Interactive Insights

Recruiting Registered Nurses

A Deep Dive into Talent Sourcing and Recruitment Advertising Benchmarks

Registered Nurses

A Bit About These Talented Professionals

Healthcare workers are the unsung heroes of our nation’s infrastructure! You won’t believe it, but this industry reigns supreme as one of the largest employers in the US, boasting a whopping 18 million workers nationwide. And hold onto your thermometers, because registered nurses (RNs) account for nearly 15% of that staggering number.

Get ready for another statistic: the occupation is projected to grow 6% from 2021 to 2031. Between occupational drain and job creation, that means a heart-stopping 203,000 openings for RNs each year.

Let’s get down to why registered nurses are in such high demand. The aging population is a biggie. Plus occupational drain due to a variety of reasons including burnout and retirement. And, while the worker supply has bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, the ever-changing macroeconomic landscape has caused quite a stir. Wow-za.

Well, are you ready to rock your recruitment advertising and get more great-fit candidates, at the most optimal cost?

It’s time to let Joveo’s data do the talking!

0%
Year-on-year decrease in CPC
0%
Year-on-year decrease in median advertised salary
0%
Year-on-year decrease in unique postings

CPA App-lause or App-loss

CPAsCost per application (CPA) measures the cost incurred by an organization to receive one job application from a potential candidate. depend on CPCs, as well as a bunch of other factors! While you can’t control everything (ex. market conditions), you can defo work on perfecting that application process.

When it comes to optimizing, there are a few key factors to consider: CPA, employer brand, recruiter time and effort, application quality, and candidate experience. While easy apply CPAs are low, recruiters may not get all the info they need and apps from unqualified or low-intention candidates may be stacked sky high! On the other end of the spectrum, a lengthy app can lead to high applicant drop off, poor CX, and a high CPA

Recommendation: Evaluate what info your team needs – be it easy apply, an optimized ATS-based application, or something more complex, your recruitment strategy should be data-driven. Fo’ sho’.

Source: Joveo and Lightcast Research

CPC, Ya You Know Me!

Nationally, we are seeing an average CPCCost per click (CPC) is equal to the cost incurred by an organization for each click on a job advertisement or recruitment campaign. of $1.12… but, drilling down to CPCs by state, we find quite a range! Alabama leads the pack as the least expensive state ($0.02). On the other end of the spectrum, where clicks will cost the most, we find New York ($5.00).

Recommendation: Make sure you get the most bang for your buck! Understand seasonality and macro trends, stay nimble. Track and compare performance across states and do a little A/B testingA/B testing refers to a randomized experimentation process. Two or more versions of a variable (job title, job description, etc.) are shown to different segments of users at the same time. The goal is to determine which version leaves the maximum impact and drives conversions. to optimize those CPCs and conversion rates.

Source: Joveo and Lightcast Research

Demand-Supply: The Golden Ratio

There’s a definite trend in these numbers, as the ratio of hires to postings hovers very close to .41 over the months. What does this mean, you ask? Well, only one hire is made for every two postings. This underscores what we already know – it’s a darn tight market for RNs, with a lot of demand and not enough supply.

Recommendation: If your ratio is less than .41, we strongly recommend an old fashioned recruitment marketing audit. That means reviewing job titles, descriptions, compensation, and benefits compared with your competition. Oh, and how could we neglect reach, ad dollars, and return on ad spend per source!

Source: Joveo and Lightcast Research

Mind Your Demand-Supply Gap… by State

Wondering how aggressive your sourcing needs to be in a given state? Well, this chart will come in mighty handy, giving insight into the demand-supply gap The demand-supply gap is calculated by dividing the number of unique job postings by total employment in the occupation. The higher the number, the greater the demand-supply gap, compared with the national average., and indicating just how aggressive you need to be when it comes to talent sourcing or job advertising.

For example, if you’re looking to hire in West Virginia, Mississippi, or Utah, you shouldn’t have a problem. In fact, these three top our list of easiest to fill states when we take a look at demand and supply of RNs. On the other end of the spectrum, filling your hiring funnel in Colorado, New Hampshire, and New Mexico is going to be a challenge, given the low supply and high demand!

Recommendation: If the color of your state is in the deep gold, it may indicate that you need to jazz up your job content, A/B test titlesA/B testing refers to a randomized experimentation process. Two or more versions of a variable (web page, job description, etc.) are shown to different segments of users at the same time. The goal is to determine which version leaves the maximum impact and drives conversions., expand across locationsGeographic optimizations expand the targeted location to include surrounding communities. This is an easy way to extend your reach and reduce CPAs by sourcing from less competitive markets., and spend considerably more on recruitment advertising and job advertising to attract more great-fit candidates.

Source: Joveo and Lightcast Research

Who Posts the Most?

Again, the competition is pretty fierce when it comes to recruiting RNs, with an average posting intensity of 4:1 across the occupation, nationally. HCA Healthcare, Kaiser Permanente, and UnitedHealth Group distribute their jobs with the same intensity, while some other behemoths like Providence, Northwell Health, CHRISTUS Health, and Memorial Hermann go a step further (6:1), beating the national occupational average.

Recommendation: Be sure to get your posts out to all the right job boards and on social media. We may be a little biased, but one great way to automatically post jobs across the best-performing sites is to use programmatic job advertising – plus you can take advantage of job title Job title expansion means leveraging alternative job titles, using commonly searched terms. These are published as new listings in addition to the original post. and geographic Geographic optimizations expand the targeted location to include surrounding communities. This is an easy way to extend your reach and reduce CPAs by sourcing from less competitive markets. expansions.

Source: Joveo and Lightcast Research

Show Candidates the Money!

While the national median salary is approximately $81,000, advertised median salaries over a 12-month period hit $103,000, as of December of 2023. This delta (27%) is mostly due to two reasons: Employers with higher salaries are the ones that generally tend to advertise them. Also some employers tend to only advertise the upper end of their salary brackets. This definitely gives them a competitive advantage when it comes to sourcing.

Recommendation: If you offer a great salary, don’t forget to call it out in your job description, even if your state doesn’t enforce it legally. Currently, 40% of unique job postings for RNs include wage info. This will help you attract more candidates, lower CPCs, and fill your funnel faster.

Source: Joveo and Lightcast Research

An Eye on DE&I: How Do You Measure Up?

We know diversity is important! In fact, 67% of today’s candidates take a serious look at potential employers’ DE&I programs, and what they find influences their decision making. And, as we well know, the more diverse your workforce, the better your business outcomes!

Recommendation: Take a gander at how diverse the profession is in your state and see how well your DE&I performance measures up. If you find you’re falling a bit short, have no fear! There are a plethora of relevant job boards to give your DE&I program the fillip it needs.

Source: Joveo and Lightcast Research

How About Those Skills?

Successful recruiting entails making sure your job postings compete with the best and attract the candidates that are right for you. One important piece in the job posting puzzle? Skills. When it comes to recruiting RNs, make sure you keep up with the Joneses!

Recommendation: Take a note of distinguishing skillsDistinguishing skills are advanced skills that may sometimes be called for. An employee with distinguishing skills is probably more specialized and differentiated from others in the role. that impact compensation, such as oncology and post-anesthesia care, and plan accordingly.

Source: Joveo and Lightcast Research

Occupational Gain to Attract and Retain

By understanding what occupations RNs come from, you can tailor your job ad content and channels to reach those audiences, in addition to the standard RN talent supply in your location. For example, many registered nurses come from previous professions like medical/health services managers, post-secondary teachers, and nursing assistants.

Recommendation: Identify the right channels with a combination of keyword research, using a programmatic job advertising partner with publisher-level historical data and expertise. Now go get those great-fit candidates!

Source: Joveo and Lightcast Research

Curious about how your own talent sourcing and recruitment advertising efforts compare? Find out what it takes to be best-in-class and leave your competition in the dust.

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