Case Study: The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust boosts nurse recruitment with NHS Employers social media strategy

The Newcastle Upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust - Customer Case Study

The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, a large NHS trust, faced significant challenges in recruiting nurses due to high staff turnover, regional competition, and the high cost and inefficiency of traditional advertising methods like nursing journals. To become an employer of choice and attract more qualified applicants, they enlisted NHS Employers to help develop and implement a new recruitment strategy focused on social media.

NHS Employers supported the trust in launching a targeted Facebook initiative, shifting recruitment efforts from costly print ads to low-cost, highly targeted social media campaigns and organic engagement. This solution, which focused on selling the 'lifestyle' of working at the trust, resulted in the corporate Facebook page growing to over 23,000 followers and organically reaching 52,000 people weekly. This approach led to a 60% increase in applicants for hard-to-fill roles and achieved substantial cost savings, with social media ads costing between £100-£200 compared to £2,000 for a quarter-page journal advert.

The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust