News About the CHCR Exam

PHR, MBA, RN, CCRN, JD, or CHCR. Doesn't it make you feel proud when you see those initials after your name? It's a sign of competency in one's field of expertise, a source to go to for information, or perhaps just someone that wants to see how many letters of the alphabet they can fit after their name. As a member of the NAHCR board of directors, I wanted to report out that the group met in November and decided to use some of our funds to help take the CHCR exam to other sites across the nation. Working in partnership with AMP (Applied Measurement Professionals), we have the potential to have the exam administered at testing centers throughout the U.S. I know I'm excited to see how this plays out. This is something that NAHCR members have been asking to have offered for a while, but the timing and costs didn't fit. Having the exam offered at other locations enables us to take this to a new level, provide the opportunity for more people to take it, and bring additional recognition to the certification. It's a win/win situation.

What are your thoughts on certification (CHCR and in general)? Do you see value in it? Will offering it at locations other than just the annual conference likely exponentially increase the number of those certified?

NAHCR Blog Pitch Sheet

Friday November 4, 2011
Greetings from the NAHCR Social Media Committee:
Want to know the latest scoop in healthcare recruitment? We are pleased to announce that the “Recruiter Scoop”, NAHCR’s blog, will be updated biweekly beginning Nov 2011. For those who may be wondering “what’s a blog?”, it is basically a real-time, interactive webpage. This is an excellent way to stay updated on relevant healthcare recruitment topics, share your comments, and connect with other NAHCR members. Special thanks to the members of the Social Media Committee who will be our regular bloggers. In addition to the blog, you can also connect with NAHCR via LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
We understand that some facilities block social media sites and some of you are unable to access the blog from your work computer. NAHCR Social Committee member Melissa Marreno has graciously created a pitch sheet to submit to your HR/Recruiting leadership and IT department. Click here to access NAHCR Blog Pitch Sheet.
Until the next post, happy recruiting!

Angela Pointer, BSN, RN, CHCR
Nurse Recruiter: Duke University Hospital
Chair: Social Media Committee

What disciplines do we as Healthcare Recruiters feel is a must to be successful?”

The best “Recruitment disciplines” is to attain and/or have as a Healthcare Recruiter in order to be successful,  really relates to a sphere of knowledge, higher education, personal abilities, multi-task abilities, ability to follow through on tasks, an organization who has individuals who believe and trust what the recruiter is doing,  as well as networking abilities (just to name a few-the list could really go on and on, don’t you think so?)

I believe that Healthcare Recruiters are able to access and attain this “sphere of knowledge” through groups such as, NAHCR.

NAHCR has given me access and network abilities with a group of other Healthcare Recruiters who provide life experience in the field and firsthand knowledge of the struggles and on the job experiences as a Recruiter.  All of this collection of knowledge is shared through NAHCR meetings, emails, webinars, workshops, speakers that are provided, and the members are willing to provide it to others within the field to help them succeed.  Being stingy is not allowed at NAHCR, it’s about seeing everyone succeed!

What are your thoughts?

Nicki Walling
Hancock Regional Hospital
NAHCR Social Media Task Force Member


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How Important is that Blinking Red Light on the Blackberry?

The Blackberry was among the first, but this can really pertain to any of the myriad of smartphones we use for the purpose of staying connected at work. Have you ever been in a meeting, on your office phone, or otherwise occupied when you notice that the red light is blinking on the Blackberry to indicate a new message has been received? It can be quite stressful knowing someone is expecting a quick response, but we don't wish to be rude and appear to be giving anything less than our full attention to the meeting (or other activity).

Recent reports have shown that there is increasing acceptance of checking messages or texting in many settings such as the dinner table, on a date, and even the bedroom, let alone at work. There are many websites out there that will attempt to provide etiquette guidance, but they seem to be all over the map. While we need to keep the other party in mind and realize they really can have a legitimate need for a quick answer, the hope would be (perhaps falsely) that they understand how busy we are as well. Technology can be a benefit, but has also increased expectations of response times. I see the importance to respond as soon as we possibly can, but what is an acceptable time frame? Is it and hour, half day, 24 hours, etc? Knowing this can help with a better understanding of expectations, as well as help with our health/sanity. If we don't have clear expectations of response times and what types of messages are considered a priority, we can literally make ourselves sick trying to stay on top of everything. What are your thoughts on:
-Response times
-Priority messages
-Settings that are OK to use and respond to messages

Derek Cunningham, PHR, CHCR
Scripps Health
NAHCR Social Media Task Force Member

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The Recruiter Scoop - CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations to Deborah Hormann from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for submitting the winning name, for the NAHCR Blog - “The Recruiter Scoop”. 

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Favorite/Successful NAHCR Image Networking Stories

I attended my first Image conference last year in Las Vegas.  At the time I had four years of hospital recruiting experience (Nursing and Allied Health) and was a chapter president.  I was very excited about the opportunity to gain additional knowledge in the field of healthcare recruitment and network with fellow recruiters across the country. The Image conference did indeed exceed my expectations! 

There was one thing that was totally unexpected. While at the conference, I received a voice mail message from a recruiter at Duke. Earlier in the year, I applied for a few positions with various organizations and one of which as Duke. (I was happy in my current role at the time; however, I was exploring potential promotional/growth opportunities.) The recruiter informed me that the hiring leaders decided to move in a different direction for the position I applied for. However;  there was a Nurse Recruiter position available, and he asked if I was interested. Although I wasn’t really looking to make a lateral move, I called the recruiter back to let him know I would be interested in learning more about the opportunity.  Literally a couple of hours later, I ran into a gentleman wearing a Duke Medicine shirt.  I mentioned to him that I just received a call from someone at Duke, and he informed me that he was there with his wife.  She was also on the elevator and introduced herself. She was one of the Associate Chief Nursing Officers at Duke and was over Nurse Recruitment.  After the few minutes spent talking with her about the position, I was quite intrigued.  I went back to my hotel room and officially applied for the position. To sum up the story, three months later I joined Duke University Hospital as a Nurse Recruiter.

What about you?  What is your favorite Image networking story?

 

Angela Pointer
Duke Medicine
NAHCR Social Media Task Force Member

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What is the best advice you received when you became a recruiter?

Although it was many years ago, I remember it well.  As a new recruiter I was afraid – what can I say? What can I ask?  My boss back then had been in HR for a few years, she understood where I was coming from; why I was feeling the way that I was.  One day she sat me down, she told me , “don’t be afraid, be yourself, get to know the applicant; you’re always not going to make the “right hire”; you’ll learn from your mistakes”.  She said, always go with your “gut feeling”.  Well she was right - years later, I have learned from my mistakes – we all make them; but when I hire that “right” person; it’s such a thrill.  And the “gut thing”……..  yes, I always listen to it!    It’s always right. 

What about you, what is the best advice you received when you became a recruiter?

Claudia Cotarelo
Atlantic Health
NAHCR Social Media Task Force Member

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Fit Happens

This post is the sixth installment in a six-part series by guest blogger, Jay Forte, Humanetrics LLC.  Jay is scheduled to kick off the 2011 Image Conference with "The Greatness Zone" general session on Wednesday, July 13. Later in the day, Jay will present two additional sessions: “Will You Fit Here? The Talent Based Approach to Find and Hire the Right Employee” and “Intellectual Age Recruiter - Becoming a Strategic Business Partner”. Register for the Image Conference today to hear Jay!

Fit Happnes

Jay Forte, Humanetrics LLC. 
www.FireUpYourEmployees.comwww.TheGreatnessZone.com
Marie was hired into a customer service role for a large international distributor. Her responsibility, in addition to doing the daily service tasks, was to provide “consistently exceptional service.” Based on her robust resume of previous work experience, the company expected great results.  Marie failed.

Marie consistently lost her temper with customers who did not know how to order, had questions or required a second explanation of a product solution. She did not accommodate any changes to how she provided service – no personal touch – all customers were dealt with in the same efficient, but impersonal, manner. As Marie openly said, “I don’t really like people – but I’ll deal with them to get the job done.” Quite a first impression for a customer.

Marie may have been a great person (I’m sure her parents love her), but she is a misfit for this role; the role needed certain consistent behaviors that were not part of her core abilities. Fit didn’t happen.

Time after time I see organizations relying on candidates’ past skills or experience as the exclusive method for hiring. And though there may be mandatory role skill requirements, it is critical to also assess a candidate’s “fit” for the role – what the talents, strengths and passions are to be successful in the role.

Regardless of what our parents may have told us, we are not great at everything. But we are great at some things. When we discover these personal areas of greatness, we then can assess our world – what roles need what we do best – and can find our fit. Fit happens.

I find there are two primary problems in today’s recruiting effort:

1.      The organization does not clearly define the core abilities needed to be successful in the role,

2.      Job seekers do not know themselves well enough to know their unique talents, strengths and passions.

Today’s recruiters must help organizations better define the required attributes in each role, and state them in their sourcing process. They must also require job seekers to spend time discovering and articulating their unique abilities. Only then can the two sides meet in the middle for a meaningful process committed to finding the right person for the right job. Then, fit happens.

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3 Things Great Companies Do to Attract The Best Employees

This post is the fifth installment in a six-part series by guest blogger, Jay Forte, Humanetrics LLC. 
Jay is scheduled to kick off the 2011 Image Conference with "The Greatness Zone" general session on Wednesday, July 13. Later in the day, Jay will present two additional sessions: “Will You Fit Here? The Talent Based Approach to Find and Hire the Right Employee” and “Intellectual Age Recruiter - Becoming a Strategic Business Partner”. Register for the Image Conference today to hear Jay! 

 

3 Things Great Companies Do to Attract The Best Employees

Jay Forte, Humanetrics LLC.
www.FireUpYourEmployees.com www.TheGreatnessZone.com

What you send out, you receive. Well, not to get to “New Age-ish” on you, but there is a lot of truth to this when it comes to sourcing and hiring great employees.

Organizations constantly send messages to the outside world about who they are and their beliefs about how they value and develop their people. In my career, I have seen that the three things great companies do to send out a message that they are the best to work for are: they create and support a strong employee-focused culture, they have exceptional clarity in role definitions and performance expectations, and they are compassionate – they openly value, respect and care about employees as people.

1.      They create and support a strong employee-focused culture.  Word gets out quickly about which companies have thriving and employee-focused cultures. These organizations hire based on aptitude and ability, have meaningful incentive and reward programs, provide recurring employee feedback, offer skills education, have sound on-boarding, and are overtly inclusive. They build a culture that attends to the needs of the employees so employees stay motivated and focused on the needs of the customers.

2.      They have exceptional performance clarity. Core responsibilities and performance expectations are clearly defined. Employees (always) know what is expected and how what they do makes a difference to customers, other employees and the organization.

3.      They are compassionate and value employees as people. Organizations that attract the best openly value and celebrate their employees as people. They respect and encourage their diversity, passions and individuality. They encourage strong professional and personal development and respect the lives of the employees outside of the workplace.

There is always a difference between hiring employees and hiring great employees – and I only want great employees in my company. As much as we want to “test drive” a candidate before we hire him by asking talent and behavioral-based questions, great employees want to know what life will be like for them in the company before they get there. Share your beliefs and attitudes about your employees in your social media, your marketing materials and on your website. Share your company’s powerful culture, clarity and compassion and you will attract back the great employees. What you send out, you receive.

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National Health Care Recruiter's Day

On Tuesday, June 6. 1991, Congress declared the first Tuesday in June each year to be National Health Care Recruiter Recognition Day.  Healthcare recruiters play an essential part of the day to day operations of healthcare facilities nationwide!  Congratulations Health Care Recruiters!  I am meeting one of my favorite Health Care Recruiter’s and we are having lunch.  What are you doing today? 

Stephanie Parker, CHCR
NAHCR Social Media Task Force Chair

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Here Today, Here Tomorrow; 3 Ways to Keep the Great Employees You Recruit

This post is the fourth installment in a six-part series by guest blogger, Jay Forte, Humanetrics LLC. 


Jay is scheduled to kick off the 2011 Image Conference with "The Greatness Zone" general session on Wednesday, July 13. Later in the day, Jay will present two additional sessions: “Will You Fit Here? The Talent Based Approach to Find and Hire the Right Employee” and “Intellectual Age Recruiter - Becoming a Strategic Business Partner”. Register for the Image Conference today to hear Jay! 



Here Today, Here Tomorrow; 3 Ways to Keep the Great Employees You Recruit
Jay Forte, Humanetrics LLC. 
www.FireUpYourEmployees.com      www.TheGreatnessZone.com

Let’s say you are really good at this talent-based approach to hiring – you have defined the performance attributes that drive success in the job, you recruited high-value candidates, you even used talent-based interviewing to assess for fit, and you hired an outstanding employee. Excellent. You are way ahead of most other companies.

So, now that you have brought in an outstanding employee, what will the organization need to do to keep this employee instead of hitting the road within 2 -3 years?

Consider these three ways to help organizations keep their best employees:

1. Increase management/employee contact with recurring (weekly) performance feedback. Build time each week to review performance – to applaud great work and to identify areas that need improving. Also, this regular contact builds the rapport between employee and manager to be able to have a meaningful career discussion. One reason why so many good employees leave is they never have a discussion with their managers on why they should stay. Personal contact with management is critical.
   
   
2. Share information. No one likes to work in the dark, particularly the best performers. They want and need information to be able to make meaningful and successful decisions. Increase meaningful contact with employees through a weekly management e-mail, the creation of a company intranet and regular company meetings. Meetings that add context and information give employees the details they need to know how to direct their performance and find opportunities.
   
   
3. Provide recurring skill education. Organizations that provide education as a normal part of all roles not only encourage greater thinking, innovation and performance but also connect more powerfully with high-value employees. Employees can’t be consistently extraordinary in a changing world without constant education and training – great employees know this and expect it in their companies.

The best employees don’t want to change jobs often; they do this because the culture and management (accidentally) encourages it. When recruiting for companies or working in your company, be sure to guide the organization into ways that keep the great employees you recruit. Talk to them, share information and invest in their education; these are three ways to inspire the best employees to choose to be here today and here tomorrow.


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To post a comment, click below on the link that says # COMMENTS.  Then log-in with your Google or other listed account, OR you can also select Name/URL.  Depending on your settings you may or may not have to enter a URL.  If you are required to enter a URL, you may use your company's webaddress or simply enter www.nahcr.com.  Thank you for reading our blog and sharing your comments.

The Five Best Interview Questions

This post is the third installment in a six-part series by guest blogger, Jay Forte, Humanetrics LLC.

Jay is scheduled to kick off the 2011 Image Conference with "The Greatness Zone" general session on Wednesday, July 13. Later in the day, Jay will present two additional sessions: “Will You Fit Here? The Talent Based Approach to Find and Hire the Right Employee” and “Intellectual Age Recruiter - Becoming a Strategic Business Partner”. Register for the Image Conference today to hear Jay! 

The Five Best Interview Questions
Jay Forte, Humanetrics LLC

I love talent or behavioral-based interviewing because it allows me to take each candidate out for a “test ride” before I make an offer for a position.

Let me back up. Today’s employees are mostly hired for what they know and how they use what they know to make a difference in their workplace. This determines their effectiveness in a constantly changing service environment.

Brain biology studies help us understand that we are each hardwired in very particular ways – we have unique abilities (talents, strengths and passions) that are truly ours. We each see the world in our particular way based on our DNA and genetic history. And during the course of a day we make 20,000 3-second decisions, most of which are made not by formally thinking, but rather by responding based on our particular hardwiring. This means that how we first respond frequently tells a lot about how we process, think and evaluate. Great – I need this to hire effectively in an economy whose success is based on my ability to find employees who think in line with the success thinking in a job.

A talent-based interview question is a question that uses unique phrasing to get the candidate to share his immediate, top-of-mind reaction; this is representative of his brain hardwiring and is likely to be the reaction he would have in the workplace. Couple this with questions that involve actual workplace situations and a good interviewer will be able to see a job candidate’s thinking and response in action.

Here are my five favorite talent-based interview questions:

1.      Define ordinary and extraordinary for me.  How have you contributed to making your previous workplaces extraordinary? What could you do to make our workplace (customer service, etc) extraordinary?

2.      Here’s a situation you’ll encounter in this role (workplace): _________________  How would you handle this?

3.      When you are at your best, what are you doing? What do others applaud you for? How do you see using this attribute in this job?

4.      How do you promote an idea or change to a manager? What have you done? What worked? What didn’t work?

5.      Let’s say you decided to take the job here. It has been a year and you are driving home, thinking that taking this job was the best thing you have done. What has happened in this year to make you think this?

Notice the formats – they are ideally not typical questions because we are after a candidate’s top-of-mind reaction, not his planned and rehearsed answer. Also, we are interested in real life situations, ideally involving real situations the candidate will encounter in your workplace. Kick the tires. Go for a test drive. Get a feel for the thinking the candidate will bring to the workplace before you hire.

I’ll be reviewing this concept and how to craft these questions at 2011 Image Conference in Raleigh.

How Human Is Your Workplace

This post is the second installment in a six-part series by guest blogger, Jay Forte, Humanetrics LLC. 

Jay is scheduled to kick off the 2011 Image Conference with "The Greatness Zone" general session on Wednesday, July 13. Later in the day, Jay will present two additional sessions: “Will You Fit Here? The Talent Based Approach to Find and Hire the Right Employee” and “Intellectual Age Recruiter - Becoming a Strategic Business Partner”. Register for the Image Conference today to hear Jay! 

How Human Is Your Workplace
Jay Forte, Humanetrics LLC

I was a CPA and CFO. I totally get that business is about results – the bottom line. I am also wise enough to understand that the key to great results is a commitment to engage and inspire our people, so they choose to show up to work and consistently do great things.

The migration from the industrial age (make things) economy to today’s intellectual (provide service) economy no longer has employees working behind machines; they are now face-to-face and phone-to-phone with customers. This customer contact has completely changed the role, work and impact of employees.

Great information presented in the book Human Sigma by Dr. John Fleming supports that achieving customer loyalty (not just satisfaction) requires building an emotional connection between the customer and a product, brand, company or person. And at the heart of this event is the passionate, talented and engaged employee, watching for opportunities to connect more significantly with customers. And behind this level of employee connection is a workplace that wisely chooses, supports, educates, values and inspires its employees.

So the question I generally ask organizations is, How human is your workplace?

Do you hire people based on their talents, strengths and passions so they get to use their unique abilities in roles that make sense for them and they have the ability to shine?

Do you have a compelling vision, mission, belief and purpose that employees can feel part of?

Do you create meaningful and achievable reward and recognition programs to celebrate both effort and success?

Do you offer education to encourage employees to stay current, constantly learn and bring their best to their work?

Do you provide recurring performance feedback to stay in touch with employees and support their growth?

Your people are your profits. Highly engaged employees create the critical emotional connected customers need to move customers from satisfied to loyal. These employees bring their best when they feel valued, supported and cared for. We can no longer mandate performance – we must inspire it. And the more we value our employees for their unique abilities and impact, the more we inspire their loyalty. More about this at the 2011 Image Conference in Raleigh.

A New Definition of Performance

This post is the first installment in a six-part series by guest blogger, Jay Forte, Humanetrics LLC. It seems fitting that Jay kick off the NAHCR blog, which has been inactive for some while, since he is also scheduled to kick off the 2011 Image Conference with "The Greatness Zone" general session on Wednesday, July 13. Later in the day, Jay will present two additional sessions: “Will You Fit Here? The Talent Based Approach to Find and Hire the Right Employee” and “Intellectual Age Recruiter - Becoming a Strategic Business Partner”. Register for the Image Conference today to hear Jay! 

A New Definition of Performance
Jay Forte, Humanetrics LLC

I have a question for you. Why do you pay your people – or why do people pay the people you recruit?

I always get so many answers from this question but I still have one favorite answer: we pay our employees to provide the best, most efficient and most profitable response in this moment - period. We pay them to think on their feet and respond to the situations they encounter with a focus on service, efficiency and profitability. We don’t pay them to do a job; we pay them to respond in a meaningful way. And it is therefore our responsibility to know how to inspire this response. And it starts with a changed definition of performance.

Today’s intellectual (provide service) age has employees face-to-face with customers. This personal contact with customers now requires that employees be wisely hired into roles in which they “fit.” Today, great performance happens when employees are both good at what they do and passionate about doing it.

Consider that I need my employees to think on their feet each moment of the day (I like to say that employees need to pack their brains when they pack their lunch). Employees who are intrinsically good at what a job requires (talented) know how to get the job “done right” for a customer. This is good but not great. What would be better is if the employee were also passionate or interested in the work as well. Employees who are also passionate about what they do commit the extra effort to raise their performance, do extraordinary things and emotionally connect with customers. This is critical to an organization’s profitability and success.

Performance has changed. It is no longer about doing a job. It is about thinking through the best, most efficient and most profitable response in this moment. To create this kind of performance requires that employees are good at what they do (their talents and strengths match those needed in the job), and interested, or even passionate, about doing the job. Knowing that performance has changed is critical to attracting and hiring the right employees. Its not about doing the job – its about thinking the event through each time. 

Knowing this encourages today’s intellectual-age recruiters to do more than just hire – they become strategic performance business partners. More on this at the 2011 Image Conference in Raleigh