{"id":11715,"date":"2020-04-07T22:42:27","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T02:42:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advertise.nurse.com\/?p=11715"},"modified":"2025-08-18T13:26:36","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T17:26:36","slug":"innovative-recruiting-techniques-during-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nurse.com\/solutions\/blog\/innovative-recruiting-techniques-during-covid-19","title":{"rendered":"Innovative Recruiting Techniques During COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

How have recruiting techniques changed because of COVID-19?<\/h2>\n

National, state and local leaders from healthcare, government, finance and business are working feverishly to get more beds, ventilators and s<\/span>upplies of every kind to states and hospitals hit the hardest, and to come up with innovative recruiting techniques to quickly hire staff. That\u2019s where you come in.<\/p>\n

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented national emergency, and as the virus continues to spread, media reports continue to highlight the need for more beds, ventilators, PPE\u00a0 and, most of all, more nurses.<\/p>\n

Nurses are needed to triage ED patients and quarantine those who test positive. They\u2019re on the frontlines of care in every setting, dealing with a variety of patients and assuming constantly changing roles and assignments, filling in where needed and making a difference in outcomes.<\/p>\n

As more diagnostic tests are done, cases grow at an alarming rate, as do the numbers of patients needing hospitalization and intensive care. Sadly, the number of deaths continue to rise as well.<\/p>\n

Your role is important<\/h3>\n

You know well what your organizations are facing as census counts surge and extremely ill patients fill emergency rooms.<\/p>\n

Control of infection, the safety of personnel, additional space and equipment, and supplies may all be on the list of needs, but the need for staff eclipses them all \u2014 and it\u2019s you who are looked at to provide it.<\/p>\n

Among your many duties, you\u2019re likely reviewing the current recruitment plan and budget with hospital leadership and unit managers to provide for the special needs of your COVID-19 patients. You\u2019re working with nurse leadership on innovative and creative ways to recruit, knowing full well the constraints posed by social distancing and working remotely.<\/p>\n

You may be looking at bringing back recently retired nurses, changing shift times and assignments, reassigning tasks to other personnel, adding ancillary staff to the existing care team and more.<\/p>\n

Think outside the box<\/h3>\n

Recruiters have always needed to be innovative in their recruitment and retention efforts and be able to \u201cthink outside the box.\u201d Now, it\u2019s more important than ever. To recruit new staff and retain current staff calls for responsiveness and timeliness, patience and teamwork, and attention to detail.<\/p>\n

Good communication and listening skills are needed with staff. They\u2019re the ones in the trenches, and they know what\u2019s going well and what\u2019s not. They know their patients\u2019 needs and which skill sets are required to provide for them. Continue to ask for their input and suggestions.<\/p>\n

Your innovation has always contributed to your organization\u2019s success. \u201cWhat do the nurses think?\u201d is as important to the C-suite as it is to you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Talk with your critical care leaders about using different staff to fill patient needs.\u00a0Also ask these questions:<\/p>\n