Our Hiring Hero Series showcases talent acquisition pros across the globe who are dedicated to connecting people with their next great opportunity.
Paul Kinsey leads talent selection and innovation at Mercy Health, a not-for-profit healthcare organization with over 43,000 employees.
With an ongoing healthcare talent shortage to tackle, Paul and his team must recruit an average of 10,000 professionals a year. So how does he do it? We recently sat down with him to uncover his strategies for success.
“When I came across Mercy Health, I was just looking for another job. Once I learned about the incredible work they do for the community, I knew it was going to be more than just a paycheck. At Mercy, I have the opportunity to help the underprivileged get the care they deserve.”
What does it mean to you to be a Hiring Hero?
“With the work I do, I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to indirectly support others. While I am not out there in the trenches drawing blood, I am working to bring on the right talent and by doing that, I can make a positive impact on peoples’ lives. To me, that is what makes my work so special.”
What excited you Can you talk about Mercy Health?
“Mercy Health is a not-for-profit Catholic healthcare organization with over 43,000 employees and more than 2,000 physicians. It was founded back in the 1800s and still has the same mission today: to treat any patient regardless of their financial status, background, beliefs, or income. Mercy believes that everyone deserves quality healthcare.”
That is incredible. What does your role at Mercy Health look like?
“When I came across Mercy Health, I was just looking for another job. Once I learned about the incredible work they do for the community, I knew it was going to be more than just a paycheck. At Mercy, I have the opportunity to help the underprivileged get the care they deserve. As the Director of Talent Selection and Innovation, I am not only tasked with managing our HR team, but I examine our recruiting tools and processes to improve ROI. I am always looking for innovative ways to source hard-to-fill roles quickly.”
“Some locations we serve are more difficult to find candidates than others. So, we’ve established relocation campaigns where we spend time promoting what makes the region special. It’s important to get people excited about living where they work.”
So, which are typically the most challenging roles you need to fill?
“We hire a wide range of roles from custodians to clinicians and no matter the position or skill level, competition for healthcare talent is high. However, registered nurses tend to be the most challenging role to fill—and we are in constant need of qualified, compassionate people to do the job.”
On top of candidate scarcity, do you also have harder-to-hire regions? How do you work to overcome that?
“Some locations we serve are more difficult to find candidates than others. For instance, some communities need more healthcare professionals simply due to the size of the population. So, we’ve established relocation campaigns where we spend time promoting what makes the region special, and we build landing pages to showcase unique city attractions. It’s important to get people excited about living where they work.”
Relocation campaigns are a fantastic way to recruit candidates for those hard-to-hire positions. How about entry-level roles? Do you have any strategies for targeting young professionals?
“With fewer people pursuing degrees in healthcare today, it is so important to be able to reach qualified graduates. To build those relationships, we work directly with the schools in our regions, throw pizza parties for graduates, and open up opportunities for them to meet and chat with our seasoned healthcare professionals.”
Those are fantastic ideas. Can you talk about how important innovation has been to the growth of Mercy Health?
“Mercy Health was established a long time ago but it is an organization that prides itself on being on the cutting edge of innovation. We want to be leaders in the market and to do that, we understand that it’s imperative to adopt new tools and technologies. Not only are we pioneering a new way of care with virtual, in-home visits, but we are investing in technology that allows us to reach more patients in need.”
Paul’s Tips for the Future of Recruiting
“Keep up with technology! Five years ago, the recruiting world looked a lot different, and five years from today, it will look different. Staying current on what matters to candidates is so important. It is smart to automate parts of the process like scheduling, but taking the time to build relationships with the candidates is something I can’t ever see being replaced.”
Join the Mercy Health team! With a wide range of opportunities to serve people in need, Mercy Health is always on the lookout for compassionate healthcare workers who want to make a positive impact on peoples’ lives. Take a look at some of the roles Paul and his team are hiring for right now!
