Staffing Robot - Healthcare Staffing Technology, Design & Marketing Blog

QR Code Marketing Tips For Your Staffing Company

Have you seen these odd looking shapes before?

 

 

 

 

 

Most likely you've seen them on movie posters or magazine ads. Although similar, these symbols are not bar codes or UPC symbols. This funny looking square of black pixels is called a 'Quick Response Code' or 'QR Code' for short.

If you're unfamiliar, A QR Code is a simple ways for people to quickly interact with web based content through a mobile device. QR Code usage has increased greatly in recent years due to the wide-spread public acceptance of smart phones. Nielsen recently released a study revealing that 43% of all U.S. mobile phone subscribers own smart phones. For subscribers between the ages of 25 - 34, that percentage goes up to 62%. All of these phones are capable of scanning QR Codes.

The process for interacting with a QR Code is simple:
1) Download a QR Code reader app on your smart phone. You can easily find them in the appropriate app store for your iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile phone, etc. Some cost money but there's really no reason to pay for one. The free ones work just fine.

2) Now, when you see a QR Code, bring up your QR Code reader app on your phone. Next, scan the image, similar to taking a picture (many of these apps scan as soon as the QR Code is in focus), and you will be taken to web content through your mobile phone such as a web page, contact information, images, etc.

 

QR Codes are simple to make. You can have your favorite staffing website design and marketing company make them for you or you can create them yourself for free. Just google for 'QR Code generator' and you'll have plenty of good options. You can generate QR Codes in different sizes and you can also brand QR Codes with different symbols and colors. Be careful though, if you change up too many of the pixels the QR Codes won't be scannable. Also, some QR Code readers have a difficult time with QR Codes in different colors. Just be sure you test your final product with multiple devices and apps.

So, now that you know what a QR Code is and how to make one, most likely you're next question is - "What can my company actually do with QR Codes?"

Here are some ideas and creative suggestions on how your staffing company can effectively use QR Codes in your marketing efforts:

Magazine and other print ads. QR Codes are a great way to bridge your offline and online marketing efforts. Simply add a QR Code into any print material you produce and you'll be able to instantly share web content with your audience. The best part? You now have an even easier way to track the success of these print campaigns.

Company feedback cards. Looking for customer feedback? Create some feedback cards with QR Codes to hand out to your customers. You can create cards to ask for company wide feedback or employee specific feedback.

 

Business cards. Placing a QR Code on your business card is a great way to present a more interactive connection with someone you just met or a new customer.

 

Poster displays and clothing. Next time your at a trade show try placing QR Codes on all of your posters, display materials, even company clothing (shirts, hats, etc.)

Event marketing. The next time you're participating in or putting on an event, consider places you could add a QR code. Everything from leave behinds to print outs of our slides make great places for QR Codes.

Where should your QR Codes link to? Thought you'd never ask! Here are some suggestions on where you can link your QR Codes to for the best results:

• Your cmpany website
• Your company Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social pages
• Web contests, games and referral programs
• Exclusive content
• Special coupons or discounts
• Targeted landing pages - especially ones with forms to help you generate new business leads.
• Company contact information.
• Personal contact information. QR Codes can do more than simply link somewhere. They can actually store data like your personal contact information. This way, when someone scans your QR Code, all of the contained contact information is instantly pulled into the contact list on their device. 
• Downloadable content like a white paper or infographic.
• Your job board. Recruiting new candidates? Handing out cards and promo items with QR Codes linked to your job board is a great way to get the attention of new candidates on the go.

Two final tips when it comes to QR Code marketing.
1) Be sure any web page you bring someone to from a QR Code is optimized for mobile devices. Using a mobile marketing tactic like QR Codes and asking people to engage with you through their mobile device, only to bring them to a web page not optimized for mobile devices is a major fail.

2) Don't put QR Codes in your email signature or on a web page. No one is going to scan an image on a web page with their mobile device - just to go to a web page. Please just don't do it. Please.

QR Codes are an excellent new marketing opportunity for your staffing company. There is also a lot of supporting data out there suggesting QR Codes are here to stay and rapidly gaining in popularity/usage. Think of QR Codes as a perfect way to bridge your offline and online marketing efforts for your staffing company.

Questions or want more information on what your staffing company can do with QR Codes? Contact Staffing Robot today.

Helpful links and Resources:

QR Code Apps:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/qr-app/id320140689?mt=8
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/qr-code-reader-and-scanner/id388175979?mt=8
http://news.cnet.com/qr-code-readers-for-iphone
https://market.android.com/details?id=la.droid.qr&hl=en

QR Code Generators:
http://www.systemid.com/barcode_generator/
http://qrcode.kaywa.com/
http://goqr.me/
http://tag.microsoft.com/home.aspx

Creative examples of QR Code marketing:
http://mobilecustomersurvey.com/
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/inspiring-qr-codes/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GbplSdh0lGU
http://cardswapp.com/
http://www.awwwards.com/10-creative-uses-of-qr-codes.html

OR Nurses, ER Nurses, ICU Nurses - Which Job Is Easier To Recruit?

Wanted Analytics is a site dedicated to delivering business inteligence data around talent acquisition. They provide the data through their application in ways that are visually appealing and easy to understand.

Clients in the staffing, HR, RPO, media, and government sectors use WANTED Analytics™ to find sales leads, analyze employment trends, gather competitive intelligence, forecast economic conditions, and source hard-to-fill positions.

Wanted puts out a lot of data around healthcare job modalities. You can get summaries from a lot of this data simply by subscribing to their blog. For example, in a recent post they put forward data on the difficultly level between recruiting OR Nurses, ER Nurses and ICUS Nurses. The results are pretty interesting.

 

 

Another recent post supplies data on the best places to post jobs ads on the web for registered nurses.

 

 

Top Stories in the Staffing Industry 2011 and Some Predictions for 2012

Another year of discussing staffing industry news, marketing tips and events has passed so we thought we'd recap some of the big staffing industry news and events worth mentioning from 2011. Here are the biggest and most relevant stories that had an impact on the staffing industry in 2011 and some we think will have a bigger impact next year in 2012.

Top Staffing Related News in 2011

Staffing Agencies. It was another great year at the Healthcare Staffing Summit put on by the SIA. A lot of great data about the industry and where it's headed in 2012 was shared.

One of the biggest stories relating to staffing companies this year was Maxim Healthcare's $150M fine for defrauding Medicare programs.

The Economy. It's not news anymore to state that the down economy is still having a big effect on the staffing industry. Many hospitals felt these effects in the form of massive nursing strikes throughout the country. However, at least this year there were some larger signs of improvement, particularly in the healthcare staffing industry.

Health IT. Health IT was big news this year. Everything from EMR mandates and implementation, to major health IT investments.

Mobile. Mobile is definitely getting hot in the staffing industry. Mobile recruiting, mobile apps, mobile websites, etc. are all playing a larger role in the day to day operations for staffing companies. Lots of data was put out about mobile tech adoption with healthcare professionals. At Staffing Robot we were happy to be part of this growing trend by creating the first mobile website in the healthcare staffing industry. Our prediction is that next year mobile will be even more popular if not in fact critical to all staffing companies.

Infographics. Infographics were a hot new marketing trend in the healthcare staffing industry and were everywhere this year. It was definitely a growing trend to see people coming up with new and creative ways to visualize data and use them in their marketing. We expect to see much more of this trend in 2012 as infographics are a fantastic way to communicate large amounts of complex data in a very simple and often beautiful way.

VMS Growth Slows. VMS/MSP solutions have seen significant growth over the last few years. However, this year, the SIA reported that VMS/MSP growth has shown signs of slowing. This next year should tell us more about the slow down and whether this is just a factor of the economy, a trend or market saturation.

Social Media. Lots of new here. Google released the +1 button and their social networking site Google +. Google + had tremendous initial growth and recently released brand pages. We expect that in 2012 all of us will have a Google + page.

Facebook launched its timeline feature and the Apply with LinkedIn button was also a big event this year. This new feature allows people to apply for your jobs with their LinkedIn profiles.

Mergers/Acquisitions. This year, Cerner acquired Clarvia, greatly expanding its technology offerings. However, the biggest news in this area was the acquisition that 'almost happened.' Kronos made an attempt to acquire API Healthcare but it was quickly stopped by the Department of Justice based on fears of anti-competition.

Staffing Robot. At Staffing Robot we also had a big year. We were fortunate to work with a lot of great staffing companies creating new brands, designing websites, developing applications and providing marketing services like SEO, PPC, Social Media and even print materials. For some of these efforts we were even awarded the eHealthcare Leadership award for Best Website in the Healthcare Category. Woohoo!

In addition to working on so many interesting projects with such great clients we also launched a new product this year we're very proud of. It's called Hively and it lets your customers give you real time feedback with 1 click, at their convenience. The adoption in the last few months has been great to see and the feedback from our customers has been tremendous. We'd highly encourage you to make measuring your customer happiness a top priority for 2012. Get started on your resolutions early and sign up today!

Your Stories. Did we miss any big events or staffing related news stories from 2011? If so, post them in the comments below.

We hope you all had a great 2011. Here's to an even better and more prosperous 2012!

Cheers!

 

 

What's Your Staffing Company's Mobile Recruiting Strategy?

Here's a great post about mobile recruiting from the Recruiters Lounge blog. In this post, Jim Stroud chats with Michael Marlatt about mobile recruiting.

The 3 biggest take aways we got from the video:

• Be sure your recipients have opted in to your campaigns
• Have a clear Call To Action - confirm a job, download information, fill out a form, etc.
• Be sure your sending them to a page that has been optimized for mobile. This one is perhaps the most important. Texting your candidates and bringing the a page that hasn't been optimized for mobile = serious fail.

What's your mobile recruiting strategy? If you don't have one we should talk. Contact us and we can discuss your mobile recruiting strategy and optimizing your web presence for mobile.

VMS and MSP Growth Slowing: SIA Reports

The Staffing Industry Analysts are reporting data suggesting VMS and MSP adoption is slowing.

The percent of large buyers reporting use of VMS and/or MSP in 2011 was roughly flat with the previous year, according to just-released research from Staffing Industry Analysts.

The full report is behind a paywall unfortunately, but the summary is available. It would be very interesting to see the data as it relates specific staffing segments.

Back in 2009 we posted a snapshot estimating VMS/MSP adoption based on the VMS/MSP providers in the healthcare staffing industry. This was just a high level estimate but already seemed to identify a market nearing saturation. There are only about 5000 hospitals across the nation and now, almost 3 years later, there have been new players in the industry and VMS/MSP adoption increased dramatically. In healthcare staffing, it makes sense that adoption would slow. 

Any signs or data suggesting that's the case (or not the case)? Post in the comments below.

 

Infographic: The Role of Nursing in the Military

Here's another great nursing infographic. This one describes the role of nursing in the military.

 

(Click to enlarge)

[Via: Carrington College's RN programs]

The work was done by: http://submitinfographics.com/

Commissioned by: http://carrington.edu/cc/programs/nursing-registered/

http://carrington.edu/ccblog/programs/registered-nursing/history-of-nursing-in-the-military-infographic/

Tips to Avoid Crossing the Line in Social Recruiting

Guest Blog Post by: Kyle Lagunas - HR Analyst at Software Advice.

When it comes to using social media websites for recruiting - what we call social recruiting - how far is too far? Beyond learning the hard way what works and what doesn’t, there are some best practices emerging to help recruiters know when they’ve pushed the proverbial envelope too far. And hiring professionals are discovering a new line of recruiting applications and tools built into applicant tracking software to help them rise above the same old hashtag to better identify, connect with and place viable candidates.

For all their good intentions, many folks using social media in their recruiting efforts are running into the same issues. Here are the top three:

• Spamming job posts. Want to render your social recruiting efforts ineffective? Spamming people with your job opportunities is a surefire way to do just that. The key to social recruiting is to be social and engaging. Share industry news and articles of interest, exchange personal messages, etc. 
• Prying rather than researching. Some positions require a flawless social media presence. For the rest, you shouldn’t be digging too deeply into their profiles. Screening should be focused on general impressions of candidates to see if they would fit within your company culture.  
• Penalizing candidates for level of access. It’s not unusual for candidates to deny recruiters access to their Facebook profile, inviting them to connect via LinkedIn instead. Many people use Facebook for personal, rather than professional networking - especially in Generation Y. Don’t write off candidates for showing a bit of backbone and managing their public image - it’s hardly something to penalize.  

Lessons Learned from the Trenches

Some people are experiencing more success in social recruiting than others, and have picked up a few tricks worth sharing. Carolyn Betts, CEO of Betts Recruiting, is one such person, and was recently featured in a New York Times article, for leveraging social media to grow her recruiting success. She and I chatted last week, and she shared some lessons she’s learned from the trenches.  

• Focus on strategy. You won’t be able to make the most of social media if you’re going into it blindly. You need to have a plan for how you want to accomplish your goals. Betts suggests starting with one social media site, familiarizing yourself with it, then growing your presence gradually. 
• Have realistic expectations. When you consider the industry you’re in and the position you’re hiring for, are your deal-breakers realistic? You need to determine upfront how much weight you are giving a candidate’s social media presence. 
• Leverage the right apps and tools. Many successful social recruiters know that in order to make the most of your social recruiting efforts, you need to leverage the right tools. Why go it alone when there are applications with built-in best practices for recruiting more effectively? 

Software Expanding Recruiters’ Reach

Human resources software is growing to help recruiters make use of social media in their hiring strategy. But before recruiters can fully harness these helpful tools, they must determine whether or not they are in the right social media playground.

According to a recent study, approximately 85 percent of U.S. companies used LinkedIn for recruiting last year, though only 30 percent of active job seekers are on LinkedIn. As such, many recruiters are finding LinkedIn a bit overcrowded. Where are the candidates? The large majority of them are on Facebook.

Because the data recruiters are looking for is a little harder to find on Facebook, however, many miss the sourcing opportunity this vast network provides. Fortunately, there are third-party software developers devising methods to put actionable candidate information into the hands of recruiters quickly and efficiently. Some of these recruiting solutions are standalone applications that leverage recruiters’ networks. Others - like Bullhorn Reach - are applications designed specifically for automating social recruiting.

For further reading, check out this original article at: http://blog.softwareadvice.com/articles/hr/ social-recruiting-how-far-is-too-far-010271/

 

About the Author: Kyle is the HR Analyst at Software Advice – a company that reviews human resources and applicant tracking software.

Onward Healthcare travel nursing infographic

Great infographic by Onward Healthcare titled 'A Guide to Travel Nursing Jobs.'

Data for the Onward Healthcare travel nursing infographic included motivational factors for choosing a travel nurse career, age demographics, benefits information, and social media usage of these travel nurses. The guide also highlights salary info for travel RNs and a timeline of the travel nursing process.

 

© 2011 Onward Healthcare

Pink Glove Dance Going Viral. Again!

A couple of years ago Portland's own St. Vincent's Medical Center put out an amazing viral video called The Pink Glove Dance. The video got them national attention and raised a lot of awareness for breast cancer

This year, the company that created the concept - Medline - put the vidoe concept out as a contest challenge to hospitals, schools and healthcar companies. They have so far received lots of great entries. Winners will be announced Oct. 28, with the first place winner receiving $10,000 to donate to its favorite breast cancer charity.

We've seen at least one healthcare staffing company enter the contest - Cross Country Staffing Pink Glove Dance. Any others you know of?

Check out the Pink Glove Dance Video entries here and vote for your favorite.

 

Staffing Robot Portfolio Update

The cobbler's children are finally starting to get some shoes! In other words - we finally updated our portfolio of work!

We've been asked to share our portfolio several times but have never taken the time to actually update it. We've been so busy with client work and our own projects that getting around to updating our sites often becomes a low (read: no) priority. :-/

However, we just updated our Staffing Robot portfolio from some of the work we did in the last year. Seeing how much we've put out there will give you a good idea on what we mean when we say "we've been busy!" And just think - this is only a small sample of the work we've done.

From staffing websites, to mobile websites and job apps, to branding for staffing staffing agencies, to custom job board creation and building our own software applications for staffing - take a look around at our recently update portfolio and let us know what you think.

Check back every few weeks or so and see the new projects we've posted! Also, if we missed adding your site it's not intentional! Just let us know and we'll put it up.

Got a project you'd like us to work on? Contact Staffing Robot and we'll get going!