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Speaker 0: This is Scott Becker with the Becker health care podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by 2 brilliant professionals to to talk essentially about kill recruitment and how important is say in different ways going about it. We're join by 2 people, Caitlin E lab, Caitlyn, the Vice President talent acquisition at Uma mas Memorial, she heads up recruitment for every position in this system other than for providers. So not doctors and nurses, but really about everything else. And and that will to fill those voice to fill those panel positions has been over the period of Covid and and and going forward, potentially very challenging. They've come with some really creative ways to go about it. We're all joined by Re No and And and and Rem has been a record guest in the podcast. She's the chief chief strategy officer of a marketing firm called Anders Nia, and she's just a brilliant brilliant professional. Thrilled of you both with us say. Caitlyn, Kate... Can I ask you to take a moment to introduce yourself, and then Rem will I'll ask you to do the same? K? Speaker 1: Great. Thank you for having me. My name is Kate Lab. I'm the Vice President of Talent acquisition at Uma mas Memorial Health. And uma mas memorial health is the largest healthcare care system in Central Massachusetts. We have 4 hospitals and behavior health services. In terms of our caregiver size. We're about 16000 caregivers. And Scott, as you mentioned, my world is, things, talent acquisition and rep recruitment, with just a a slight change to the scope, we are focusing on all positions inclusive of registered nurses, but not those physicians or App hires. And thank you for having me today. And Speaker 0: No. Thank you very much. And thank you for that correction. That buzz brought in the pool significantly, and it'll be quite applicable to lots and lots of people and and all these positions are challenge to keep staffed in the right talent level Today. Ram, could you take a moment and introduce yourself and tae tell us 1 bit about Adam's and night too. Speaker 2: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. I always love our discussions. So Rem know our chief strategy officer here at Adams at night. So, Adam's and night, we like, we are a fully integrated marketing, advertising and branding agency based here in Connecticut. We specialize and and partner really with organizations that help people live healthier and wealthier lives. And we do a lot of care, a a lot of work in health care. And so we work in partner with a lot of help systems in the northeast. And I'm really excited to talk about the work that we've been doing with Kate and at uma mas Memorial health because to your point about Covid and how hard this has been. I think you uma mass memorial Health and the work we've been doing like, started before then and that's why we were in a better position with recruitment, but I can't wait to jump in and start talking about it. Speaker 0: No, good. Thank you very, very much. K... Why don't you kick us off? What trends are you watching in the talent recruitment area? What what sort of top of mind? Speaker 1: Sure. So I think some of the most important things to kinda think through are just the incredibly challenging talent market that we have. So we see many employers, especially in health care are all looking for the same type of qualified candidates. So that means our candidates really have their choice and so much has changed with the pandemic for candidates that they really are looking for flexibility, and they're looking for opportunities for remote work. So as an employer, how can we lean to and and provide those offerings to candidates. I think an important part, that distinguishes us as an employer is we have the 4 hospitals within the system. So we have a little bit of everything. So if you're interested in community hospital middle environment, we have that for you. If you're interested in Level 1 Trauma center, a busier Ed. We got that for you as well. So I think really just seeing an incredibly competitive talent market and how we can differentiate ourselves as the employer that, Really looks at each person and Ring will talk a little bit about the advertisement recruitment marketing strategy we have, but We're really trying to highlight that we don't just fill positions. We're not just filling numbers. While we're certainly tracking that, and I can tell you how many we have open right now and how many we filled, we absolutely hire people, and we wanna make sure that we take care of that whole person. When they are here at work, and then course when they're not and they get a chance to recharge and do the things that fill their cup and energize them. Speaker 0: Of course Thank you very much. And I think that this point on trying to be flexible and work with the pool that's out there and be employer of choice, it's so important and then trying to figure those things out constantly constantly evolving those? Rim, why don't you take a moment to tell us? How you help the system to to sort of approach that? Speaker 2: Absolutely. And I think, like I said, it started from work. And we've had these conversations before Scott about, you know, culture that you're creating within the, you know, health... System and how in recruitment, retention, on, the importance of retention. And so we've been working together for about 15 years about 10 years ago, we started I'm really focusing in on building, making sure we're building that culture, and Doctor Dixon has this, the Ceo. He talks about everyone every day that it's going to take everyone every day to make you know, uma mass memorial Health the best place to give and get care. And so how do we make that mean something to all of the employees at Uma memorial Health. And we started out by doing something really cool, which was, you know, we made sure that we needed to really make sure that everyone had that connection to where what they role they play, whether they're environmental services or they're 1 of the top surgeons that they were all caregivers and they were all in this together. And continue to kind of build that campaign. So fast forward, we are in this era where, like, you know, Kate said, everyone is trying... To compete for the same caregivers for the same nurses for the same respiratory text. How do we how do we come across to that, And how do we handle that? Well, whenever we create messaging or, you know, we always talk about it, it needs to be true to who's organization is. Right? It needs to be relevant to the people that we're trying to talk to or attract, and it needs to be unique, in the marketplace because again, the everyone is trying to talk to these same people. Every health system is trying to recruit them. And so 1 of the things that really does truly... At uma mass Memorial Health was this work that we've been working on for for over 10 years, and the culture that 1 was created internally. And this C this notion and Kate spoke to it a little bit of, you know, how do we get across the point that it's not just a position. It is a human that that that we are... Very inclusive. And so we came up with the platform of we hire you. Right? And in order to bring that to life, so since this is audio and not visual, so I'm gonna ask you to imagine in your head that, you know, we're kind of explaining. So if it was, like Re, you know, it's... You know, Rh has 3 aspects to her, life, chief strategy officer, swim mom, you know, Bak maker, Let's call it. Right? And so Adams at Night is taking Re as a whole. Right? And that's exactly what we wanted to get across with Uma mass Memorial health. Right? We are showcasing every angle of our caregivers, and and in that way, inviting prospects in to see you can be able to have that flexible life. You can still... Health care is not easy and we completely understand that and we're being very transparent, but we're celebrating all of you. In order to make that, you know, true true point that we we care for all of you. Speaker 0: Thank you very very much. In in Rim, when you look at this, and and you talk about making Bak, how good is the Bak? Speaker 2: It's pretty good. I'm Egyptian, And I'm from Alexandria, and Alexandra, you know, was under the Greek influence. So we learned how to make bak of a. Speaker 0: Oh, god bless and take a moment, Caitlyn. Kate, Tell us what do most focused on and excited about this year. And is is hiring and talent acquisition and retention. Has it gotten any easier in the last year or so it seemed like it was such an a crisis age a couple years ago. Talk about the temperature today and and what he was focused on excited about today. Speaker 1: Sure. So I... Would not say it's getting easier, But what I am when I I think back to to the last 12 to 18 months, what I'm most proud of is the collaboration between talent acquisition and all of our hiring leaders. In fiscal year 22, we had a a net loss of 300 caregivers. So 300 caregivers left, and we started fiscal year 23, and we knew we had, to make a pretty aggressive dent in that and really turn that number to a net new gain, and we had a really aggressive goal of 400 caregivers to bring on, and I'm so proud to say that the organization exceeded that, and we hired an additional 632 caregivers. To the organization. So while it's not getting easier, we are constantly looking at our processes to and trying to think about how can we be as efficient as we can, while at the same time providing a great candidate experience so some of the other things that I'm really proud of is that we have a commitment to contact caregivers that apply. So candidates that apply within 48 hours of their application. We want to make sure that we are a speedy talent acquisition team, knowing how intense that talent market is. And as we look to the future, some of the things that really stand out for me and and what I'm excited about is the the strength of this organization and mas Memorial health is in a great place and health care is challenging. So we're really fortunate that we are and an organization, a system that is continuing to grow. We have acquired 2 additional of entities and brought them into our system, and we're getting ready to open up a new inpatient unit out of the... Or building, excuse me, out of the medical center, and that will bring on 72 new beds out Certainly, we meet those beds here in Central Massachusetts. So that will be a a fun project for the talent acquisition team and hiring leaders. To kick off. It's actually started and there's about 450 plus caregivers that we need to hire. So definitely not easier this year, but certainly, a lot ahead of us and it's really exciting to be at Uma mas memorial Health. Speaker 0: Thank you very much. And and and Rim... It's tremendous success together with uma Mas Memorial Health, and obviously, Doctor Dixon, 1 of the great leaders in the country as well. I I heard Kate mentioned his the name before, you mentioned the name before. Take a moment. And what's your most focused on and excited this year throughout this year? Speaker 2: Absolutely. Can I say 2 things? Speaker 0: Please. Speaker 2: Alright. So the first thing we just found out yesterday that we actually won A atelier award for our we hire Ut Tv commercial for this campaign, we won a gold tell award. And, for your listeners, Tell awards our national awards on that recognized video Tv commercials. It is a global, you know, award. There were 12000 entries this year from 6 continents in all 50 states. So to win gold for this is really awesome and to hear Kate talk to the results about getting 3 and applications as a result of the, you know, marking and campaign that we put into place, which was fully integrated. I think 1 of the things we're focused on is how do we continue to, you know, be in the right place at the right time with these messages? You know, how do we continue to utilize, social media and paid search and that right mix of out of home and all of that to do that. So that's very exciting and something worth celebrating. The other thing that I'm... Not sure I'm excited, but gives me pause and we could talk about that forever, but I'll just mention it quickly is, you know, Ai and where that is in in the world. And so, you know, while there are a lot of great things that Ai can do, it does give me pause. When I hear sometimes clients say that they're using chat Gb to create content or create posts. I worry about that because I feel like you can call me old fashioned. I feel like you still need that human insight. And you need that human. You know, we always talk about here at the agency turning in motion into motion. And so while, I think Ai can help with improving efficiencies and processes, and, obviously, breakthroughs in the clinical world. I think there's a lot still to uncover in terms of processes how it continues to evolve and how we continue to utilize that. So that's definitely something I'm watching. Speaker 0: Thank you And if you don't mind, take 1 more moment on that. I see some of these things. Like, somebody I just recently spoke to at a recommendation letter written, and it was very beautifully written. And, you know, I said, oh, my god, it's beautifully written, and they told me is I was written by chat Gp. And and the thing I was fuss about it is, sometimes with a chat And functions, it could be very, very professional, but the thing that it caught me with, it felt just a little bit... Canned versus totally authentic and and talk about that and you sort of see this this mixing of technology with that human connection. You just mentioned that. At the end of the day, really have to work whether it's candidates, candidates that are applying every single moment have international with Human math. They'll have a an emotional motion of doesn't this feel right or wrong. And will will that will that feel right? If you know, and how do you mix technology would be able to do that right to make sure it really feels right. I think it's a fasting point. Can you talk about that 1 more moment of the authenticity, You the mix of technology and people. Just give me 1 more moment in if you'll mind. Speaker 2: No. Absolutely. And I think you hit it on the head. Right? Like, when you said that, and I think that's the biggest concern. It's like... I worry that brands will lose their voice. That that individuals will lose their voice. Right? That things will all feel the same and cookie cutter. And I do think that that's why it's critical that we still... We don't lose that that human piece. That's what differentiates us that idea idea. Right? Our our tagline here at the agencies is ideas that spark results. It's all about those ideas and that human piece, that makes it authentic. It's okay to have a couple typos that's human. Right? You know, you can spell check it. But, like, it's to be in your voice otherwise all of these candidates are gonna sound the same. All of these... You know, and III I'll leave you with this. I was at a forum, and I thought it was really interesting. It was about Ai. I And, you know, there was 1AAA speaker, a thought leader in this area said, you know, that she gets upset when she hears you know, people saying, oh, my god, students are using chat Gb and, you know, and that's not that's not right and to write their essays or their college essays and all of that she said, you know, I think we need to reassess the way we assess students because they're going up with this as a tool, and And so it's just a different way to look at it in a different way to think. So I absolutely agree with you on the authenticity piece, I think. It'll ultimately get more regulated because already, like, even on the on the art side, some artists are getting ripped off, music is getting ripped. Off, So I think it'll get more regulated, but it's definitely something to watch. And again, I'm not anti. I'm just being careful. Off Speaker 0: No. A hundred percent. And trying to maintain at the end of the day that human can connection actually, we look at it as a media company, more stuff produced by Ai, etcetera, etcetera. But programs that real connects connection with the audience, it really doesn't matter. Because people will just overflow with the information Hey they could do Ai stuff at the end of the day. Not anybody. But to do it really intelligent need to do it with the connectivity go go on connectivity to the people or everybody else. So so important. K. Let me ask you for some final thoughts on, what advice to others in the Talent acquisition world today, any source to advice you'd give to other emerging leaders and talent acquisition? Speaker 1: Absolutely. So I think the first thing that I would say is believe in yourself and take chances. So I have been extremely fortunate throughout my career to have leaders that saw something in me. And gave me opportunities that might have been a stretch assignment or might have been my first and instead of having the nerves get the best of me, I let those nerves fuel me and energize me to learn and get exposed to new things. So I would just say to those new leaders that, you know, take that chance and embrace it. And it's okay than if you make a mistake or you look back at it and wanna approach it AAA different way after a few years in the in the job, if and that's how you learn and grow. So definitely embrace those opportunities. Speaker 0: Thank you very very much. And rem the same for you any final thoughts that you wanted to share with the audience? Speaker 2: Yeah. I think staying with the the human connection and human... Angle that I think has been the thread throughout our discussion today. I would just say to, you know, listen more. Remember be empathetic when you look at all the research, continues to say people leave or love places because of their managers and their leaders. And so Remember that responsibility you hold, bring that positive energy, have that empathy, and it's okay to say sorry, if you mess up and always remember to say thank you. Speaker 0: With that, And Kate, I also say thank you for joining us stay on the Becker Healthcare podcast. Uma mass is an amazing system Re, we're always impressed by you and Adams and tonight. Always a pleasure to visit with you. Thank you both for joining us stay on the Becker Healthcare care podcast and can't wait to visit with you again. Thank you very much. Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you. Speaker 1: Thank you. Speaker 0: Thank