THE ART OF

STORYBOARDING

You are making a presentation to

administrators of a hospital. They
are worried about the seemingly
hopeless situation of the short
supply of nurses. You have to
provide them with a realistic view
of the situation.
• Most hospitals that use “travelers” (traveling nurses or temporary
nurses) blame the tight labor market for making it extremely difficult to
hire permanent professionals. Yet, on closer examination, many
organizations may discover that structurally deficient hiring practices may
also be to blame.
• The good news? By addressing these short comings, healthcare providers
often can reduce reliance on travelers and experience significant returns
fairly quickly.
• Travelers were originally designed to fill cyclical, short-term hiring needs.
These days, many organizations rely on them to fill full-time vacancies. It
is not uncommon for a hospital to have 100 travelers employed in a given
week. Given that one traveler typically costs about $1,000 per week more
than a regular employee, it is no wonder that many hospital
administrators recognize this area as a significant financial drain.
• Yet it’s not only the bank that breaks with travelers. Patient care
standards and hospital processes are harder to maintain with temporary
employees, resulting in increased training costs and service failures.
Furthermore, employee morale suffers when regular employees work side
by side with travelers who often earn more money and aren’t as
committed to the employer.
Discussing differentiation
• Wooing candidates to your opening boils down to being able to answer the
question, “Why should I work here?” Hospitals that successfully hire do a
better job figuring out what makes them standout from their competitors.
And it’s not the hospital, but the specifics of the department where the
candidate will work that counts most: Shifts. Work environment.
Management style.
• Hospitals need to examine these and other distinctive factors and be able
to articulate the beauty of each opening to candidates. Also, weaknesses
should be addressed honestly. A job cannot be all things to all people. It is
more important to focus on one true differentiator than to try and convert
this as the perfect opportunity. Think niche marketing, not massive,
nondescript job postings.
Noncompetitive wages
• Do you know what the hospital down the street is offering? A hospital that
succeeds in hiring full-time staff does.
• More important, organizations successful at hiring respond and frequently
adjust their pay structures to remain competitive. Today’s hiring market is
dynamic. It is not uncommon for recruiting to dry up as soon as a
competitor increases a sign-on bonus. Think continual surveillance, not
annual salary surveys.
Why Traveling Nurses still exists
• The shortage of health care professionals is a popular truism often
repeated in the media. Unfortunately, its constant repetition under cuts
many hospitals’ drive to reengineer and question internal hiring practices.
• After all, how can we hire if there is no supply? Instead of focusing on this
lack of supply, healthcare providers should be asking, “How can we hire
given the context of a labor shortage?” Once this mindset shifts, several
structural deficiencies in their hiring and recruiting process often become
apparent.
Active vs. passive recruiting
• Job boards, newspapers, and job fairs swell with openings from hospitals.
The trouble is, the people with critical skills that hospitals need aren’t
looking. The good ones are usually gainfully employed. Success in today’s
tough labor market depends on actively reaching out to potential
employees currently employed elsewhere. Waiting for them to come to
your ad significantly decreases hiring efficacy. Hospitals with proactive
programs tailored to those with the right skills find they eliminate travelers
faster. Think selling, not screening.
 STEP 1:
Highlighting the Salient
Points
• Most hospitals that use “travelers” (traveling nurses or temporary nurses)
blame the tight labor market for making it extremely difficult to hire
permanent professionals. Yet, on closer examination, many organizations
may discover that structurally deficient hiring practices may also be
to blame.
• The good news? By addressing these short comings, healthcare
providers often can reduce reliance on travelers and experience significant
returns fairly quickly.
• Travelers were originally designed to fill cyclical, short-term hiring needs.
These days, many organizations rely on them to fill full-time vacancies. It
is not uncommon for a hospital to have 100 travelers employed in a given
week. Given that one traveler typically costs about $1,000 per week more
than a regular employee, it is no wonder that many hospital
administrators recognize this area as a significant financial drain.
• Yet it’s not only the bank that breaks with travelers. Patient care
standards and hospital processes are harder to maintain with
temporary employees, resulting in increased training costs and
service failures. Furthermore, employee morale suffers when regular
employees work side by side with travelers who often earn more money
and aren’t as committed to the employer.
Discussing differentiation.
• Wooing candidates to your opening boils down to being able to answer the
question, “Why should I work here?” Hospitals that successfully hire do a
better job figuring out what makes them standout from their
competitors. And it’s not the hospital, but the specifics of the
department where the candidate will work that counts most: Shifts. Work
environment. Management style.
• Hospitals need to examine these and other distinctive factors and be able to
articulate the beauty of each opening to candidates. Also, weaknesses should
be addressed honestly. A job cannot be all things to all people. It is more
important to focus on one true differentiator than to try and convert this as
the perfect opportunity. Think niche marketing, not massive, nondescript job
postings.
Noncompetitive wages.
• Do you know what the hospital down the street is offering? A hospital that
succeeds in hiring full-time staff does.
• More important, organizations successful at hiring respond and frequently
adjust their pay structures to remain competitive. Today’s hiring
market is dynamic. It is not uncommon for recruiting to dry up as soon as a
competitor increases a sign-on bonus. Think continual surveillance, not
annual salary surveys.
Why Traveling Nurses still exists
• The shortage of health care professionals is a popular truism often
repeated in the media. Unfortunately, its constant repetition under cuts
many hospitals’ drive to reengineer and question internal hiring practices.
• After all, how can we hire if there is no supply? Instead of focusing on
this lack of supply, healthcare providers should be asking, “How can we
hire given the context of a labor shortage?” Once this mindset
shifts, several structural deficiencies in their hiring and
recruiting process often become apparent.
Active vs. passive recruiting
• Job boards, newspapers, and job fairs swell with openings from
hospitals. The trouble is, the people with critical skills that hospitals need
aren’t looking. The good ones are usually gainfully employed. Success in
today’s tough labor market depends on actively reaching out to
potential employees currently employed elsewhere. Waiting for
them to come to your ad significantly decreases hiring efficacy.
Hospitals with proactive programs tailored to those with the
right skills find they eliminate travelers faster. Think selling, not
screening.
 STEP 2:
Organizing the Material
• Most hospitals that use “travelers” (traveling nurses or temporary
nurses) blame the tight labor market for making it extremely difficult
to hire permanent nurse professionals. Yet, on closer examination, many
organizations may discover that structurally deficient hiring practices
may also be to blame.
• The good news? By addressing these short comings, healthcare
providers often can reduce reliance on travelers and experience significant
returns fairly quickly.
• Travelers were originally designed to fill cyclical, short-term hiring needs.
These days, many organizations rely on them to fill full-time vacancies. It
is not uncommon for a hospital to have 100 travelers employed in a given
week. Given that one traveler typically costs about $1,000 per week more
than a regular employee, it is no wonder that many hospital administrators
recognize this area as a significant financial drain.
• Yet it’s not only the bank that breaks with travelers. Patient care
standards and hospital processes are harder to maintain with
temporary employees, resulting in increased training costs and
service failures. Furthermore, employee morale suffers when regular
employees work side by side with travelers who often earn more money
and aren’t as committed to the employer.
Salient Points
 Challenges created by traveling nurses:
1. Costs significantly more than full time nurses.
2. Patient care standards and hospital processes are
harder to maintain.
3. Increased training costs and service failures.
4. Employee morale suffers as there is such a huge
discrepancy in pay.
 2 areas to focus on to deal with the challenges
presented by traveling nurses:
1. Tight labor market
2. Structurally deficient hiring practices
Discussing differentiation.
• Wooing candidates to your opening boils down to being able to answer the
question, “Why should I work here?” Hospitals that successfully hire do a
better job figuring out what makes them standout from their
competitors. And it’s not the hospital, but the specifics of the
department where the candidate will work that counts most: Shifts. Work
environment. Management style.
• Hospitals need to examine these and other distinctive factors and be able to
articulate the beauty of each opening to candidates. Also, weaknesses should
be addressed honestly. A job cannot be all things to all people. It is more
important to focus on one true differentiator than to try and convert this as
the perfect opportunity. Think niche marketing, not massive, nondescript job
postings.
Noncompetitive wages.
• Do you know what the hospital down the street is offering? A hospital that
succeeds in hiring full-time staff does.
• More important, organizations successful at hiring respond and frequently
adjust their pay structures to remain competitive. Today’s hiring
market is dynamic. It is not uncommon for recruiting to dry up as soon as a
competitor increases a sign-on bonus. Think continual surveillance, not
annual salary surveys.
Salient Points

 Hospitals need to study their competitors

in the areas of:
1. Work Environment: Examine the distinctive factors &
articulate these convincingly to the candidates. It is
important to point out the challenges, if any.

2. Wages: Important to be both competitive and dynamic

and conduct continual surveillance, not annual salary
surveys.
Why Traveling Nurses still exists
• The shortage of health care professionals is a popular truism often
repeated in the media. Unfortunately, its constant repetition under cuts
many hospitals’ drive to reengineer and question internal hiring
practices.
• After all, how can we hire if there is no supply? Instead of focusing on
this lack of supply, healthcare providers should be asking, “How can
we hire given the context of a labor shortage?” Once this
mindset shifts, several structural deficiencies in their hiring and
recruiting process often become apparent.
Active vs. passive recruiting
• Job boards, newspapers, and job fairs swell with openings from
hospitals. The trouble is, the people with critical skills that hospitals need
aren’t looking. The good ones are usually gainfully employed. Success
in today’s tough labor market depends on actively reaching out
to potential employees currently employed elsewhere. Waiting
for them to come to your ad significantly decreases hiring efficacy.
Hospitals with proactive programs tailored to those with the
right skills find they eliminate travelers faster. Think selling, not
screening.
Salient Points
 The shortage of health care professionals still
exists because we approach it with the question,
“How can we hire if there is no supply?”
 Instead rephrase the question to, “How can we
hire given the context of a labor shortage?” This
will bring out the structural deficiencies in the
current hiring and recruiting process.
 Hospitals need to reach out actively to people
employed elsewhere, who have the skills they
need. The focus of recruiting needs to be selling,
not screening.
 STEP 3:
Organizing the Presentation
for the Audience
Current Situation
 Traveling Nurses are used to deal with
the short supply (tight labor market) of
nurses.
 Problems with traveling nurses:
1. Costs significantly more than full time
nurses.
2. Patient care standards and hospital
processes are harder to maintain.
3. Increased training costs and service failures.
4. Employee morale suffers as there is such a
huge discrepancy in pay.
Alternative Approach

1. Shift focus from ‘tight labor market’ to

‘changing hiring practices’:
a. The shortage of health care professionals still exists
because we approach it with the question, “How can
we hire if there is no supply?”
b. Instead rephrase the question to, “How can we hire
given the context of a labor shortage?” This will
bring out the structural deficiencies in the current
hiring and recruiting process.
c. Hospitals need to reach out actively to people
employed elsewhere, who have the skills they need.
The focus of recruiting needs to be selling, not
screening.
Alternative Approach

Tight Labor Market Changing Hiring Practices =

“How can we hireBrings out the

“How can we hire
if there is no structural deficiencies
given the context
in the current hiring
supply?” of a labor
and recruiting process.
shortage?”

Hospitals need to reach out actively to

people employed elsewhere, who have
the skills they need. The focus of
recruiting needs to be selling, not
screening.
Alternative Approach

2. Study competitors in the areas of:

a. Work Environment: Examine the distinctive
factors & articulate these convincingly to the
candidates. It is important to be equally candid
about any challenges.
b. Wages: Important to be both competitive and
dynamic and conduct continual surveillance, not
annual salary surveys.