Our client, a new start-up company in the mental health sector, faced significant hurdles in its early stages.
The primary challenge was the need for a swift ramp-up of remote and onsite staff, requiring the hiring of approximately 100 clinicians and behavioral therapists nationwide.
The specific challenges included:
- Urgency in Hiring: A tight timeline to fill clinical positions.
- Lack of Brand Awareness: Many potential candidates were unaware of the company’s existence.
- Competitive Salaries: The salaries offered were not as attractive as those offered by competitors for positions requiring licensure.
The Solution
Centered around our proprietary Recruiting Continuum, our team evaluated each stage of the Client’s Process to provide insight on refining hiring strategies and process improvements that would assist us in overcoming challenges and ensuring their hiring goals were met.
With the Recruiting Continuum insights, we implemented a strategic and multifaceted approach that included:
- Assigning a Specialized Recruitment Team: We assigned a team of experienced recruiters with a background in clinical and behavioral health hiring as their familiarity with similar roles allowed for a rapid ramp-up and reduced time-to-fill.
- Employee Value Proposition (EVP) Development: To address limited awareness, the first step was clarifying what made this start-up distinct – its mission, culture, and growth opportunities. Once the core elements of the EVP were defined, messaging was crafted so that recruitment outreach (emails, ads, social-media posts) spoke directly to clinicians interested in making an impact on mental health.
- Creating a Balanced Sourcing Engine: A multi-pronged sourcing strategy combined direct outreach (e.g., targeted networking groups and university associations) with traditional job-board postings. This ensured a straightforward pipeline of active applicants while also tapping passive candidates who might not have otherwise considered a newer organization.
- Ongoing Metrics Tracking: Using our proprietary software, Hiregate, recruiting data, such as time-to-fill, source-of-hire, and interview-to-offer ratios, was collected and reviewed on a rolling basis. Regular reporting enabled Talent Acquisition Leadership to see where adjustments were needed sooner (for example, shifting focus to certain geographies or adjusting outreach messaging).
- Transparent Communications: Recruitment Team Leads and Client Service Managers held weekly (and, at times, daily) calls with the TA leadership team. These conversations covered current hiring roadblocks, shifting priorities, and any process refinements, so that the client’s internal team could observe and later replicate an efficient TA workflow.
- Scalable Resource Allocation: Since start-ups often face unpredictable hiring spikes, the recruiting team remained flexible. When technical recruiting needs arose (for operations and support functions), additional recruiters with those skill sets were brought in quickly, preventing any slowdown in overall hiring momentum.
The Results
Our efforts yielded significant and measurable results including:
- Consistent Clinician Hires
The start-up met its target of adding 30 clinicians per month, with new team members meeting the required qualifications and cultural fit.
- Pipeline for Technical Roles
While the primary focus was on clinical staff, a secondary outcome was the creation of a qualified talent pool for future technical hires—hardware support, IT infrastructure, and operations functions.
- Streamlined and Transparent Process
Hiring managers and TA leads observed a more efficient interview process, fewer scheduling bottlenecks, and clearer handoffs between recruiting stages.
- Data-Driven Insights
Detailed reporting, including competitor comparisons and brand-awareness surveys, helped TA leadership articulate the return on investment for recruitment efforts and informed budget decisions in subsequent hiring cycles.