Briefcas EMPLOYMENT
The attractiveness of an organisation is an important factor in recruitment marketing , and can increase both the number of applicants and the probability of acquiring suitably qualified employees [ 19 ] . Recruiting the right workers , to the right positions , is particularly important in the veterinary nursing profession , where increasing numbers of RVNs are leaving or planning to leave the profession for reasons other than retirement [ 2 , 4 ] . For jobseekers to accurately assess their potential fit with an organisation , sufficient information must be included in job advertisements , detailing the necessary abilities , knowledge , requirements and skills needed to fulfil the role .
If organisations recruit suitably qualified applicants and allocate them to the correct positions , successful applicants are likely to be better able to adapt to the organisation ' s culture and work environment and thus stay in the job for longer [ 19 ] . Therefore , it is important for future job advertisements to provide a large amount of detailed information to enhance the overall attractiveness of the organisation and allow prospective applicants to better assess their fit with the organisation . There was a significant difference in the level of perceived attractiveness of the organisation among the advertisement types ( p < 0.001 ): the large-specific advertisement was perceived as the most attractive job advertisement ( median 3 ), whereas the large-general advertisement and the small-general advertisement were perceived as less attractive ( median 2 ).
The data in this study illustrated that there was a significant difference in the number of RVNs willing to apply for the advertised job position based on the information provided ( p < 0.001 ). The largespecific advertisement received the highest interest , with 76.7 % of participating RVNs saying they would apply , while 42.2 % would apply for the large-general advertisement . The small-general advertisement received the lowest interest , with only 14.4 % of RVNs reporting they would apply . These results suggest that organisations would have a substantial gain from supplying more information in their recruitment advertising . To generate a larger applicant pool , future job advertisements would benefit from including information on benefits , workplace culture and career development opportunities . Moreover , this additional information should be specific rather than general .
This project has several limitations , meaning the conclusions should be interpreted with caution . The study did not collect demographic information from the participants , so it is likely that there were a few contextual factors that were not considered during the statistical analysis , such as confounders relating to gender , age , geographical location or level of education . Demographic variables such as location have previously been found to directly influence RVNs ' intentions to stay in employment , and therefore may also influence RVNs ' intentions to pursue employment opportunities [ 4 ] . Although the intrinsic motivators of an individual cannot be changed , a series of questions relating to demographic information , in addition to whether participants were actively searching for employment , could be included in future studies to account for potential confounders . Another limitation is that the job advertisements may not have been reflective of the current veterinary job market . This was indicated in the responses to the free-text question , where participants stated they would prefer clarity regarding the pattern of work shifts in the large-specific advertisement . The use of validated job advertisements may benefit future studies in this area of veterinary nursing , enhancing the external validity of the results .
Conclusions
This study highlights the key factors that are predictive of recruitment success , namely , increasing the amount of information and the specificity of the information provided in a job advertisement . With known challenges regarding recruitment and retention within the UK veterinary nursing profession , analysis of these data could help guide future recruitment strategies and interventions , reducing recruitment costs , improving the quality of hires , and ensuring a more efficient and effective hiring process .
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Pak Kan Tang for his continued support in data interpretation and analysis .
REFERENCES
1 Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons . RCVS Survey of the Veterinary Nursing Profession . 2014 . Available from : https :// www . rcvs . org . uk / news-and-views / publications / rcvs-survey-of-the-veterinary-nurseprofession-2014 [ Accessed 4 January 2023 ].
2 Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons . The 2019 Survey of the Veterinary Nursing Profession . 2020 . Available from : https :// www . rcvs . org . uk / news-and-views / publications / the-2019-survey-of-theveterinary-nursing-profession [ Accessed 4 January 2023 ].
3 Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons . Recruitment , retention and return in the veterinary nursing profession . 2022 . Available from : https :// www . rcvs . org . uk / news-and-views / publications / recruitment-retention-and-return-in-the-veterinary-nursing [ Accessed 4 January 2023 ].
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Volume 40 ( 2 ) • April 2025
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