Season 1, Episode 6: Shartia Huddleton – Recruitment Marketing

Shartia Huddleton will explore how storytelling and branding intersect with recruitment marketing. She’ll offer tips on crafting compelling campaigns that attract top talent.

Transcript

Angela Pointer 0:00

Welcome to the Hiring Scope podcast from the National Association for Healthcare Recruitment, where we explore the latest trends, insights, and strategies in the ever-changing world of healthcare hiring. I'm your host, Angela Pointer, and each episode we'll dive deep into the challenges and opportunities facing recruiters, hiring managers, healthcare professionals alike. Whether you're looking to attract top talent, navigate industry challenges, or build a stronger workforce, you're in the right place. Today I'm excited to talk with Shartia Huddleston, HR Manager of Talent Attraction on the topic of recruitment marketing. So let's get started. Welcome, Shartia. Hi, Angela. Thank you so much for having me today. Great. Looking forward to this topic. It's something that's kind of near and dear to my heart, even though anything with TA talent acquisition is near and dear to my heart, but definitely this topic. So before we get started, tell us a little bit about you, and we can also just talk about your role in your current organization.

Shartia Huddleston 1:03

So I've been working in healthcare, and I'm gonna age myself here a little bit since 1999. Um and more specifically. How about that? And more specifically, working in um the human resources function since 2006. So started, you know, as an HR assistant with the MBA at that time, and you know, worked my way up and started specializing in sourcing. Originally from Ohio, and I transitioned here to Charlotte, North Carolina back in 2015 and started with, at the time, Carolina's healthcare system, um, which is now HM Health, and entered the organization and really introduced sourcing to that organization. And my role at the time consisted of exploring their tech stack and their current recruitment strategy and seeing what we could bring to the organization. And sourcing was definitely one of those things that was something new that a lot of organizations started exploring with. So I started developing that tool and that skill set with Carolina Healthcare System at that time and began educating the recruiters into sourcing. So fast forward the role that I'm doing today, the HR manager of talent attraction, over the couple last couple of years, I had created a and built a sourcing team that was specifically just sourcing for roles at um atrium health and supporting the recruiters with critical roles based on agency span and also based on age requisitions and also the recruitment marketing aspect of work for specifically the Charlotte market. Also close collaborating with our other markets in region, the Midwest, um our Wake Forest Baptist, our Georgia, uh Navison and Floyd markets, as well with the recruitment marketing strategies of the content development, social media, etc. Sourcing is definitely near and dear to my heart, something that I'm specialized in, and also something that I'm certified in and had had the opportunity to mirror both recruitment marketing and align the sourcing strategies in my work. That sounds fun. Don't you just love your job? Yeah, yeah, because it it allowed me to, because my background, um, educational background, I have a bachelor's in technology, computer programming. So being a sourcer and then having a master's degree in HR, it allowed me to take technology and that HR function and have the best of both worlds with sourcing and the recruitment marketing.

Angela Pointer 3:30

Yeah, so that goes together like peanut butter and jelly, huh?

Shartia Huddleston 3:33

Yes, it does.

Angela Pointer 3:34

So we're gonna be talking about recruitment marketing and to set the stage, I'm gonna share a little bit as far as the healthcare recruitment landscape. Anybody that's been in talent acquisition knows this. This isn't new. We kind of are dealing with a number of things with the current state of affairs. We have nursing shortage. The U.S. has projected, this is actually interesting, to have over 193,000 RN job openings per year through 2032. So we're gonna always be in a nursing shortage for the foreseeable future. Looking at turnover rates, the average hospital turnover rate in 2025 is 22.7 percent, with RN turnover being 18.4%. Nothing new there. We that is what it is, and then some of the recruitment challenges. The average time to fill for an experienced RN is around 32 days. And of course, that's gonna vary by region and specialty, but just generally speaking. And then we also have a physician shortage. We're expected, just like we're expected to have those openings for RNs for full-time physicians by 2037, that's gonna be 187,000 or so, and especially with the rural areas being hit the hardest. So this is a tight market. And so definitely in light of this, we'll talk about how healthcare organizations can use recruitment marketing not only just to retack uh attract talent, but also to retain talent. So I'm curious with these trends, with these numbers and these stats of our shortages and whatnot, what trends are you seeing in 2025 that are really moving the needle in recruitment marketing?

Shartia Huddleston 5:14

I would definitely say speaking directly to the candidate. We know these candidates that we're trying to, you know, reach out to for opportunities are in high demand based on the statistics you just shared. So they can literally go wherever they want, name their dollar, but as a sourcer and also with recruitment marketing, you have to understand what is important to them. So, you know, having that conversation and say, you know, where are you kind of in your career? What is important to you? What are you looking for? Whether it's, you know, to have more time with your kids, work life balance, to be able to make an impact in their role. Once that job seeker disclosed that to you, if your organization is able to offer many things or what they're looking for, you just go right into that conversation and deliver based on what their main and priority interests are. So speaking directly to that has worked, you know, tremendously for us. Thinking of quality versus quantity, I don't get too fascinated with the numbers. I'm I'm not looking to bring in a hundred candidates, you know, for a role. I want to bring in the best of the best. So making sure that, you know, we're putting out recruitment marketing content that's gonna, you know, very, very be specific about this is what we're looking for, this is what we're offering. Do you meet these qualifications and these preferences for that role to bring in that top-notch candidate and reducing the noise, you know, not sending out so many messages just over redundancy with emails to individuals ending up on that blacklist, too many messages being delivered every day to candidates. You know, we have to figure out a better way to reach and speak to them. Referrals, they'll always be a leader in finding top talent. So here at HRM Health, we definitely rely on our current staff to be a voice and share with us on who they recommend. You know, always use the tagline. Your friends can be your teammates as well. And sometimes, you know, leveraging referral bonuses by giving that monetary referral bonus to our teammates help shows that we value them, but also even more so, giving them that voice helps them show that we really, really appreciate what they consider to be top talent or what they recommend for us, and also to you know make an AI work for you. Buy one that fits the organization talent goals to enhance your organization candidate experience. Everyone is using AI for a lot of things, applying for jobs, searching for jobs, applying for jobs. So if you create an experience that's AI friendly, you're going to definitely be able to catch those candidates, you know, market to them and get directly into your funnel, you know, like you need to hopefully convert that individual to an employee.

Angela Pointer 8:06

You just said a mouthful, I was taking notes on a couple of things that stood out to me. And I think the first thing is so key speaking to the candidate. And then you said something about reducing the noise. But that's so true. You're getting bombarded and inundated with messages. And I think that's that that's so key to be able to speak to what they really need. So I'm sure you probably have some stories. So can you share an example of what you've been doing that really stands out for your employer brand?

Shartia Huddleston 8:37

Yes, for our employer brand, we have been doing a lot of testimonials with our teammates. So we've been day in the life, videos, storytelling, you know, so we're able to promote real life individuals sharing their real life stories. And when we share this, it's it's displaying that individual in their work environment and also in their personal environment, and um, even highlighting, you know, what their career journey could have looked like. Um, some individuals, this could be a second career for them or a transitional career for them. They are able to cascade all of that in their stories. And it may resonate with someone, another job seeker or a similar job seeker on some level because we're sharing so much of that and letting another person know, you know, we're just like you. And we were able to obtain this and and and accomplish this, so can you. So it's real people share real experiences that are attainable to others. So that's something that, you know, has been very instrumental for us, and also a strong EBP it exemplifies the organization's existing values while addressing the culture gaps that hinder business success. So we're always displaying what's in it for the teammate. You know, HRM Health is offering this, and we're here to help you. So it ends up being a win-win situation if an individual looks at it that way. It also can bridge the gap between leadership and um leadership goals and employee engagement. And actually, we're in a process of revamping our EVP at the moment. So very excited to see what that would look like. But right now, we we still have a very strong employee brand. Um, and even with the integration um across our regions, it it continues to be strong.

Angela Pointer 10:27

I'm curious, especially with your organization and just being in different, different geography. Do you find needing to adjust maybe the message based on that particular market? I I know I've lived in Georgia and North Carolina, so I gotta relate. Do you have to do things different in different markets from a brand perspective at all?

Shartia Huddleston 10:48

Um, we tend to be very similar, but we will highlight what those benefits are for the regional, you know, different regional or geographical areas. And also, interestingly enough, we share very same critical needs. So we're able to leverage our big footprint, being, you know, the third largest um nonprofit healthcare organization, and say, you know, we have opportunities in multiple areas. So you tell us what your interests are. You want to be in Illinois, you want to be in Wisconsin, you want to be in the Carolinas, you want to be in Georgia. You know, we have a little bit of everything for everyone. And once the EVP is set, or once we, you know, renew, redesign, we probably will still focus on our um care delivery brands for those geographical areas just because they're so strong. Because we have the one identity of the parent company of as Advocate Health, but regionally we still make, you know, make sure we maintain our presence and our identity for atrium health, advocate Aurora, atrium health, novice and floyd, etc.

Angela Pointer 11:56

Well, I know you mentioned that you're doing some things in the space of social media and and and that type of thing. There's a lot out there. People are doing some really cool things. I'm curious to hear maybe something that you're excited about that you've done in that space in social media with maybe a particular campaign or something that you'd like to kind of tell, tell your story, brag on yourself a little bit and the work that you're doing.

Shartia Huddleston 12:20

Yeah, well, social media, um, going back to those testimonials, those have been big campaigns for us. We also do virtual events, chat events with the a chat virtual vendor. So all of those things tend to be, you know, advertised on social media. We do organic videos, not just from the recruitment team, but more so from our teammates. So those have been great as well in highlighting to our growth projects on social media with you know renderings from the new buildings that's coming, also our new technologies. Um, because in some of our areas, we have technology that are, you know, kind of state of the art or one of the kind. For example, we recently did a campaign for the Vean Cancer Institute about our proton therapy, which you know had got a lot of uh traction on that. It was, you know, new therapy coming, and we had patients ready and also job seekers ready before we were even open and ready to be able to manage all of that, opening our doors. Also, too, with social media, just our presence with different initiatives, with our strategic partners, with military initiatives, you know, with veterans. So we leverage social media for everything. And and re retention, you know, because even with our internal teammates, they're able to refer and and recruit incoming individuals by sharing, you know, their story, maybe putting a banner up that you know they love working at this place, like I have it on my LinkedIn banner, or that I found my passion here at Atrium Health. That right there is advertisement on social media to others to want to join or learn about us.

Angela Pointer 14:05

That's really and there's something you talked about too about testimonials and kind of real life, because you know, I know there's nothing wrong with having very produced videos and and that type of thing, but sometimes I think you were mentioned organic, just that walk off just tell your story. Did you find any challenges with teammates or colleagues are being a little leery about putting themselves out there? Have you ever deal with that?

Shartia Huddleston 14:30

Yes, you do find that. So you have to definitely vet some individuals to find out their comfort level and then create like a guideline of best practices to help them. But there are some influencers that this is what they want to do, so they're actually come to you and say, I want to help. How can I assist with the recruitment process and be an ambassador? So that really starts a kind of an ambassador program for organizations when you have teammates that want to be influencers and help just by engaging with talent. And we also here at Atrium Health, the recruitment marketing team, we have education called Linked Up on LinkedIn, where we go and share this education with teammates, and that's where we find out who are the influencers and who wants to join us on this journey to share and be a voice and share their testimonials or their organic, create their organic content to help recruit their next you know teammate into the organization. So that's been great. And also, too, we utilize social media to recognize our current teammates, like when they are awarded Daisy Awards or for celebrations, things of that nature. We have a lot of great leaders that use the social media platforms for that as well.

Angela Pointer 15:44

That's awesome. So I'm curious in the work that you do, which it sounds like it's so fun, but I'm sure every day, every day isn't like a bed of roses. So tell me some of the challenges that you're facing in your role and in in the space of recruitment marketing.

Shartia Huddleston 16:00

Uh, some of the challenges, I would say, definitely you gotta have a budget, you know, to do certain things or do more, you know, having the right tech stacks in place, um, having the right processes in place, making sure that you're within the guidelines. Recruitment marketing is all about brand guidelines. So you don't want, you know, teammates to go out there and go and rogue and doing things outside of the guidelines. So you have to educate as well. Educate, monitor, and make sure you have the proper documentation in place too for some of the things that you're putting out there when it comes to teammates or job seekers. Those are are the main things I would even say.

Angela Pointer 16:40

Yeah, but yeah, I mean those are some good ones, yeah. Or shouldn't say good ones, but those are the challenges for sure. You mentioned something that I wanted to touch on too, is when we were talking about you said budget, and so when you spend money, you also want to get what get what you pay for and get the ROI. So I'm curious to hear about what metrics are you tracking or recommend tracking to know that your recruitment marketing is working.

Shartia Huddleston 17:04

We definitely track the industry standard ones that everyone is familiar with, fires impressions, clicks, cost per hire, or cost per click, I should say, cost per application, like shares, engagement, applications. Because as I mentioned, our recruitment strategy is definitely connected with like the sourcing strategy. So we do look at a lot of that, you know, what are we converting with hires? As those are all necessary when measuring your marketing efforts, but additional metrics to consider, you know, you can consider Glassdoor and indeed ratings. They are always out there trying to get reviews and information from teammates or you know, previous employees or those because they utilize it to research their next employer. So you can see how you stand against your competitors there. Another good metric is to, you know, monitor your executive and manager level engagement on LinkedIn. That uh education that I've talked about, our LinkedIn on, um, linked up on LinkedIn education has been great measurement for us because it it tells us so much about the engagement of leaders, of staff, of individuals. And just by us sharing that on our social channels, their involvement increased our reach by 10% or 10 times, I would say 10 times. And it was free. It was free. All it took was me and my team to come up with education and share it 30 minutes. And we have, you know, 10 times our influencers within the organization to help us recruit. So, you know, that I think itself was powerful for us and something that we look at in our measurements as well, in addition to the others.

Angela Pointer 18:47

Yes, I just got this thought in my head. Hashtag everybody's a recruiter, right? Because it gets everyone that you know has a part to play. And you know, we're living in this land now where there's actually careers that people have in content creation and things like that. So it's a there are people out there that want to be a part of telling the stories. So that's interesting. As we kind of wrap up, I'd love to hear kind of some practical advice from you. So, for those who are listening today, what's the one thing that you would recommend from a recruitment marketing talent attraction standpoint that individuals can do today to improve their recruitment marketing?

Shartia Huddleston 19:25

I would say definitely do an audit of your current, you know, career site. And this is my number one rule. I'll always say when you're doing that audit, put yourself in the job seeker seat. That's the eyes or the lens that I or approach I should say I take anytime I'm looking at something to see if the journey that I'm taking an individual on makes sense, or is it enough information out here that will entice me enough to click that job, apply for that job, engage with that employer? And once you do that audit, also look at some of your competitors and see how you compare to your competitors and make the necessary adjustments, but map out you know, those adjustments or those opportunities that you have found that could be uh beneficial to you in making a difference. Measure your activity. If the things that you're doing are not producing any type of activity, you need to make some changes or test. Um, you know, when you talk to some of these vendors and say, oh, if you spend this amount of money, blah blah blah, this is what you're gonna get. Do a trial run and see. You know, take their advice, but also challenge yourself and come up with your own thoughts and advice and see which one may fare out better for you in the research.

Angela Pointer 20:48

I'm getting down here. Research, that's some good ones. You give them some great nuggets out somewhere. First do an audit and see if I got if I um was listening correctly. Look at your competitors, measure your activity, test, try things out, and do research.

Shartia Huddleston 21:03

Did I get it? Yes. And you can even you can even start the research beforehand. Um, you know, so in any order, you know, but I definitely make sure that I do all those actions on an ongoing basis, even if I set my strategy in October for you know the coming up year is gonna get measured time and time and over again and and adjusted as needed.

Angela Pointer 21:28

That's good. This is some good uh good information and great topic. And I know we could talk all day, but um, for the sake of time, we can get wrapping up and um um just thank you so much. And so that's this episode of the Hiring Scope Podcast from the National Association for Healthcare Recruitment. Thank you for joining me, Angela Pointer, as we tackle the voting landscape of healthcare hiring. If you enjoyed today's conversation, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review. and share it with your network. You can also check us out at nahcr.com for more content. Until then, keep pushing the boundaries of what's possible in healthcare recruitment.