Community Connections: How Outreach Fuels Recruitment

Troy Green from Luminis Health challenges recruiters to rethink where great talent comes from. He shares how community connections feed real pipelines—through CNA training, Medical Assistant apprenticeships, and early exposure to healthcare careers for middle school, high school, and college students. From second chances to first jobs, Luminis proves that when recruiters stay open to possibilities, connections create opportunities.

Transcript

Angela Pointer 0:00

Welcome to the Hiring Scope Podcast, where we explore the art and science of healthcare recruitment and the relationships that power it. I'm your host, Angela Pointer.

Patrick Kelly 0:09

And I'm Patrick Kelly. This season we're going to be diving into the theme of recruiterships, the power of relationships and healthcare recruitment. Today we're excited to talk about how community outreach isn't just great PR. It is a great source of talent pipelines for the healthcare community.

Angela Pointer 0:26

Our guest today, knows this first hand. We're joined by Troy Green, Director of Talent Acquisition at Luminous Health. Troy has been a leader in health and building an innovative partnerships that connect health systems to their communities, creating opportunities both for local residents and healthcare organizations.

Patrick Kelly 0:45

Troy, welcome to the hiring scope. We're thrilled to have you. Glad to be here.

Angela Pointer 0:49

Awesome. Troy, let's get things started here talking about the why. So we're curious what inspired you to focus on community-based outreach and recruitment?

Troy Green 0:58

Well, I think for me, you know, I kind of grew up deeply rooted in the community. One of my first positions in HR and TA was with the Johns Hopkins Hospital. And as you know, Hopkins is located in East Baltimore. And, you know, Hopkins was and is still very involved in that community, not just in the local area, but nationally and internationally. So for me as a entry-level recruiter, I was exposed very early on to the power of partnerships and the importance, not only from an organizational standpoint, but from a community and a recruitment standpoint as well.

Patrick Kelly 1:38

So healthcare organizations, Troy, they talk a lot about, like you just said, they're a part of the community or they're for the community. From your perspective, how does that translate into real recruitment strategy?

Troy Green 1:49

To me, it's it's moving beyond just like your job postings and doing career fairs. Most hospitals, all hospitals are in some type of community. And we basically, as a mission is to care for that immediate community and the broader community. For us here at Luminous, we have something that we call rise, respect, inclusion, service, and excellence. Not just a tagline. It really is meaningful. And when we look at you know the climate today, coming, you know, a few years out of COVID, the enormous amount of shortages that we have and the normal enormous amount of opportunities that are out there, blended in with technology that's out there. There, there's just so many opportunities to get connected to people. But at the end of the day, you have to be focused. I feel like you have to be focused internally on how to build that talent. And in order to do that, you you must partner with your community. The community is who our major focuses from a day-to-day basis as a hospital. But also as we go out as recruiters to, you know, find talent, we must partner with those community partners because they're the ones that we're focused on, but also those resources are also coming from that community as well. So it's extremely important.

Angela Pointer 3:01

That's so good, Troy. I just thought of something came in my head as you were talking. The for us by us, you know, in the community. You're taking care of the people that are taking care of the community, come from the community. So now let's transition here from talking about strategy to practice and putting this all in action. So, what does this actually look like for Luminous? Can you share some examples of community partnerships you have, maybe with schools or workforce programs? I know I personally see you all over LinkedIn, but different things that you're doing. So tell us a little bit about what you guys are doing at Luminous.

Troy Green 3:33

So, first I have the the honor to be on two workforce boards. I'm the vice chair of the Employee Prince George's, which is in Prince George's County, which is where we have one of our facilities. And then also I'm on the board for Anarundal Workforce Development Corporation in Anarundal County. And so I, you know, being a part of those organizations from a board perspective, I get some insight into what those funding streams are and what the priorities are really for the state and for the county as it relates to helping our workforce in those counties. And so for us, I mean, it's also about really trying to balance out our priorities. We have these shortages, as I as I mentioned. And for us, over the last four years, we've had the opportunity to create, you know, CNA programs, a track for those CNAs to not only learn how to be a CNA internally through two programs that we either are partnering with or we're running internally, but also most recently, we started an apprenticeship for our medical assistance, which we'll be rolling out in the next couple of uh weeks here. Uh, in addition to that, really proud of the work that we're doing with historically black colleges and universities. We, I would say about 25% of the partnerships that we have are coming from that funnel. And 20% of our hires, our new grad hires, are actually coming from historically uh black colleges and diverse institutions. So those partnerships are extremely important in addition to what we're doing with our high schools and our elementary schools. One in particular is a program with the uh Centers for Applied Technology. It's a technical uh high school here in Ana Rondo County. We have students that come in and rotate through the summer. And when they graduate, they actually graduate with not only a medical assistant certification, but also a CNA. And so those folks can then roll into roles that we have within the organization. Most of them actually go, end up going to Ana Rundo Community College to pursue nursing. So through that process, and hopefully at the end they they become a nurse and work with us.

Patrick Kelly 5:29

Those are some pretty amazing programs. You actually, it seems like scan the uh gamut of community and school, even into lower schools and high schools. With all of those different programs, how do you manage success? Are you strictly looking for hires made, or are there broader workforce development outcomes that your group is looking to capture? And what shows us success to Luminous?

Troy Green 5:51

I think the the one thing that's really important that's unspoken is again, it's tied back to our values as an organization. We are community, respect, inclusion, service, excellence. It's who we are, what we do. At the end of the day, recruitment is marketing. We want to, you know, market our organization and it helps to further do that for sure, to see the success. But it also at the end of the day is going to help it helps us with our turnover. So when you're able to bring a person in at an entry-level job and they're able to grow, it's remarkable what it can do to inspire others to either work for you or stay with you. Another program that, you know, is really speaking of being inspirational, is the work that we're doing with re-entry. We've hired over 50 people that are were formerly incarcerated, that uh are working within our organization. So not only do we work with a specific program that we're the anchor to, but we actually go inside of the of the jails and and and speak with individuals about about reentry, uh, hoping to inspire them to go through a number of different programs that we partner with. But at the end of the day, they get to see where they can end up, which is working with our organization. So there's just so many different partnerships that we do have. But at the end of the day, it's really about does it make sense from our value standpoint and how can we help that community, but also obviously help our organization with some of our talent shortages that we have.

Angela Pointer 7:14

That's good. And it's good to see that there's also things you're measuring that can be measured. And then you also mentioned things that are not necessarily measurable, just the impact and the inspiration. So that's amazing. So now let's let's keep it real. This isn't always easy, correct? So yeah. So tell us a little bit of some of the challenges that you face, either in gaining buy-in from leadership, if that was the case, or sustaining partnerships long term, anything that's been a challenge that you've been able to overcome, or even maybe a challenge you're still working through.

Troy Green 7:44

I'm blessed that the organization really gets it. And um, I think sometimes the bandwidth to do it is is tough because at the end of the day, you know, we're a recruiting shop. And so we're here to recruit and find talent for the organization. So it's trying to balance that out. Uh, also the bandwidth as it relates to building apprenticeships, it's a lot of work. It's a lot of work. And I and I think that you have to have a committed organization. So again, the work is beyond just where I work. It, you know, I'm, you know, working in these workforce boards. And so we have other businesses also and other entities that are trying to do the same. And it's hard in healthcare because you are so stretched. And so, again, you have to have a really committed group. Uh, there have been a couple of examples where we've had to kind of, you know, sort of delay moving forward with certain apprenticeships just because we just didn't have the bandwidth. And then other areas where you do have the ability to do it. But again, for me, I think it's also showcasing and just bringing to the table in a in a bigger way the possibilities that are out there and sort of bridging the gap between your talent acquisition, your HR department, and workforce and what workforce can do. And so when we come together, it's it's pretty powerful. And and there, there are resources that are out there that we lend, you know, we work very, very hard with our community colleges in the area. And so they tend to be very joined at the hip with the workforce arms. And then, you know, our competitors, you know, you learn a lot from some of the competitors that have been able to do some of this work and either they failed or they had some challenges and you learn from that, or you know, you have examples of how they've done a great job. So, again, being out there every every day and understanding the market also has helped us too.

Patrick Kelly 9:28

What lessons would you share with recruiters or talent leaders who maybe want to start down this path and start to engage community partners?

Troy Green 9:37

I think it's a it's a it's kind of a no-brainer that I think that you have to do it. And if you want, again, the world in recruiting, the world is different as we've come out of COVID. You know, you're competing every day with McDonald's and Wendy's for entry-level workforce. People can, you know, the gig economy, people are going and doing all kinds of gigs and and they don't have to, they don't have to work a traditional eight-hour shift. And so you're competing against that. You're competing also in a way with information because there's so much information out here today with with the technology that we have, right? So people can they have more, they're more informed. And so it sometimes can work in your favor and can work against you. So I think it's it's imperative that as recruiters, that we are open to all possibilities, that we're a sponge, that we're open to to doing all kinds of things and thinking way out of the box. Partnerships are great because, again, it's a direct link to the community. A lot of the stuff can be done without a ton of resources. And so you have the the capability of getting grants and things of that nature from either the state, your county, your workforce board to do a lot of this work. And at the end of the day, you're gonna benefit from it. It may, you may have to roll your sleeves up a bit, but I think it's a it's a necessary, necessary strategy in today's marketplace to partner with workforce.

Angela Pointer 11:06

That's good. I actually thought of one thing real quick as you were talking. So, do you have a dedicated team that focuses exclusively on the community partnerships, or is it a part of the roles that your recruiters are doing today?

Troy Green 11:16

Most recruiters, and you all probably will agree with this, this is what we do all the time anyway, right? Um, we're partnering with colleges and universities. We're partnering with associations. This is more of an extension of that, a little bit more in the weeds with workforce, but it's an extension, it's a sourcing, it's a it's a strategy, a sourcing strategy to get to people. It's what it is. So, yes, all the recruiters for the most part are doing some form of this, some more than others. But yeah, it's it's definitely uh a part of recruiting.

Angela Pointer 11:45

Gotcha. And it's interesting too because as healthcare recruiters, it's not just about putting butts in seats or filling jobs, but it's shaping the future of workforce. So you may you've touched on this a little bit, but if you want to bring it home for us and how do you see the recruiter's role evolving as more organizations prioritize community impact? You guys are already doing it, but what are you seeing in the future as it relates to the recruiter's role in community impact?

Troy Green 12:10

I I think it's just another set of tools and a toolkit to recruit. You have to know, you know, I had a mentor once that said, you know, you have to get in traffic. I love that term. Recruiters have to get in traffic every day. We have to get out there and and and see and be educated as to the marketplace. And particularly if any any role in healthcare, any role in healthcare recruitment can benefit from from partnerships. There, there's some grant that's out there, there's some workforce entity that is focused on an area that you're recruiting for. And it's it's it's important that we we try to get partnered with it. It's gonna benefit us at the end of the day. One, name recognition, branding to the organization, very important. But also, if we we want to do a better job of retaining that talent in our organization because it's so tough to get it, we've got to be able to build our own and grow our own within our organizations. And you're seeing more and more, you know, particularly in this the DMV area, organizations or healthcare organizations are partnering and doing a lot of work around workforce development. I I see it getting more broad and I see more recruiters, the ones that are going to be successful, are going to be the ones that embrace this.

Patrick Kelly 13:23

Yeah, I mean, that is uh a lot of what recruitment is. Like you said, it is relationship building, it is understanding the community that you're hiring from. And, you know, now that you you're doing your Luminous healthcare team seems to be doing a great job of bringing it into the health system's social responsibility and ethics that they're building around. It's not just a business function, it seems like uh you were talking about Rise. It is actually more of a core value for the business, which I think is really the only way that these type of impacts can actually be successful.

Angela Pointer 13:52

Troy, thank you so much for joining us today. Your passion for connecting people and purpose really has shined through these last few minutes that we've been talking.

Troy Green 14:01

Thank you so much, Angela.

Patrick Kelly 14:02

Troy, we want to do one more thing before you go. We really uh here at uh NAHCR really want some great advice for recruiters, some action items for them that they can take with them to help build their skill sets. So, uh, what's one piece of advice you'd give recruiters who want to strengthen their community ties, but don't know where to start?

Troy Green 14:21

Get out of your seat and get out the door. Get a, you know, get involved, get involved, be active. You know, I'm talking to two people that are very, and both of you that are very, very involved in social media and you're out and about and you're sharing what you're doing. You need to share. And you also can ask questions and partner and get connected to people. That's how the most successful recruiters have success is the more people that they partner with and connect with. Usually it's going to translate to more hires and stronger, robust pipeline people.

Angela Pointer 14:53

Awesome. Thanks so much, Troy. This is such great insight. And thank you to our listeners for tuning into the Hiring Scope podcast from the National Association for Healthcare Recruitment. Please visit us at nahcr.com. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss future episodes as we continue exploring recruiterships, the power of relationships in healthcare recruitment.

Patrick Kelly 15:16

We will see you next time.