Vetted Health

I spent a full day at my competitor’s office. I met his entire team across sales, customer success, product, and marketing. Yes, I know this sounds strange to an outsider. Two competitors sitting down to collaborate. Why would Oliver Feakins invite me to do that? Because healthcare recruiting isn’t a winner-take-all market. We don’t expect users to choose one job board over the other. There’s enough budget for everyone to succeed. When competitors come together to share strategies and knowledge, everyone wins. Not just our companies but also the recruiters and agencies we serve. The healthcare staffing world isn’t new to this concept. Executives from different staffing firms regularly share ideas to overcome challenges. Those that collaborate tend to grow faster and outperform the market. It’s also not just about beating larger competitors (though that’s of course part of it). We’re sharing broader insights (from effective recruiter strategies to solving clinician pain points) so we can move the industry forward. While still growing independently. I truly believe that strategic alignment doesn’t weaken your position. It just makes the entire ecosystem stronger. Think of it this way: the pie grows, instead of us fighting over a slice. Make sense? Make sure you follow along here and over on TrackFive’s page for new Placement Playbook content dropping weekly. Let us know in the comments what topics and conversations we should tackle next! TrackFive TravelNurseSource

End-to-end recruiting powered by AI is closer than we think. OpenAI released ChatGPT Operator today, an extension that allows users to turn GPT-4 into a task-specific agent. We’re moving from simple chatbots that answer questions to AI agents that can perform entire workflows on your behalf. Right now, an AI agent can help you book a reservation or order an Uber. But this is gonna go much further. Soon, AI agents will transform recruiting entirely Imagine an AI agent connected to your ATS, updating candidate records automatically. Or integrated with your SMS tools, handling back-and-forth conversations with candidates. These agents will reason, adapt and complete the tedious tasks that tend to slow recruiters down. Recruiters will need to adapt their strategies if they want to compete. Building deeper relationships and crafting personalized experiences. How do you think this will affect your workflows?

Pinpointing where your hires are coming from shouldn’t feel like guesswork. That’s why I’ve been doubling down on Vetted Health’s ATS integrations. Why? - Manual data entry leaves room for error. - Dropdown menus misrepresent lead sources. - Attribution becomes a “he said, she said” situation between platforms and ATSs. Data tells the clearest story when platforms and ATSs work in sync. Like Oliver Feakins says: we need to be working with ATS systems to be the “arbiters of truth”. Combining granular platform data with ATS metrics is one of the best ways we’re helping recruiters drive placements. Clean integrations.  Fewer manual inputs.  Smarter decisions.

The biggest threat to your recruiting success? Stubborn reliance on ‘the way it’s always been done.’ Recently, I hired a 24-year-old finance grad. And he taught me a thing or two about innovation. He approached our accounting system with a fresh perspective. Questioning the norms and introducing tools that very few others in the industry are using. This confirmed my outlook on hiring. Look for curiosity and creativity. In your candidates. How do they think about and solve problems? It doesn’t matter if they’re 24 or 44. It’s something the recruiting world can learn from too. ✅ Experienced recruiters: rely on legacy methods and relationships but may not be as quick to adapt to new strategies. ✅ Younger recruiters: bring a fresh perspective, question the status quo, and are quicker to integrate new tech into their workflows. But one doesn’t need to replace the other. The sweet spot is when curiosity meets expertise. When the two can effectively work together to innovate.

Does your team stop at 5 PM? That’s when your candidates are just getting started. You’ve heard it countless times. AI will change the world of recruiting. But what will this look like at Vetted? Simple. We’re making the tedious work less manual. Take this example: Many nurses are active after hours, yet few recruiters are responsive during those times. Those who are, stand out. They kickstart relationships that grow the next day, putting them ahead of the competition. Now, imagine scaling that responsiveness. Using AI, we fine-tune large language models like ChatGPT with thousands of real conversations, replicating the tone, approach and strategies of the top 1% of recruiters. It doesn’t just sound like a recruiter. It works like the best recruiter, 24/7. The result? A recruiter, multiplied by a thousand.

As a recruiter, are you a hunter or a farmer? Recruiters often fall into two categories: hunters and farmers. Understanding the strengths of each can redefine how you operate in a competitive market. ➡️ Be a hunter: relentless in targeting - Focus on quality over quantity. Target specific candidates with personalized outreach. - Be proactive. You have to actively guide candidates through the placement process. - Offer a white-glove service that large agencies can’t match ➡️ Be a farmer: nurture relationships for retention Oliver Feakins’s client missed out on 30-40% more placements simply because they weren’t utilizing the database for ongoing engagement. - Build a book of business through regular follow-ups and relationship-building - Engage candidates with a personal touch - Use all available tools in your tech stack ➡️ But aim to be both 1. Start as a Hunter. Proactively identify opportunities, source new talent and grow your candidate pool. Hunters are especially effective in high-pressure situations like filling hard-to-place roles. 2. Evolve into a Farmer. Once candidates are in your pipeline, shift gears to nurture and retain them. Check in regularly, understand their career goals and stay top-of-mind. 3. Adapt to the Market. When job supply tightens or competition heats up, lean into your hunter skills. When retention becomes critical, double down on your farmer approach. TrackFive TravelNurseSource

You can’t expect any loyalty in travel nursing. Here’s how you earn it. In today’s market, loyalty in travel nursing is fleeting and recruiters must rethink their strategies to stay competitive. Why? - Nurses can easily jump between agencies for slightly higher rates - Small agencies with minimal overhead outcompete larger firms on price - Most agencies rely on the same VMS jobs, making it harder to differentiate Here’s what you can do to build loyalty and become the recruiter of choice. 1️⃣ Invest in the relationship Treat your nurses like people and not transactions. - Check in regularly. - Send thoughtful gifts. - Text them on their first day and follow up before their assignment ends. A good example of this? Atlas MedStaff created a “Thank You” department. The sole purpose is to make nurses feel appreciated. And the numbers make sense. It costs $2,000–$3,000 to acquire and onboard a new travel nurse. Retention efforts cost less and create stronger relationships. 2️⃣ Hire and train well The best recruiters are relationship builders and problem solvers. Offshoring or hiring undertrained recruiters might save costs upfront, but it compromises trust and performance. Nurses can tell when they’re speaking with someone who doesn’t understand their needs. - Invest in top-tier recruiters. - Train them to listen, understand, and advocate for nurses. - Use strong incentives to motivate them to go above and beyond. 3️⃣ Double down on your strengths. Recruiters with niche expertise build deeper relationships and gain nurses’ trust faster. Know your specialty, dominate it and build a reputation as the go-to recruiter in that space. 4️⃣ Have the right tools in place Even the best recruiters need the right systems to succeed. A bad ATS or lack of streamlined processes can cripple their performance. - Audit your current tech stack. - Adopt an ATS that simplifies candidate tracking and communication. - Implement tools that help recruiters scale relationship-building efforts Atlas MedStaff Staffing Engine TrackFive Oliver Feakins What else would you add to the list?

Some advice from a former product designer? Question everything. When I started my career as a product designer, I was taught one crucial skill: question everything and break problems down to their fundamentals. This mindset shaped how I built Vetted Health. As a recruiter, product design principles can transform the way you approach challenges and build relationships. When designing a solution, the first step is asking why. - Why isn’t this process working? - Why isn’t the candidate responding? - Why is one lead source underperforming? Early on, I would ask customers dozens of questions to understand their pain points. Why do you rely on a competitor? What’s not working in your current process? By digging deeper, I uncovered root causes and built better solutions. Instead of focusing solely on selling a job, ask candidates questions to uncover their motivations. - Why do they prefer certain locations? - What challenges do they face at work? - What would make their ideal assignment? The answers will help you craft pitches that resonate and build trust. Treat every conversation with a candidate as a discovery call. Discover their needs and offer the most suitable solution. As recruiters, you’re designers too. You design careers, relationships and opportunities. So ask better questions, focus on solving problems and refine what works.

Want a 50% response rate at volume? Focus on these three messaging tactics. When I analyzed our top recruiters’ messages, I uncovered a game-changing pattern. The recruiters getting a 50% response rate at scale weren’t using fancy pitches or long emails. They kept it simple and to the point. Here’s how: 1. Short but sweet Messages with fluff—“Hi Bob, hope you’re well. Just wanted to see if you might be interested…”—are falling flat. The best recruiters keep it simple: ➡️ “Hi Bob, I have an assignment in Florida that pays $2,000/week. Interested? Yes or no?” Focus on what the clinician cares about—location, pay, and opportunity. 2. Make the CTA binary Avoid open-ended calls to action like “Let me know if you’d like to chat.” ➡️ Instead, use yes/no questions. It’s easier for the clinician to engage. 3. Double down and replicate If a certain type of message, timing or channel consistently gets results, lean into it. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, just fine-tune and replicate strategies that are proven to work. How Vetted Health can help: We’ve analyzed the strategies of our top-performing recruiters and we’re integrating this into our platform: ✅ Template high-performing messages from top recruiters. ✅ Level up recruiter skills, regardless of experience, by providing actionable insights. ✅ Streamline workflows with smarter automation. Our goal? To make every recruiter on Vetted a high performer.

3 hours. That’s how quickly top VMS jobs get filled. How fast is your team? If you’re running a smaller staffing company, the odds are unfortunately stacked against you. ❌ Larger, more established agencies dominate the Tier 1 VMS hierarchy, giving them faster placements and lower costs per hire. ❌ VMS saturation means you’re competing with hundreds of submissions for the same roles, often filled within hours. But when you’re not the biggest, you have to be the smartest. Here’s what Oliver Feakins and I have learned from working with dozens of staffing agencies: 1️⃣ Execute better than the big guys - Don’t treat candidates as numbers in a queue.  - Pick up the phone. Build personal connections. Candidates are more likely to work with an agency that knows their name, goals, and preferences. 2️⃣ And do it flawlessly You have zero room for error. Everything from job postings to candidate submissions needs to be clean, timely and accurate. 3️⃣ Maximize candidate volume If you know you’re at a disadvantage, hedge it with volume. Yes, it’s more expensive, but more candidates mean more chances to win. Tip: Re-engage your database. Many placements happen when agencies revisit “forgotten” leads. 4️⃣ Play to your strengths Large agencies can’t offer the white-glove service you can. Focus on niche specialties or local markets where you can dominate. You can’t out-muscle the giants, but you can out-maneuver them. What’s your best strategy for staying competitive in a saturated market? TravelNurseSource TrackFive