Inspiring a Workforce to Action
Situation
With behavioral health needs on the rise and a nationwide nursing shortage, the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division (BHD) was experiencing an extreme staffing shortage. Kane Communications Group was engaged to address rumors of the hospital’s closure and to increase the number of qualified nursing applicants by leveraging proactive communications.
Opportunity
To deliver on its mission of providing care and treatment to adults, adolescents and children with mental illness and substance abuse disorders, BHD needed qualified applicants, yet its job openings were staying vacant for months. Adding to recruitment challenges was the closure of a long-term care unit, triggering false rumors that the entire department was closing.
Kane partnered with BHD on a two-pronged, strategic communications response: Develop a widespread media campaign to combat facility closure rumors and create interest among local nurses in a BHD mental health
nurse career.
Action
Kane developed a strategic integrated communications plan to drive potential applicants to the County’s website, where they could learn from real BHD nurses what it was like to work there.
Kane conducted one-on-one interviews with BHD nurses to discover what made them unique and to inform the development of audience personas. This primary research served as the foundation of our creative approach: BHD nurses are the people who run toward the fire to help. They’re courageous and caring. And if you don’t have what it takes, you need not apply.
Our tactics in support of our strategy included:
Shooting mini-documentaries featuring real BHD nurses’ stories
Training BHD nurses as brand ambassadors
Pursuing grassroots speaking opportunities in the community
Developing an employee referral incentive program
Buying targeted paid advertising
Utilizing social media
Planning on-site job fairs
Conducting proactive public relations
Results
The campaign ran for three months. Along the way, BHD successfully recruited twenty nurses to fill open positions and their day shift was fully staffed by the campaign’s end. The campaign garnered:
21 new candidate leads via the Milwaukee.gov/nursing landing page
13 million+ impressions, with $32k in added value due to Kane’s negotiations
Digital ad click-through-rates of 0.37%
120,000+ video views
Coverage across multiple local news outlets
The campaign earned a Platinum MarCom Award, a Gold AVA Digital Award and a Gold ADDY award.