual TA Solutions: We are offering virtual interview solutions to support clients who have enacted no-contact hiring. We are also are ready with recruiter on-demand solutions and can support contingent staffing needs through our MSP practice and our PeopleReady staffing brand.

Client Resource Center: We have developed a client resource center to provide up-to-date information on PeopleScout’s response to COVID-19 and useful information for managing through these uncertain times. 

PeopleScout is committed to supporting our clients’ current needs and emerging needs through the coronavirus outbreak. First and foremost, our commitment is to continue to deliver excellent service while communicating transparently. That begins with regular sharing of our response to coronavirus and continues with ongoing communication about how coronavirus is impacting the markets in which we operate and sharing any specific threats to supply.

Additionally, many organizations have already experienced significant impact to business demand and operations. We are seeing a meaningful shift in client talent needs; demand is down in some markets and peaking in others, and we are receiving requests for workers to help safeguard employees and clients and reinforce response efforts. At PeopleScout and TrueBlue, we are committed to nimbly supporting our clients through this situation.

Whether our clients need to scale up their workforce, tap into new talent pools or find high-quality contract workers, we stand ready to support them. PeopleScout has proactively engaged in resource management and training for key talent sectors, including both on-demand recruitment support and contingent labor pools. We are experts in quickly identifying and placing talent and can help our clients deliver on their organization’s response team recommendations. We can also help guide their business continuity plans, sourcing workers from geographically dispersed talent pools or pulling together spot teams to maximize operational readiness to ensure minimal distribution and service disruptions. 

If our client’s organization is on the front lines providing critical care to those affected, or their business will be impacted by the global response, our goal is to help them fulfill their organization’s commitments to their employees and customers.

GO TO PEOPLESCOUT COVID-19 RESOURCE CENTER

Keeping Candidates and Employees Safe with a Virtual Hiring Solution with Allison Brigden

Posted on by edyson

As organisations around the globe confront the challenges presented by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, even the most seasoned talent leaders find themselves in uncharted territory. We’re creating a mini-series with our experts here at PeopleScout about the issues that are most pressing during this uncertain time.

This profile shares insights from PeopleScout Global Leader of Affinix Client Success and Strategy, Allison Brigden, on transitioning to a virtual talent acquisition solution. Allison leads the Affinix Client Success Team and our strategic technology partnerships.

Allison, we know that things are hard right now, but a lot of organisations that provide essential goods and services need to keep hiring and it’s important to keep both employees and candidates safe during the process. What’s the best way to do this?

The best way to do that is to continue your recruiting process, but do it virtually. Recruiting has undergone a digital transformation and essentially all of the recruiting steps can be handled virtually. By moving to this type of process, you can provide access to jobs in a completely safe environment without contact for both the employer and the job seeker. Of course, candidates have been able to apply online for a long time and recruiters can review resumes online, but most interviews have still been done in person. 

Interviews can be done virtually through technology that allows you to have a live, two-way video or a pre-recorded video that the candidate can do on their timeline, at their convenience. Later, the audio or video recording can be reviewed by both the recruiter and the hiring manager.

This technology can easily support a process that can be fully virtual from the time candidates apply through the offer and onboarding. As I said, the technology has been available for a while, but it hasn’t been fully adopted. This is an opportune time for us to use the available technology. 

A virtual hiring solution allows us to put health and safety first, but also provide access to jobs for those who need one during this challenging time. There’s also been a huge spike in jobs for remote workers in the past few weeks. A virtual hiring solution is directly aligned to that remote work environment as well, so it’s a very good time to introduce that and transition to a virtual process for your recruiting.

So, what does a virtual talent acquisition solution look like?

A virtual hiring solution leverages technology, but it can also have a highly personal touch. By using technologies to their full advantage, recruiters can and will have more time to spend with applicants. Technology can engage one applicant with multiple interviewers and live two-way video engagement. You can even have a panel interview with five different interviewers connecting with a candidate at the same time.

You should strive to make your virtual conversations feel more personal, just because you are leveraging technology doesn’t mean that you have to lose that personal touch as part of the process.

To further answer this question, I think a virtual hiring solution should involve the following components:

First, you should have an easy application that can be done on a mobile phone. It should feel like an online shopping experience and should only take four to eight minutes. There should also be an immediate next step, so that the applicant can drive the process.

This could be a text exchange where you’re asking questions about the interview schedule or the requirements of the job, or it can be a video exchange or a candidate-friendly assessment process. All this can be done on their mobile phone. 

Another really important component is automated self-scheduling. This allows the candidate to look at the available interview times and select one for themselves, either via text or via an online web experience. This also allows candidates to drive that next step – whether it’s a phone interview with the recruiter or a live video interview. Giving the candidate the ability to drive forward in the process is also a very important component of a virtual hiring solution.

The offer and the post-offer process can also be done virtually. This has been done over the phone for a long time, but there are also more options for a personalised and engaging onboarding experience, which can help right now when people are feeling a little bit isolated or disconnected. 

As an example, after someone has accepted an offer have a welcome video sent to their phone or preferred device where you welcome them and tell them what to expect on their first day. 

The entire virtual hiring process can be fully branded to elevate your employer brand and the connection you have with applicants. These are the components you’d want to have in place while building your virtual process.

In summary, a virtual hiring solution can be very safe while still being highly effective. It doesn’t require contact, but it also gives you that chance to connect with potential new employees and provide them a personalised experience.

Can you tell me some of the short-term and long-term benefits that people would see with a virtual hiring solution?

Things are changing quickly and it’s very important to remember that we’re all in this together and we need to be understanding and flexible as things develop. PeopleScout can definitely help with both short-term benefits for the job seeker as well as long-term benefits for the company. 

Short-term benefits are fairly clear. The virtual interview and scheduling process provides a completely safe, no-contact method to further the recruiting process, which is a clear short-term benefit. Another short-term benefit is speed-to-hire. We typically see a reduction of four to eight days in the time it takes to fill a job.

Virtual interviews and automated scheduling reduce the amount of time it takes to fill a job and that’s a short-term benefit in getting an essential worker on the job sooner. By providing a more automated applicant-driven process, you can enhance the candidate experience and lead to acquiring better talent faster. 

Virtual interviews and automated scheduling are also a long-term benefit because companies will see improvements in their business outcomes as people reach productivity faster.  A few additional benefits include saving money and travel costs for interviews, if you would normally have candidates travel in for an interview and a lower overall cost-per-hire.

Once you have a virtual process in place, you don’t need to return to previous hiring practices, you can continue the virtual process and reap the same benefits.

Giving candidates more control in the process, whether that be the option to record an on-demand video or audio interview, or scheduling an interview themselves, puts them in a position of controlling the process, or driving the next step, which is a great improvement in the candidate experience. If you implement this virtual process today, you’ll see these short-term and long-term benefits that you can carry forward as the future unfolds.

How do you transition or implement a virtual hiring solution?

The good news here is that this transition is more of a light lift than a heavy lift. Most likely, a large part of an employer’s process is already virtual. Everyone can apply online. Recruiters can work online to interact with the systems already in place.

Mostly you need to focus on the steps that are traditionally face-to-face, like the interview itself or some parts of the onboarding process. You probably don’t need to overhaul the whole application and hiring process, but rather just introduce this virtual interviewing and scheduling component. And, if you’re working with a provider, like a recruitment process outsourcing partner, they can actually handle much of that transition for you. Even if you just have an in-house team, it’s not a very difficult transition to make.

The biggest challenge will be the adoption and training. I would definitely want to have an employer focus their efforts on helping the hiring managers understand the process and share the short-term and long-term benefits so that they can drive adoption within their organisation.

For a lot of organisations, hiring face-to-face may be deeply ingrained into the culture. How can you make virtual interviewing work in a way that still feels authentic and personal for both the hiring manager and the candidate?

A big part of this is comfort level. And the only way to truly get comfortable with something is to start using it. So, the comfort level will increase for everyone involved as they continue to use the technology. This is true for candidates too. The first time they do an interview like this, they might have increased nervousness. 

After they’ve been through it once, we’ve seen that the next time they become more comfortable. But there are things you can do to make it the best experience possible, and to make it feel authentic and personal.

Even though this is a virtual interview, as a recruiter, you want to be prepared so that you have meaningful questions to ask. Make sure you have pertinent information about the job on-hand, and make sure you’ve reviewed the resumes so you’re not going in cold to this interview experience.

As a candidate, you want to be sure that you have the same level of professionalism that you would have in a face-to-face environment. This extends to not just how you dress for the interview, but making sure that you have a quiet place to participate, etc. Another best practice would be to test the technology first. Most virtual interviewing technologies allow you to test your video and your sound, so you’re able to see what the video looks like before you begin the process. 

For employers, I also recommend testing your connections and making sure everything looks and sounds good. Once the video interviews begins you should also reinforce your employer brand by letting the candidate know unique things about your company culture that may appeal to the candidate. Displaying your company culture is important during the virtual hiring process, as candidates do not have to opportunity to visit your facility.

Beyond displaying your company culture and employer brand, you need to make sure you ask the right questions during the interview to better understand a candidate’s experience and competencies, and very importantly, communicate openly and authentically about the role and your expectations. 

After the interview is done, it’s important to provide some sort of feedback to the candidate, and let them know what the next step is in the process. Whether or not a candidate is moving forward in the process or not, provide them that information in a timely way so they’re not left wondering and feeling disconnected from your brand and keep all of the interactions warm. 

Are there any final thoughts you’d like to leave us with?

I would just say that it is important for those essential workers that we need in the healthcare industry and front line retail and essential goods industries to be able to hire at this time. Being able to move forward with this process and keep recruiters busy and employed to fill these critical jobs is very important and it’s a great way to help in this uncertain time. And then lastly, I would just say keep safe everyone. Follow the recommendations of the CDC and the world health organisation and we will all come through this challenging time together.

Even the most seasoned talent leaders find themselves in uncharted territory. That’s why we’ve dedicated our exclusive digital edition of PeopleScout NEXT to help you combat the issues that have emerged in 2020. Download your copy

How to proceed with certainty.