In this episode, you will learn how modern talent acquisition leaders improve hiring outcomes while protecting the human side of recruiting. The conversation explores how healthcare organizations handle massive hiring volumes, why candidate experience still matters in a competitive labor market, and how recruiting teams use data to connect HR metrics to real business outcomes. Ryan Henning, Director, Talent Acquisition, Highmark Health, shares practical insights on internal mobility challenges, reducing time to fill, improving candidate experience, and how talent acquisition teams influence patient outcomes by hiring the right people faster.

Key Takeaways:

Recruiting teams can dramatically reduce time to fill while maintaining strong candidate experience.

Hiring the right people faster directly impacts patient care and operational performance in healthcare.

Internal candidates often take longer to hire than external candidates, even though they are known employees.

Talent acquisition leaders must translate HR metrics into business impact when speaking with executives.

Candidate experience matters even in uncertain job markets and should never be taken for granted.

Lowball offers or poor communication can damage employer reputation and long-term hiring success.

Data helps talent acquisition teams influence leadership decisions and demonstrate business value.

Recruiters should operate as consultants to hiring managers, not just resume processors.

Early career and high school pipeline programs are becoming critical in healthcare workforce planning.

Process improvements in interview scheduling and hiring workflows can significantly improve hiring speed.

Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-henning-phr-0376901a/

Also mentioned in this conversation: Episode 180 on reducing recruiting cycle time: https://megaphone.link/DIRED7119433062

Timestamps:

00:00 Why candidate experience still matters today

02:00 Ryan Henning’s role leading talent acquisition at Highmark Health

04:00 Why healthcare organizations recruit talent starting in high school

06:00 The long-term workforce strategy behind healthcare pipelines

11:30 Hiring 10,000 employees while improving recruiting metrics

14:30 Translating HR data into business impact for executives

18:00 Why internal hiring often takes longer than external hiring

22:30 How recruiting experience affects employee performance

24:00 Fixing interview scheduling and recruiting process inefficiencies

26:00 Lessons on collaboration and knowledge sharing in recruiting

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