Effective Leadership and
Management in Nursing
EIGHTH EDITION
CHAPTER
15
Recruiting and
Selecting Staff
Learning Outcomes
1. Describe how to recruit applicants.
2. Discuss how to select candidates.
3. Describe how to interview prospective
candidates.
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Learning Outcomes
4. Distinguish between appropriate and
inappropriate questions to ask during
an interview.
5. Determine how to make a hiring
decision.
6. Discuss the legal issues involved in
hiring.
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Position Description
• Describes required skills, abilities, and
knowledge
• Reflects current practice guidelines
• Includes duties and responsibilities
• Lists tasks inherent in duties
• Specifies personal qualifications
• Includes competency-based behaviors
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Recruiting Strategies
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Where to look
How to look
When to look
How to sell the organization
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
How to promote organization
• The four Ps of marketing:
1- product; the available position
(professionalism, standard of care,
quality, service, respect)
2- place (accessibility, scheduling, parking,
reputation, organizational culture)
3- price (pay, benefits, sign on bonuses,
insurance, retirement)
4- promotion: advertising, public relation,
direct word of mouth, personal selling)
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Cross training as a recruitment
strategy
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Increase moral and job satisfaction
Improving efficiency
Increasing flexibility of the staff
Providing a mean to manage
fluctuations in the census
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Successful Recruitment
• Depends on organization's reputation
for higher levels of job satisfaction
• Satisfied nurses are more likely to
speak highly of the organization
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Selecting candidate
• Nurse manager should participate in
the interview process
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Table 15-1: Selection Process
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Interview Rules
• Review application and résumé
• Determine discrepancies between
applicant's qualifications and job
description
• List specific questions to ask applicant
• Identify a rapport builder
• Determine if résumé provides a balance
of strengths and weaknesses
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Principles for Effective
Interviewing
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Develop structured interview guides
Prepare for the interview
Open the interview
Gather information
Give information
Close the interview
Involve staff in interview process
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Preparing for the Interview
• Assemble all materials for interview
• Use a quiet, pleasant interview site
• Verify scheduled time with the
applicant
• Avoid interruptions
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Work Sample Questions
• Determine applicant's knowledge of
work tasks, but avoid leading questions
such as:
– We have lots of overtime. Do you mind
overtime?
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Behaviors and Sample Questions
• Decision-making
– What was your most difficult decision in
the last month and why was it difficult?
• Communication
– What do you think is the most important
skill in successful communication?
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Behaviors and Sample Questions
• Adaptability
– Describe a major change that affected
you and how you handled it.
• Delegation
– How do you make a decision to
delegate? Describe a specific situation.
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Behaviors and Sample Questions
• Initiative
– What have you done in school or on a
job that went beyond what was
required?
• Motivation
– What is your most significant
professional accomplishment?
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Behaviors and Sample Questions
• Negotiation
– Give an example of a negotiation
situation and your role in it.
• Planning and organization
– How do you schedule your time?
– What do you do when unexpected
circumstances interfere with your
schedule?
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Behaviors and Sample Questions
• Critical thinking
– Describe a situation in which you made
a decision by analyzing information,
considering a range of alternatives, and
selecting the best one for the
circumstances.
• Conflict resolution
– Describe a situation in which you helped
to settle a conflict.
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Structured Interview Guides
• An interview is most effective when
information on the pool of interviewees
is comparable
• Interview guides contain questions,
interviewer directions, pertinent
information for a uniform process, and
how to gain the same basic information
from each applicant
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Interview Reliability and Validity
• Agreement between two interviews of
same measure by same interviewer
– High
• Ability to predict job performance
– Low
• Structured interviews
– More reliable
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Interview Reliability and Validity
• Pressured interviewers
– Less accurate
• Interviewers tend to make quick
decisions and be less accurate
• Interviewers are influenced by race,
gender, and their own stereotypes
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Do Not Ask Questions About
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Age
Race
Color
Sex
Marital status
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Do Not Ask Questions About
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Sexual preference
Disability
National origin
Any other protected factor
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Legal Issues in Hiring
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Equal Pay Act of 1963
Age Discrimination Act of 1967
Title I of Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990
• Bona Fide Occupational Qualification
• Uniform Guidelines on Employee
Selection Procedures
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•
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan
Hiring Decision
• Considerations
– Education, experience, licensure
• Integrate information from the interview
– Weigh desired qualities based on relative
importance and on reliability of data
– Weigh job dimensions based on
trainability
– Compare data across entire applicant pool
if possible
Effective Leadership and Management in Nursing, Eighth Edition
Eleanor J. Sullivan