Good Caregiver and CNA recruitment consists of multiple recruitment channels. One of the most popular channels across the country is referrals from current employees. Did you know that 74% of Caregivers and CNAs wouldn’t recommend their current employer to a friend? In the ongoing competition of Caregiver recruitment, every new hire counts! Here are a few tips to make sure your referral program is as effective as it can be!
Simplicity is key
The easier your referral program is to understand, the more likely your Caregivers will be motivated to refer a friend. Can your program be easily explained in one sentence? Can it be understood when laid out in writing? If a Caregiver doesn’t know how the program works, they won’t use it!
Stick with it
When rolling out a new program it’s important to stick with it for at least 90 days. It may be easy to make judgements based on a small sample size over the first couple of weeks, but it takes time to see if the program really has legs. If it gets off to a slow start and it seems like you aren’t hiring CNAs, give it time to pick up steam. Which brings us to our next point:
Get the word out
It’s important to constantly remind your staff of your referral program. Use a variety of channels to get the word out - newsletter, social media, staple it to paychecks, text, email, etc. You never know when a Caregiver finds out their friend is looking for a new opportunity. You want to be sure the referral program is the first thing on their mind!
Immediacy of payment vs. amount of payment
Our research has shown Caregivers care more about the immediacy of payment versus the amount. For example, it’s better to pay $20 per referral at the interview than $200 after they’ve worked 90 days. Agencies who practice this have a better time hiring Caregivers through referrals.
Positive reinforcement
Make sure to highlight and positively point out when someone makes a referral. It could be in an email or as part of your newsletter. For example, “Thanks Carol for referring Debbie to the team! For referring Debbie, Carol gets X as part of our referral program!”
When it comes to recruiting CNAs it’s important that every channel is firing on all cylinders. Implementing these tips can help increase the output of your referral program and positively engage your current staff. You can check out how we've helped agencies reduce time-to-hire here.
If you’re struggling with hiring Caregivers, CNAs, home health aides looking to work for an agency like yours, we'd love to have a conversation about how we can help with Caregiver recruitment.
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