Conversational AI and nurse recruitment strategies

The last 12 months have seen the rapid rise of conversational aI in the mainstream business world. Led by ChatGPT, technology is driving rapid change in communication, content creation, and human interaction. With all the fuss about aI taking over, surely we should consider areas it can help us the most. Enter healthcare recruitment. Nurse jobs are expected to be more numerous and faster growing than any other major profession. The consequence of an untreated nursing shortage is an unwell society.

My company, Nurse Recruitment Experts, is obsessed with helping providers hire during this crisis. In a challenging market pressured by burnout and retirement, let’s consider how conversational AI could change the paradigm of nurse recruitment strategies.

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Instant communication

Every caring task a nurse undertakes contributes to a healthier world. Every detraction from their quality of life creates an unhealthier one. We need to make it easier for nurses to apply to new jobs. A 2022 survey showed that 25% of nurses were considering switching careers.  Yes, retention is desirable for individual employers. But in terms of keeping nurses in the profession, they must work somewhere they feel valued and comfortable.

I think conversational AI provides a firmer foundation to do this. It steps out of the old category. Chat intakes and provides information quicker. An initial application can be started and completed in less than a minute. Nurses can be more mobile and capable of job hopping.  

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Mobile first

In 1920s New York, to leave home without a hat was heresy. Heads and headwear were inseparable outdoors. From the moment a man went out until he came home, his hat was always with him. Isn’t it the same with phones nowadays? Try and quit WhatsApp and observe the familial uproar. We develop attachments and bonds with certain items.  On average, people spend 3 hours and 15 minutes on their devices daily. And 1 in 5 smartphone users spends upwards of 4.5 hours on average scrolling. Even if nurses apply on their laptops, chat is mentally associated with the phone screen, with which most people have built a deep level of comfort and trust. (Maybe too much, but that’s for another day).

Conversational AI feels like chatting with someone you know. Its user-friendly interfaces, chat bubbles, and name responder invoke much different feelings than applying on a corporate website. Healthcare recruitment teams should use this to their advantage.

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Measuring empathy

Conversational AI can play a significant role in improving nurse recruitment by capturing empathy, care, and communication skills through asynchronous voice and video responses.  

Instead of traditional in-person or live video interviews, it allows candidates to record their responses at their convenience, reducing scheduling conflicts and stress. Voice captures the tone, inflection, and empathy in their speech, while video captures facial expressions, body language, and non-verbal communication cues, which are crucial for assessing empathy and care.

Also, emotion recognition technology can analyze voice and video responses. This can identify emotional cues - compassion, care, validation - in a candidate's communication. Additionally, Natural Language Processing (NLP) NLP algorithms can assess specific keywords, phrases, or sentiments that indicate their compatibility with an employer’s culture. Scores for empathy, communication skills, and care based on the analysis of voice, video, and textual content. Candidates can then be ranked according to their scores.

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So, why not?

Sometimes antiquated, whether healthcare HR and TA will be dragged kicking and screaming into the world of artificial intelligence remains to be seen. But its destination is undoubtable. Healthcare providers who want to get ahead of the game should start considering how conversational AI can play a part in their nurse recruitment strategies today.

Adam Chambers is the President of Nurse Recruitment Experts, a boutique RPO focussed on helping healthcare providers hire RNs, LPNs, and CNAs.

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