Recruitment program successfully targets registered staff
Christie Gardens says ‘Let's Do Lunch!’
Monday April 28, 2008 -- Jason Thompson
The introduction of the Let's Do Lunch! program at Christie Gardens has paid huge dividends in terms of attracting registered staff to the Toronto long-term care home.

Facing an ongoing shortage of registered nursing staff, a recruitment team was established and tasked with addressing this critical need.

One of the initial concerns identified in the recruitment team discussions was that many registered nursing staff may not be familiar with work in a long-term care setting. The team decided the best way to expose nurses to the environment was to get them through the door — and the Let's Do Lunch! program was born.

Beginning with a tour of the entire home, participants are introduced to many aspects of working in long-term care setting. After the tour, the group retires to the dining room for lunch and time for questions and answer session. Beyond taking part in the tour and lunch, there is no obligation on the part of the nurses although they are invited to book a formal interview.

Yvonne Sweatman, the recruitment consultant at Christie Gardens, says the program is non-threatening and offers an informal approach to the interview process.

Since the program began about a year ago, Christie Gardens has hired 12 RPNs and two RNs, through this initiative.

“The Let's Do Lunch! program gave them a real opportunity to stand in the hall and say, ‘Yes, I think this could work for me,’” Sweatman says.

"We are happy to say that at this point we have filled every vacant position."

The idea came from a marketing endeavour Sweatman was involved in at another seniors’ home, aimed at introducing seniors to life in long-term care through Let's Do Lunch-style invitation.

"We really wanted to give the opportunity for nurses to see a good example of what long-term care can be,” she says. "We're very proud of the care we give and the home we have, and felt very strongly that the best way to get potential staff to look at this as an opportunity for them was to have them come to see us."

Sweatman encourages other long-term care homes to establish their own program as a means of attracting recruits.

"I would recommend they try this approach.  For the amount of effort involved, it has been very successful."

For more information about the program, or to arrange a date and time to accept the "Let's Do Lunch" invitation at Christie Gardens, e-mail Sweatman at yvonne@smartstaffing.ca.

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