Insights from NAHCR: A conversation on what’s next in healthcare talent marketing

Healthcare recruiting is changing fast, and few events capture that shift better than the National Association for Health Care Recruitment (NAHCR) conference. We sat down with Flannagh Fitzsimmons, who attended this year’s sessions, to give us the insights, strategies, and one especially memorable quote she’s still thinking about.

Q: You attended NAHCR recently. What’s been on your mind since?

Honestly? Relationships. So much of what I heard reinforced something we already believe deeply at Shaker: this industry is relational. Tours, open houses, and community events all help organizations build trust with candidates and get them invested in their brand long before they even think about applying.

Q: Tell me more about the “relationships over transactions” mindset.

One thing that really landed for me was a reminder that a “no” today isn’t a “no” forever. Healthcare candidates aren’t always ready to move the moment you reach out. But if you keep nurturing that relationship, planting seeds, and staying visible, that candidate might come back to you six months or a year later. Organizations that play the long game consistently outperform the ones chasing only immediate openings.

Q: Let’s talk employer branding and marketing. What stood out there?

This one surprised me a little. During a session, the presenter asked how many people in the room currently use a marketing intelligence platform. Not a single hand went up. I see that as both a massive gap and an opportunity. A lot of healthcare organizations are making branding and marketing decisions without the data to back them up.

Q: What about career sites? That feels like it’s always a hot topic.

Always, and for good reason. So many organizations openly admitted their career sites aren’t candidate-centric. There’s friction everywhere in the application process, and candidates don’t have patience for it anymore. If your site isn’t built around the candidate experience, you’re losing people before they even get to “apply.”

Q: Did you pick up on what kind of messaging resonates with healthcare leaders right now?

Efficiency, hands down. When you frame a solution around saving time, streamlining processes, or making operations run smoother, healthcare leaders lean in.

And it makes sense. They’re stretched thin, and anything that gives time back is instantly valuable.

Q: Shifting to recruiting strategy, what’s actually working for organizations right now?

A few things. Pipeline development through partnerships with high schools, colleges, and educational programs is a big one. Organizations are playing the long game there too, investing in future talent instead of only competing for who’s available today.

I also learned that in some states, licensed nurse registries are public. That’s a real opportunity to proactively identify and engage nurses in local markets instead of waiting for them to find you.

Q: What about employee advocacy? That seems to come up at every conference these days.

Yes, and it works. Peer recognition is powerful. Encouraging employees to nominate coworkers for spotlights or recognition programs builds genuine engagement. And when you publicly celebrate your brand ambassadors, that employee-generated content becomes some of the best employer branding you can create. It doesn’t feel like marketing. It feels real because it is.

Q: Community and diversity engagement came up too. Any specific example that stuck with you?

Yes, HBCU homecoming events. I hadn’t thought about it this way before, but these “Welcome Home” celebrations bring together alumni, current students, and the surrounding community all at once. That’s a rich environment for relationship building and brand awareness, and it’s something healthcare talent teams could really benefit from.

Q: What’s the most memorable quote you heard at NAHCR?

One of the most memorable quotes of all the sessions was, “We’d rather pay bigger referral bonuses than a staffing agency,” emphasizing the importance of tapping into your own people’s networks to find your next hire. That’s a great way to connect with talent and foster relationships you might not have otherwise.

Q: If you had to sum up NAHCR in one takeaway, what would it be?

Healthcare recruiting is actually becoming more human. Whether it’s a homecoming event over a job fair booth or a nurtured “no” over a rushed “yes,” the theme was the same: relationships matter.

The organizations that remain open to leaning into that will be the ones building the strongest talent pipelines in the long term.

If you’re interested in walking through how these insights apply to your talent strategy, reach out to the Shaker team. We’d love to help you turn these insights into action.