Three Thoughtsfor Hard-to-Fill

Orders

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Compensation

You may have the least control over compensation offered for a particular order. At the same time, if travel nurses just aren’t interested in this role, it’s an important factor to review.

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Could you lower your margins and consider this order a “Loss Leader” to protect a client relationship? This might be an option when:

● A small portion of the orders for a particular hospital are difficult to fill.

● Filling roles at one hospital will give you access to the hospital system.

● You are taking on and learning a new type of order that will lead to more profitable and/or consistent business in the future.

Are there alternative forms of compensation-related benefits that might be attractive to a traveling nurse (always check for compliance)?

● Symphony tickets● Gym memberships● Museum passes

Marketing

For a travel nurse, taking a position may be as much about what they can do outside of work in a new location as the position itself. Take full advantage of marketing the perks of where the position is located.

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For marketing around personal interests, it’s crucial you understand

your nurses beyond their professional qualifications. Here are two questions your recruiters could ask every nurse:

1. What would you find yourself doing on a Sunday morning if you were not at work?

2. If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be? What makes that place stand out to you?

By capturing this type of information, your recruiters can use it to promote future

positions that speak to a nurse’s interest.

MarketingHelpful Sites:Here are several online resources available to quickly find attractions, great restaurants, and other ways to appreciate the culture and location of an assignment on a day off of work.

1. www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel-Tourism/State-Tourism.shtml

Pros - This is government’s web portal with links to the official tourism sites for every state. The tourism site for any given state is filled with tons of information from things to do (museums, restaurants, campgrounds, etc.) to interesting facts about the state.

Cons - While it is helpful to have all state tourism sites on one page, www.usa.gov fails to add any supplemental information.

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Rural positions can have great selling points when put in front of the

right audience.

● Highlight scenery and opportunities to explore the “wilderness.”

● Look for hiking, fishing, and camping locations nearby.

● Peaceful and calm surroundings might speak to someone who needs a break from “city life.”

● Be sure to check out local festivals and calendars. There are some real gems that are easy to include in communications to candidates.

Marketing2. www.discoveramerica.com/usa/states

Pros - Among other things, this site has categories by region, state, and cities with places you wouldn't normally think would be interesting (potentially good for placements not in major cities). Like the previous site, Discover America has links to each state's official tourism site.

Cons - Not as comprehensive as the other two, but focuses on outdoorsy activities.

3. www.tripadvisor.com

Pros - Maybe the most informative of the three. You can plug in any city and go. Much of the information is crowdsourced by either visitors or locals, so you get better sense of a city, It has forums where a person can ask for suggestions in the city, take a glance at weather trends, etc.

Cons- Website kind of cluttered, Google ads on the side.

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Urban positions will have many options to highlight. Pick a few that

are real differentiators rather than try to include everything.

● What’s different about this city than any other big city?

● Many large cities have promotional videos on YouTube that you can leverage in your own marketing.

Marketing

Focus on the Facility:Clients are sometimes picky about what can be shared about their facility. That said, look for every opportunity to share interesting or exciting details about a facility.

Think about how this offer could set a nurse up for success or enhance his/her development.

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Possible items of interest:

● Number of beds.

● Magnet status.

● Awards or community involvement.

● Staff or departments recognized as leaders in the field.

● Testimonial from a nurse who worked the assignment before.

● Photo of the medical facility. These types of pictures are often available on their website so they are easy to include in your communications.

Is It a Good Job?

If you have tried everything (adjusted compensation, explored alternative marketing strategies, etc.) and still cannot generate interest from your nurses, you need to pause.

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A common reaction when something is not going well is to

try harder. In staffing this can lead to more ads, more emails,

more calls.Your recruiters are marketers.

● A study from MailChimp has established that frequency and engagement are negatively correlated, meaning that as marketers send email more frequently their customers tend to engage less with each campaign.

● Pushing positions your nurses aren’t interested in may cause them to tune you out.

Is It a Good Job?If you have an order that’s not moving, ask why.

Survey your nurses and ask them why they said, “No.” Their responses could help you target a new audience or verify this is not an order you want on your books.

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Sometimes you are stuck with an order and have to work it to

protect a client relationship. Just make sure you work it smartly so

you don’t alienate your customers, who are your nurses, or they may stop buying the jobs

you are selling.

Flag these hard-to-fill orders and either walk away from them in the future or find the right target audience to which to promote them.