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Masshire Healthcare Use Case

John Garcia on December 23, 2022

Masshire Healthcare Industry Virtual Job Fair

One of the most difficult industries to fill openings for is the healthcare industry.

Many providers are struggling to find experienced workers, as most of the industry is unable to keep up with demand and labor force shortages.

That’s why Masshire turned to Premier Virtual to host a healthcare industry specific event, a growing trend among workforce boards to host industry specific events.

18 healthcare employers in the Boston area listed over 1,600 job openings that have proven very difficult to fill.

They decided to participate in Masshires’ virtual healthcare industry specific hiring event that yielded very positive returns.

INDUSTRY SPECIFIC

A GROWING TREND IN WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS

Workforce boards host hiring events that include all kinds of employers. These events attract potential job candidates that are looking for employment or new career opportunities.

Certain sectors of the labor force remain much more difficult to find and hire talent, such as healthcare. That’s why Masshire hosted a healthcare industry specific event, attracting experienced healthcare professionals. Below is a picture of the lobby with some of the participating employers.

INCREASE ATTENTION BY FOCUSING ON ONE INDUSTRY

Delivering resumes for some of the most difficult jobs to fill

Healthcare employers recognize the challenge of attracting and hiring talent in this industry, which is why a virtual job fair dedicated to healthcare was so appealing.

The feedback from employers was extremely positive and Masshire is scheduling more healthcare specific hiring events for 2023.

Below is a picture of the lobby for Boston Children’s Hospital.

To learn more about hosting industry specific events, please fill out the form to request a free demo.

Hybrid Hiring Events Are a Great Option As COVID Returns

John Garcia on August 9, 2022

As our lives were held hostage by the pandemic, many of our traditional habits were no longer sustainable. We embraced the concept of working remotely while at the same time letting go of traditional activities such as commuting to work, dining out, teaching in classrooms, weekend getaways, and working out at the gym. Over the past couple of years, businesses were forced to make significant adjustments and learn how to be comfortable with virtual event platforms and virtual hiring software.

What is Hybrid Recruiting and Why Does it Work?

The combination of in-person recruiting practices with the use of a virtual recruitment platform is commonly referred to as hybrid recruitment. The concept involves a strategy for acquiring talent that yields the most significant results compared to how the in-person and virtual practices do separately. Hybridization works because of 3 key factors – 1) it allows people to move forward so they can achieve their goals, 2) it enables increased flexibility in the hiring process, and 3) it reduces the risk of exposure to the virus.

Unique Hybrid QR Code

The Premier Virtual platform takes hybrid events to the next level by generating a unique QR code for each booth at the event. The QR code is printed and placed in front of the booth, which allows candidates to scan it and access all of the employers information virtually. Instead of standing in a long line, they can quickly view the open positions and submit their resume to apply. While the candidate can still meet with the recruiter in person, they can also move on to the next opportunity and come back when there are less people on line. In addition, the recruiters now have all of the candidates information stores electronically for easy follow-up.

Furthermore, hybrid recruitment practices arose out of the need for alternate talent acquisition methods because of adapting to working remotely and canceling in-person activities. Upon further consideration, business owners and recruiters discovered the many benefits of hybrid recruiting. As a result, an overwhelming 81% of talent recruiters agree that recruiting job candidates through the use of in-person interviews and video interviewing platforms will continue post-pandemic and may become the new standard. It has helped access more people living in other cities and countries without the additional cost of relocating them.

The 6 Benefits of Hybrid Hiring Events

Essentially, headhunting takes a proactive approach whereas traditional recruiting is reactive. Because of the following benefits considering the hybrid recruiting approach is well worth it:

It enables recruiters to broaden their approach by creating a solution to their hiring needs and reaching a larger target audience of candidates.
It creates a way for companies to gather all of the in-person activity digitally, for easy access and future follow-up.
It gives job-seekers that are apprehensive about in-person events and opportunity to participate and apply for jobs they might have otherwise not been able to.
It finds individuals that are a better fit for companies and are more likely to remain with them over the long term
It emphasizes the needs and requirements of your business
It provides business owners and employers access to a high-quality talent pool.
It provides more strategic insight into the needs of the business and the role the candidate would be playing if hired
It reaches a global target audience of job candidates.

The hybrid approach to recruiting and hiring enables employers to conduct a more comprehensive search for the right talent. For more information about the best virtual event platforms, call Premier Virtual at (561) 717-9717 today.

Virtual Hiring Must be Part of your Digital Transformation.

Sergio on January 11, 2022

Digital Transformation is not a new thing. In fact, it began for many companies long ago as they realized the importance of data. By digitizing information, you can easily gather, sort, and create reports to analyze.

From the migration of paper to digital and written forms into online forms, digital transformation continued to expand. E-commerce has taken front and center as Covid-19 completely shut down in-person access to many businesses and events.

All around the globe, organizations have had to suddenly reevaluate their business plans. The need to create a memorable digital experience for your customers has never been greater. Having the luxury of delaying your digital transformation is gone and could mean falling behind your competitors while they fully embrace theirs.

This has never been truer in the world of recruiting and staffing. The evolution of hiring has taken us from classified ads in the newspaper to online job boards and ATS systems that filter and track applicants. The next stage that was accelerated by the pandemic is virtual hiring and hosting online job fairs or hiring events.

Not that this strategy is completely new, but the tools and platforms to do so have evolved tremendously. For example, on the Premier Virtual platform recruiters can host and attend a virtual job fair from the comfort of their desk. Applicants can participate from anywhere in the world. Recruiters can quickly glance at resumes, enter a chat, and invite job applicants into a video interview, in a matter of seconds.

The platform streamlines the screening process and reduces time to hire from an average of over 30 days, to under 7 days in many cases. That type of functionality was not possible before platforms like Premier Virtual when all companies had access to was MS Teams or Zoom.

Maybe the most crucial feature of remote hiring events is again the data that brings us back to digital transformation. At one time, resumes were collected on paper at these events and taken back to the office to sort. Now all resumes can be downloaded with a click of the button. Recruiters can keep notes during the event and download reports to follow up accordingly.

Businesses and organizations continue to recognize the importance of virtual hiring but have fluctuated from in-person to virtual based on the current climate. If there is a new variant, and covid cases spike, we see an immediate return to virtual. One recent Forbes article according to Burbio, a firm that monitors school data, more than 2,000 schools were prepared to close for at least one day, due to Covid-19 concerns for the first week of January. There are about 21 states with at least one school district closed or transitioning to remote learning this week. Reuters reports that thousands of U.S. schools have delayed this week’s scheduled to return to classrooms, following the holiday break, or switched to remote learning, as the Omicron variant spread.

As 2022 begins, many New Jersey school districts are going virtual to deal with the ongoing spike in Covid-19 cases and the staffing shortages it has caused. The data shows that the vast majority of these are poor, underserved children. This is a disaster for both the children and parents.

Just in the last week, we had 3 schools, Richland School District 2, District 5 Lexington and Wade County Public Schools that had to pivot from in-person job fairs to virtual. Because they have a license with Premier Virtual, they had the virtual job fair set up and ready to go in the event they would not be able to move forward with the in-person event, and that’s exactly what happened. The results were extremely positive with hundreds of applicants attending virtually and many new hires and connections were made at each event.

The stark reality is that Covid is here to stay. We must plan for a world that mitigates this challenge the best way possible, and integrating virtual hiring is a key component. There is no more time to wait or consider if virtual is right for you, it is right for everyone.

We see more and more candidates choosing to apply and attend virtually and looking for remote or virtual job opportunities. The better prepared your company or organization is to offer these options, the more talent you will attract and retain.

If you are still wondering if you need to add virtual to your hiring strategy, do not delay the decision any longer. The sooner you put a platform like Premier Virtual in place, the sooner you will set your company staffing needs up for success.

To schedule a free demo with Premier Virtual please visit our website.

Tech Tuesday: Top-10 Recruiting Trends in 2022!

Sergio on December 20, 2021

Hiring Trends for 2022

While some recruiters have faced hiring freezes and work has slowed significantly, many are busier than ever as the economy rebounds, and unemployment hits a new record low. We have not seen unemployment records this low since 1969. While the data might not be 100% accurate, it reports a jobless rate of 4.2% in November 2021. At the same time, there are 11 million job openings and Americans quitting their jobs at near-record rates, so what gives in 2022? Here are the top 10 recruitment trends you should consider as you put together your 2022 hiring strategy plan.

It’s a Labor Driven Market – The bottom line is that candidates now hold all of the power. There are more available jobs than candidates, and that crunch becomes even more significant when you drill down further to high-skill jobs. Candidates are no longer jumping to that first open position or offer, but they are willing to jump much faster if they get a better offer or more flexibility with remote work.

Improve the Quality of the Candidate Pool – Over 52% of recruiters polled said that improving the quality of hires is their most important goal in 2022. Achieving this goal is a slight shift from simply increasing the number of applicants in the talent pipeline to increasing the quality of that talent. Typically, the better the talent, the better the fit, which leads to higher retention rates. The goal is a better hire, with a higher likelihood of staying and producing at the new job over the long term.

Balancing Talent Acquisition Technology with Traditional Methods– Amidst changes in the HR space and the disruptions brought about by the COVID-19 Pandemic, technology has given birth to a new breed of recruiters. These technology-empowered headhunters are pro-active, savvy, and highly strategic in hunting down the right talent for the job.

Nowadays, recruiters use social media posts, web-based job boards, and online job portals to tout their company’s culture. However, some traditional recruiting methods continue to be effective today, such as referrals and job fairs. Yes, we’re now in an age where AI, augmented reality, and ATS machine learning rule. But finding the right balance between digital and traditional channels is key to accomplishing recruitment priorities such as improving quality of hire (52%) and time-to-hire (23%) (HRD America, 2020, 2021). Virtual hiring event platforms like www.PremierVirtual.com have dramatically improved candidate and recruiter experiences at virtual hiring events, resulting in better results in both of these metrics.

Increased Outreach Through Social Media and Employee Referral Programs – Many companies have recognized that the opportunity to find the right candidate outside of the company is becoming more complex. Hiring for soft skills and training for hard skills means you can grow more people within your organization. This strategy is being promoted in company social media networks and reinforced in their internal referral programs, making growth within the company take priority.

Compete on Non-Traditional Benefits. There are too many jobs and not enough qualified candidates. The competition for small business owners with giants like Facebook and Amazon only makes it more difficult. Amazon alone was hiring a record-shattering 2,800 employees per day at the start of 2020, and that has only continued in 2021. These large corporations immediately take top candidates, leaving smaller companies to pick from an even smaller pool. You can’t compete on name and prestige, so you have to compete on flexibility and the ability to engage with employees on a more personal, one on one level. Being smaller might mean employees have more responsibility and decision-making. Make it clear from day 1, that performance is valued and there is a clear path to grow. Foster opportunities for employees to provide ideas and give feedback. Offer remote work and hire remotely whenever possible. Today’s job seeker is looking for more than money. They want to have a purpose at their job and understand their worth. Smaller companies that focus on this will be able to provide that culture that will attract more candidates.

Remote Recruiting will Continue to Grow – We see virtual hiring events platforms, like award-winning Premier Virtual, continue to be a vital asset in every company. This technology is not just for the large it becomes a way for smaller companies to compete for top-rated talent. The trend to remote hiring, video interview, and virtual job fairs continues to grow. 61% of recruiters believe it will be the default interview and pre-screening mode moving forward.

While some platforms position themselves as ‘Virtual Hiring Event’ platforms, very few deliver on the key features recruiters are looking for. Premier Virtual continues to stand out by providing hi-tech that is easy to use. They continue to win awards at G2 and Capterra for their ease of use. The platform accomplishes this in many ways, including its setup wizard, one-on-one chat and video interview technology, and easy-to-download post-event reports. We also see companies using the Premier Virtual platform to host ‘Virtual Career Days’ and ‘Open Houses’ to meet and greet potential new hires without the pressure of scheduling interviews or hiring on the spot. It’s a great way to get your company in front of employed candidates who keep their options open and want to see what you have to offer without committing to an interview upfront.

Attract, Hire and Retain! – Write these 3 pillars down (yes again!) and make a checklist under each one. There should be a strategy in place so that each pillar of recruiting is sufficiently supported. As we already mentioned, the workforce has always wanted a quality of life balance. Still, it has never been a better time than now to deliver! Your competitive advantage to attract more candidates can easily be to offer remote work where your competitor does not and offer health benefits that include mental health. Times are complex, and the Pandemic has raised stress levels to new heights. These two benefits in combination can be the difference between hiring or not. Yes, wages and health benefits are always an essential part of hiring, but remote work and mental health continue to be the top reasons candidates state their decision to accept an offer or not. The 48 hours after a hire is made are probably the most crucial. Don’t let your new hire sit for hours in an empty cubicle. Have a full-blown onboarding plan, throw a new hire party, give them the royal treatment and let everyone know about it after all isn’t this what you worked so hard for and invested so much in?

AI is your Friend! There is no stopping tech, and the more you can embrace it and leverage it, the better you will be. Ultimately nothing replaces a hiring manager’s understanding of the job at hand and their ability to spot talent beyond the resume but getting that right candidate in front of you is increasingly becoming the role of your tech tools.

AI is best for job candidate matching, candidate screening, and recommendation for job descriptions. Now Smart ATS is increasingly being used to get suitable candidates in front of the recruiters. The caveat is that these systems can also kick out plenty of qualified candidates, which is why hosting virtual job fairs is so essential. Adding virtual to the AI means your company will continue to offer access to candidates that might not have reached your desk if you only used an ATS system.

The Rise of Recruitment Marketing. With top graduates quickly getting gobbled up by the largest corporations, keeping your brand’ top of mind’ with passive job seekers is critical. These employed job seekers casually look around, waiting for the right opportunity to come their way. Using platforms like Premier Virtual to host and ‘Open House’ or ‘Career Day’ is a great way to offer this audience an opportunity to get to know you on a casual basis. Customize your lobby with a booth for your Sales Department, Marketing Department, IT Department, etc., and give visitors an opportunity to get to know the culture and who they might be working with. Provide them an opportunity to sign up for a ‘Company Culture’ newsletter that keeps you in touch with them, highlighting all of the great things your company offers and is accomplishing throughout the year. You can build your relationship with this potential candidate until they decide it’s time to take the next step, and you’ll be their first option. Make sure to share these experiences on social media, newsletters, and your website. Share your culture as much as you can, and you will build genuine interest in your workplace.

Retention, Retention, Retention. In the past, if an employee left, there might be another 100 ready to apply, but that is no longer the case. While you should always do everything in your power to retain and cultivate the talent you have, you can no longer get away by ‘winging’ it. If you don’t have fundamental procedures to engage and empower your people, it will likely result in higher turnover, and those losses take much longer to fill. Your best bet is a phenomenal employee retention program, invest in your people, and the benefits will include lower turnover, higher referrals, and increased productivity – but you already knew that!!!

If you have other trends to share or are interested in integrating a virtual hiring event platform into your recruiting strategy, please contact us for a free demo.

Where are all the workers, can remote work bring them back?

Sergio on October 26, 2021

Workers are quitting their jobs in record numbers. As the economy rebounds and more jobs are available, the competition for those workers continues to increase.

What is your Human Resources department doing to get and stay in front of the hiring curve?

As a virtual hiring event platform, we’ve seen a massive difference in companies that have quickly pivoted and added virtual job fairs to their hiring strategy.

Not only is virtual hiring more efficient and effective, but it also provides an option that today’s workforce is demanding, and that option is flexibility.

Companies that host virtual hiring events show candidates that they are, first and foremost, more innovative than the competition. We’re not talking about a video interview on Zoom; we’re talking about an actual online job fair, where candidates get to learn more about the company, see all of the jobs available, and meet with their local recruiters.

Hiring virtually and offering remote positions shows that the company is setting a foundation for the future and not just reacting to the social distancing forced by the Pandemic.

The Pandemic proved that remote workforces are as much, if not more productive than the in-office culture, and workers don’t feel the need to rush back to the office. The reduction in commute time, travel and meal expenses, and less need for childcare are huge benefits that will make the difference when a candidate has those options.

As the workforce considers their options, it’s the flexibility they want most, even more than the typical benefits package that was once the lure to attract qualified workers. The work-life balance has never been more important than it is now, and virtual hiring and work have proven in many ways to increase that.

Employers competing for labor have raised wages, offered additional bonuses and added benefits. These measures are working, but when combined with the flexibility of meeting recruiters online and offering remote work, the results have been highly positive.

What plans do you have in place as the workplace demands continue to evolve?

If your company or organization is struggling to hire, it might be time to look at those key areas and see if you’re competitive.

Salary
Bonuses
Flexibility / Remote Hiring and Remote Work.

If you do not set your company up now for remote hiring and to facilitate a remote workforce, you may soon be obsolete.

Employers do not hold the cards anymore, the weight has shifted to the workforce, and the pendulum is not likely to come back anytime soon.

Before the Pandemic, this change was in the making, but the Pandemic accelerated the adoption rate by 3 to 5 years. If your company has embraced this change and pivoted to accommodate the virtual world we live in, it will be in a much better place to succeed moving forward.

If your company is fighting the change and believes it will all ‘return to normal’ be forewarned, you are making a mistake and you will continue to lose out to the competition on the most qualified candidates for your positions.

The time to go virtual is now; let us show you how.

Premier Virtual – ‘Hiring Happens Here!’

5 Steps To Kickstart Your Virtual Career Fairs!

Sergio on May 10, 2021

1) Choose The Platform – First and foremost, you have to choose a platform to host your virtual career fair. Deciding which platform to use can often be the most challenging part of the process since there are many options and varying levels of features and sophistication. To determine which option is best for you, make sure to consider the following criteria:

What is the size and scope of your event? Suppose you are a single employer looking to fill a dozen or fewer open positions in one geographic location. In that case, you may be perfectly fine with just a video conferencing program like Zoom or Teams. If, however, you are a host of an event with multiple employers and each has a significant amount of job openings or a large corporation with many openings and locations, video-conferencing alone will not be enough. You will need a dedicated virtual career fair platform with expanded features such as uploading resumes, one-on-one chat, a customizable lobby and booths, and access to reports with all of the critical data collected during such an event.
What is your budget? If you require a virtual career fair platform, the next consideration is your budget. Many platforms charge an upfront fee and then charge additional fees based on the number of participants and or the number of resumes downloaded, booths, etc. These costs can become prohibitive if your event draws a large attendance. Make sure to go with a platform that offers a flat-rate price that never increases, which is something that Premier Virtual always guarantees!
Is ‘ease of use’, something that concerns you? Is ‘ease of use’ something that concerns you? If so, we highly suggest that you demo each platform you are considering and put yourself fin the shoes of your employers and your attendees. Once again, Premier Virtual prides itself on its ease of use and its top-rated customer service. Ask if the platform you are considering provides a dedicated account manager and live training so that everyone that participates fully understands how to use the platform and ensures a successful event. You can click here for a checklist of features you should be looking for in a virtual career fair platform demo.

2) Lead Time – Once you’ve selected your platform, give yourself enough time to have everyone adequately trained and to promote the event. Preparing everyone, the hosts, administrators, employers, and attendees is the best way to set yourself up for a successful event. Waiting until the last minute to register and navigate through the platform often results in a poor user experience or a lower return. Equally important for a successful event is to have a strong turnout. Successful events require all of the typical marketing efforts through social media, as well as paid ads. I highly recommend that you offer each employer a flyer to post and promote the event. It’s also crucial to send out an official press release at least seven days before the event. We suggest the marketing manager personally invite the local press to attend as an employer if they have relevant openings. I recommend you not charge the local media for their booths in exchange for some ‘goodwill’ that can help your efforts to have your event mentioned in the news.

Another best practice is opening your event with a training webinar for attendees. Announce the webinar in your marketing materials and all of your registration pages. In addition to the training videos, let attendees know there will be a live ‘walk-through’ of the platform on the day of the event. Premier Virtual offers this service if requested by our host/client and something we highly recommend.

3) Added Value – Add value to your event by including resume writing webinars or a tech talk with a keynote speaker. These additional features add value to the attendees and create other points of interest to promote and help draw even more participants to your event. Along those lines, if your event has a well-known speaker or is offering a free resume writing class or an employment coach session, the press will also have more incentive to feature your event in an article or live on the news.

4) Event Team – Designate a point person for each facet of the event. Creating a point team may seem obvious, but some large organizations with many different layers can struggle with it, or smaller organizations expect one person to do everything. A successful event requires the following point persons:

Administrator –This person has full access to the platform and is typically the point person between Premier Virtual and the organization. The admin will assign all other users their roles and access to features and information in the platform.
Event Manager – This person is responsible for learning the platform to the best of their ability and be an internal point of contact to help others register and answer basic questions. Other duties include organizing training webinars and working directly with the Premier Virtual account manager to address any issues before the day of the event. We also highly encourage the event manager to review employers’ booths to make sure they are doing everything possible to prepare. The booths should be customized; all social media links should be active and provide videos wherever possible. After the event, the administrator or the admin should access reports and provide the information and follow-up support to whoever needs it.
Publicity/Promotion/Marketing – This person will lead the marketing activity to ensure that the event is being marketing properly and the point person for any press/media or others looking for more information.

5) Thorough Follow-up – A successful event does not mean that you hire everyone on the spot. It does mean that you have received enough qualified candidates and had enough engaging one-on-one conversations that you want to follow up. A good platform will provide recruiters with thorough reporting that includes everyone who attended, booths they visited, resumes they submitted, and chats or video conferences that took place. A comprehensive report will have all of the information you and your employers need to appropriately follow up with qualified candidates eager to make a decision. Timely follow-up is key to making the right hire, and if you feel strong enough about a candidate during the event, you may want to make that initial offer so you don’t lose them!

If you are considering hosting a virtual career fair and have more questions, please feel free to contact us to schedule a free demo. Our platform has hosted over 2,000 virtual career fairs, connecting more than 20,000 employers to over 200,000 registered job seekers. We have the experience and the technology to help you host a successful event.

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561-717-9717

Masshire Healthcare Use Case

Hybrid Hiring Events Are a Great Option As COVID Returns

Virtual Hiring Must be Part of your Digital Transformation.

Tech Tuesday: Top-10 Recruiting Trends in 2022!

Where are all the workers, can remote work bring them back?

5 Steps To Kickstart Your Virtual Career Fairs!

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