Covenant Living Case Study: Achieving an 83% Offer-to-Hire Conversion Rate

How does a not-for-profit organization compete successfully for a shrinking pool of talent in this hotly competitive labor market? 

As a non-profit, Covenant Living Communities and Services doesn’t have the deep pockets to increase wages as much as some other companies, so outside-the-box thinking was needed to meet its hiring goals. 

One of the nation’s largest not-for-profit retirement housing organizations, Covenant Living has provided senior living and care to residents for more than 135 years. With 18 communities in nine states, Covenant Living manages Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs) across the US with Independent Living (Residential Living), Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing and often Memory Care and Rehabilitation.

Covenant Living hires approximately 100 people per month across a number of different roles, including certified and non-certified nurses, dining services, housekeeping and resident services. There was a dearth of talent for many of these roles prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and now, there are even fewer qualified candidates for these positions. In 2019, for example, Covenant Living received approximately 10,000 applications for jobs — a number that dropped to 7,500 in 2020 and to about 4,000 as of late 2021.

Working closely with Indeed, Covenant Living began to centralize its budget and then created National Hiring Days. Using Indeed Hiring Events, all 18 communities come together to conduct interviews on the same day. Optimizing the budget this way increased awareness, with relevant talent exploring new opportunities across Indeed and Glassdoor, and delivered great results. Covenant Living held National Hiring Days in July and October 2021, with plans for more, thanks to the measurable impact on high-volume hiring. 

“Simplicity determines whether a candidate sticks with the application process or drops out,” says Terri Cunliffe, Chief Executive Officer of Covenant Living. “Indeed Hiring Events makes it extremely easy for job seekers to apply for roles. And IHP helps our HR teams connect with great candidates a lot more quickly and at a much lower cost.”