6 speed-hiring hacks

Noncommercial foodservice operators have enough to worry about in filling positions; but the clunky multi-interview, multiweek hiring process only makes it worse. Complicating things even further, required drug tests at some organizations and red tape at the top are causing operators to lose out on candidates.

Hospitals often have the slowest onboarding times of all, with extra layers of background checks (and even behavioral assessments and “core-values alignments”) required. So FSD turned to two hospital leaders to share some of the innovative ideas that have helped them shorten their hiring, getting employees in the door and on the job faster. 

Operators who aren’t using advance phone calls to weed out candidates who wouldn’t make it through an in-person interview are missing out, says Lynne Brown, system operations director for Geisinger Health System in Wilkes Barre, Pa. Phone screenings help her team use time effectively and avoid scheduling unnecessary interviews.

Organizing an on-site job fair (or setting up a booth at a larger one) provides an opportunity for on-the-spot interviews. The talent recruiting team at Providence Health & Services in the Portland, Ore., area organized its first fair in November 2016, making 71 on-the-spot job offers, says Mark Dunn, regional director of hospitality services. Since then, the group has held three more fairs, substantially reducing its backlog of open positions.

Geisinger’s online application is difficult to navigate for the average person, Brown says, so leaders carry business-size cards. If they’re out and about and spot a likely candidate, they can hand out the cards, which provide step-by-step instructions how to apply.

Geisinger posts “Help wanted” signs throughout its own establishments that invite people to let a cashier or employee know if they’re interested in a job. A manager will immediately help them apply.

Providence now aggressively advertises at local schools, trade schools and universities, and on Portland’s mass transit system. It has also made its employee referral program more robust, complete with a bonus, Dunn says, so positions are filled more quickly.

While they do add another scheduling element, observation periods improve overall hiring by reducing turnover, Brown says. Geisinger has implemented a four-hour period during which potential hires can watch what the job truly entails. While a few candidates have walked away afterward, that’s preferable to filling a job only to find it almost immediately vacant.