Appriss and Norton Healthcare Use Speech Technology to Address Healthcare Worker Shortage

Norton Healthcare has tapped into Appriss' speech technology to help recruit and hire new employees at its local hospitals.

NextJobNow is a speech-enabled "virtual interviewer" that allows job applicants to apply using the telephone or the Web, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Norton Suburban Hospital was the first Norton Healthcare facility to begin using the service.

Recruiters say NextJobNow has significantly streamlined the hiring process while increasing the numbers of qualified candidates. To date, more than 3,500 applications have been received via NextJobNow, resulting in nearly 400 new hires. "We have seen numbers of applicants like we've never seen before," said Katie Oldham, Norton Suburban Hospital employment recruiter. "NextJobNow has completely changed the way we recruit candidates, cutting our time from application to hire by more than half."

NextJobNow automates the task of interviewing, scoring and ranking job candidates. Applicants call the NextJobNow career line and answer a series of questions based on the position they are seeking. The new speech recognition application uses voice application technology to maximize recruitment efficiency and applicant convenience.

"Applicants can use the telephone at any time of the day or night," said Doug Cobb, Appriss CEO. "It also provides the applicant with a user-friendly experience, interacting by voice over the phone versus navigating the telephone keypad."

Norton Healthcare hospitals using NextJobNow include Norton Suburban Hospital, Norton Audubon Hospital, Norton Spring View Hospital, Norton Southwest Hospital, Norton Hospital, Kosair Children's Hospital and Carroll County Hospital. The tool is also being used for corporate recruiting. "We see this technology as a way to help us address the national shortage of qualified medical professionals," said Doug Howell, vice president of Human Resources at Norton Healthcare. "This new system makes it easier for professionals to apply for open positions and allows us to hire more quickly."

Applicants can access NextJobNow through Norton Healthcare toll free at 1-866-814-4914 or www.nextjobnow.com/norton. Recently, the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council (MCHC) also contracted with Appriss to offer NextJobNow to its member hospitals. Appriss recently launched SpeakOut Direct, an always-on speech-recognition telephone (ASRT) survey solution that allows enterprises to gather marketing information and feedback from people at a lower cost, with more accuracy.