DeVry: In-depth RN Faculty Interviews

Gathering Nurse Faculty Perspectives & Insights

After assessing the current situation, Peer Group US determined that it was important to fully understand what attracted current nurse faculty members to Chamberlain College and, just as importantly, what keeps them there. To arrive at this understanding, Peer Group US recommended primary research in the form of confidential, in-depth telephone interviews with current nurse faculty members at various Chamberlain College campuses. This approach would provide participants with the ability to offer honest and accurate feedback regarding a broad range of aspects regarding the nurse faculty employment experience at the College.

Peer Group US managed end-to-end survey development and execution, beginning with the design of the telephone interviews discussion guide. Questions were developed in support of the following topics:

• Participants’ career progress, both prior to and since joining Chamberlain College of Nursing
• Awareness of Chamberlain College of Nursing before applying for a position
• Perceptions of the college throughout their experiences as both candidates and employees
• Reasons participants stay at Chamberlain College and why they believe others should join
• Participants’ opinions regarding the characteristics of successful nurse faculty members
• Common nurse faculty job search strategies

Following the development of the discussion guide, Peer Group US handled participant outreach and interview scheduling, conducted all telephone interviews and transcriptions, and performed results reporting and analysis. Specific recommendations were then made across three areas: creative messaging, marketing strategy and programmatic considerations.

Results

The research effort was highly successful, and Peer Group US was able to quickly identify five key drivers of job satisfaction that were reported by all participants without prompts. We found that the overall employment experience was consistent among nurse faculty members at various locations and that DeVry would be able to clearly and accurately communicate the reasons why prospective nurse faculty members should consider working at Chamberlain College of Nursing.

In addition, Peer Group US was able to provide specific recommendations for the marketing strategy – with a particular focus on building a pipeline of candidates for ongoing needs – along with additional considerations that were related to policies and procedures at the College.

Peer Group US delivered the clear vision and rationale that we were seeking in order to invest in a comprehensive and highly targeted nurse faculty recruitment campaign.

—     Felix J. Martinez, Director of Talent Acquisition at DeVry, Inc.

Next Steps

The research and recommendations are now being leveraged by the creative and account management teams at recruitment marketing agency CKR Interactive, which owns Peer Group US, to develop creative concepts and finalize the marketing strategy.