How Aspen Healthcare reduced their time to hire by 50%

Aspen Healthcare, a senior care company, faced significant hiring challenges, exacerbated by the aftermath of COVID-19 and strict qualification requirements. Yoseli Arrelano, the Recruiting Director, struggled with time-consuming processes, no-show interviews, and a limited applicant pool. However, by implementing Workstream's automation technology, they experienced a 50% reduction in time to hire and a 200% increase in new hires per month, revolutionizing their recruitment process and ensuring top-quality care for patients.

“We are in this world to make a difference. I believe people remember you not for what you say but how you make them feel. A lot of people that we hire have that impact on our patients.”

Yoseli Arrelano

Recruiting Director at Aspen Healthcare

The problem

Challenges of hiring in the healthcare sector

Since joining the organization last year, Yoseli has been managing all the recruiting for an industry barely recovering from the aftermath of COVID-19.

Being in a nursing home with COVID, a lot of people are scared and a lot of people have left the industry. It's been a challenge now more than ever to find quality candidates to provide care for our patients.

Yoseli Arrelano

Recruiting Director at Aspen Healthcare

In the healthcare industry, there’s an added layer of complexity since most applicants need to meet strict qualifications like having certain certifications or meeting a required level of education.

Yoseli singlehandedly manages recruiting and hires for several positions across Aspen Health’s 30+ facilities. She’s responsible for everything from setting interview questions to managing the onboarding process—and everything in between—leaving her little time to follow up with applicants and keep them engaged. With every five interviews scheduled, four would no show, losing the organization, especially Yoseli, hours each week.

With challenging positions to fill, a time consuming hiring process, and no shows leaving her with a limited applicant pool to hire from, Yoseli knew she needed help.

the solution

Recruiting automation saves time and cost

When Yoseli discovered Workstream’s HR, Payroll, and Hiring platform, she quickly began reaping the benefits of a faster, more streamlined hiring process.

Hiring insights

Workstream’s built-in applicant tracking capabilities made it easy for Yoseli to manage active job postings across all Apsen Health locations. And with customizable reports, she can regularly check in on how the locations are doing, allowing her to provide added support to those that need it.

Smart screening

The smart screening feature allows Yoseli to include mandatory questions on licenses and certifications in the application so when unqualified candidates apply, they’re instantly rejected without any action from Yoseli or her hiring managers. Qualified applicants are automatically pushed to the interview stage, saving time by allowing the team to only focus on applicants who meet the position’s requirements.

Automated self-scheduling

Once an applicant moves to the interview stage, they can schedule their own interviews via text based on the hiring manager’s preset availability. Yoseli’s team saves hours on back-and-froth when applicants schedule their own interviews.

Reminders

Before Workstream, no shows had always been a problem for Aspen Health. But with automated interview reminders and the ability for applicants to reschedule interviews via text, Yoseli and the team are seeing an improvement in their interview show rate. These reminders also have the added benefit of keeping applicants engaged during the hiring process, and increasing the chances they continue to pursue the opportunity.

built for the hourly workforce

How to hire and retain healthcare workers

"Sometimes, what we think is important to our employees is not important to them,” Yoseli says. She advises her recruiters to ask for feedback from applicants and new hires. By following up after the interview, or when the new hire is onboarded, you can learn a lot about your applicant experience and where you could possibly improve. This is how Aspen Healthcare discovered their staff prioritizes insurance benefits (for themselves and their family) over getting a raise.

When it comes to retaining employees, Yoseli believes that great management is key. “Employees don’t quit companies, they quit management,” Yoseli says. That is why Aspen Health prioritizes management training and education to create a positive work environment and good relationships.

Yoseli takes pride in her work as a recruiter in the healthcare sector. She sees the difference she can make by keeping facilities staffed with qualified professionals who provide top notch healthcare to their patients.