As a subsidiary of HCA Healthcare — the largest health system in the nation — HealthTrust Workforce Solutions provides staffing services in the core nursing segments of travel nursing, local contracts, and per diem opportunities, among other sectors. The firm is the largest healthcare staffing managed services provider (MSP), the largest healthcare per diem staffing provider, one of the top 10 largest healthcare staffing providers in the country and serves as a leader in tech and innovation.
Prior to their tenure with Sense, HealthTrust had experimented with other texting tools, and their team already had a strong understanding of the value of technology in reaching candidates. So when they were in search of a new engagement solution, they quickly recognized the benefits of integrating the Sense Engage and Messaging platforms. However, it wasn’t solely the ability to easily text and email candidates that appealed to them — it was the capacity to do so automatically and reliably, all while maintaining their human touch.
“We gravitated to the automated workflows, where we could look at points throughout the journey and see where we had opportunities to optimize across our enterprise,” says Cheryl Rhody, AVP of Marketing at HealthTrust. “Being that we’re such a large organization, it was attractive that our communications could be consistent and standardized.”
With an enthusiasm for automation and technology, HealthTrust had an excellent foundation when coming on board with Sense.
As a large firm, HealthTrust has many departments that interact with candidates and contractors throughout the talent lifecycle. On any given day, their team is communicating with nearly 25,000 clinicians, from recruiting and candidate nurturing to onboarding and relationship management.
With that sort of talent volume, recruiters spent a lot of their day making phone calls and sending emails, and HealthTrust’s operations team recognized the need for a new channel. “Not everybody has a chance to answer the phone all day every day - candidates might be at work,” shares Tathiana Rivera, Enterprise Operations Specialist. “Sending a text is easier and more effective. We introduced it everywhere from point A to point Z, and saw the difference in response volume and speed almost right away.”
While the team had prior experience with texting candidates, the real game-changer for HealthTrust was being able to trigger automated messages based on specific criteria or actions. Their first order of business with Sense was to set up workflows to create a more robust, cohesive system of touchpoints from the initial contact all the way through placement and redeployment. Triggered SMS and emails haven’t replaced 1:1 personal communication, but rather they’ve enhanced the structure that’s already in place to build positive relationships.
“Automation ensures that everyone’s getting the highest level of service,” says Rhody. “It's consistent, it's happening on a centralized basis, and it's saving time for our recruiters and our staffing offices.”
From hurricanes to fires and floods, disaster response is a critical part of HealthTrust’s work, and being able to mobilize swiftly has never been more important than during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their team needs to be able to communicate in real-time and place clinicians in the right locations quickly. Of course, it’s also essential that their team maintain strong relationships during a universally challenging time.
“We’re checking in to ask how they feel. What is their mental health like right now? Where are they with regard to wanting to work, or has the pandemic impacted their ability to work?” says Rhody of HealthTrust’s response to the pandemic. “There are so many different dynamics that have required us to communicate more than ever before. Things are moving faster than they ever have in our lifetime.”
During the uncertainty of COVID-19, HealthTrust had an urgent need to source per diem and travel nursing candidates for a surge of positions across the country. With several divisions and many facilities within each division, recruiters needed an easy way to reach clinicians broadly and efficiently. HeathTrust used the Sense Integrated Messaging feature to contact their database, sending 11,539 SMS messages over the course of one week. The outreach received more than 2,500 direct text responses with nearly a 98% delivery rate, resulting in an outstanding impact on their ability to get vital roles filled.
Their COVID response isn’t the only example of the value of interacting in real time through automation. “Sense shows us powerful data about our strengths and where we have opportunities to make adjustments to our business,” says Rhody. In the first half of 2020, the HealthTrust team sent more than 905K outbound messages, with an incredible 44% response rate, and they continue to experiment and test new workflows.
HealthTrust isn’t just using Sense to engage their contractors — they’re also finding unique ways to leverage email and SMS workflows to communicate with their clients and healthcare facilities. Every few months they send automated evaluations and surveys to keep a pulse on client satisfaction and address potential issues promptly.
As an early Sense partner, HealthTrust has evolved and continued to establish new workflows throughout various areas of their business. They continue to look for additional opportunities to weave Sense Engage and Messaging technologies into their business operations, adding creative touchpoints throughout the candidate and client lifecycles.
“We’ve had a front row seat and a voice at the table in terms of new product development,” says Rhody. “We feel it's a partnership where Sense is listening to our business needs and taking action to make those tools come to life for us. It's nice to see that from a partner.”
Want to accelerate your hiring while elevating candidate and client experience? Talk to a Sense representative to understand how our automation & communication solutions can seamlessly do this for you.
Write to usWant to create phenomenal experiences for your candidates, employees, and partners? Talk to a Sense representative to understand how our automation & communication solutions can seamlessly do this for you.
