The last two years have hit many industries with staffing challenges. However, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the home care industry was facing a significant caregiver crisis. Recruiting quality caregivers has long been a major issue for agencies, and the unique challenges presented by the pandemic mean that home care providers need to use all the caregiver recruitment resources available to them to find top-notch care staff.
There is one tool that can be of particular help to home care agencies looking to add to their care teams: social media. According to SociallyRecruited.com, in 2020, 79% of job seekers used social media in their job search, and 70% of hiring managers say they successfully hired applicants through social media. A majority (73%) of millennial workers (those between ages 25-40) reported finding their last job via social media.
These numbers reveal just how powerful social media is for recruiters, but there’s more to it than simply having a business page presence. Let’s take a look at arguably the most powerful social media platform – Facebook – and find out how home care agencies can effectively connect, recruit, and hire.
The Power of Facebook for Caregiver Recruitment
In the third quarter of 2021, Facebook reported around 1.93 billion daily active users, which means there is a robust audience for agencies to advertise to, whether it be for your home care services or caregiver career openings. There are also over 60 million active business pages, which means that many companies are indeed connecting with Facebook’s massive audience.
For home care agencies, the first step to recruiting on Facebook is to set up a Facebook Business page and a Business Manager account. From there, it’s about connection and reach. Part of that connection must include sharing your company’s culture. Make sure to post to your Facebook page regularly so that when a potential caregiver notices your job ads, they can get a good sense of who you are and what it is like to work for you. And then you need to increase reach and visibility so your content gets seen.
Posting Jobs
On any platform, a job posting should be brief, while also ensuring that candidates get a full picture of the job, its responsibilities, and benefits. You’ll also want to make sure to mention why someone might want to work for you. Do you offer flexibility? Above average pay? Career advancement opportunities? Consider what about the job or your company might stand out to potential candidates. What will grab their attention? Is there anything that might make this job post be shared repeatedly?
Visuals are another key part of a Facebook job post. Professional photos of your team members interacting with each other are a wonderful way to give a peek inside the team environment. When using team photos, make sure your team members have signed a photo release indicating you have permission to use their images in advertising efforts. If you don’t have compelling team photos, then stock images that illustrate the position – a caregiver laughing with an older adult, for example – can serve as a way for candidates to visually put themselves in the role.
Promoting Your Posts to Boost Caregiver Recruitment
On Facebook, there are two ways to promote job posts. You can ‘Boost a (Job) Post’ or you can use Facebook Ads Manager to create a paid campaign. Boosting a job post sends it out to an even wider audience, and helps you reach potential caregivers who don’t already follow your business. Creating an ad can take your posting even further. Promoting your posts via Facebook Ads can get your job postings in front of hundreds (or even thousands) of highly-targeted candidates through the targeting you set up in Ads Manager.
Get Involved in Facebook Groups
Of course, there is more to attracting caregivers on Facebook than just posting or paying for a job ad. To get the most out of the social media platform’s recruitment facilities, networking is always a good idea. To do this, get involved in local groups. There is a group for pretty much everything on Facebook. A simple search for a target keyword, like “senior care” in Groups can help you find groups in your area to join. Then, you can share job postings within these groups, knowing that you are likely targeting individuals most interested in working for a company like yours.
Facebook is frequently ranked among the top recruitment sources each year, with social media as a whole accounting for approximately 7.2% of recruitment efforts. While agencies certainly shouldn’t ignore popular options like Indeed and employee referrals, Facebook represents a huge opportunity for cost-effective recruitment in an industry that for too long has struggled with staffing shortages. The large and ever-changing social media platform can be difficult to navigate, however, so having a marketing and social media expert in your corner is always a good idea.