QualDerm Partners, a prominent dermatology organization spanning 17 states and operating over 60 facilities, has successfully revolutionized its talent acquisition (TA) strategy through the implementation of Workable, an advanced applicant tracking system (ATS). This strategic shift has enabled the company to navigate the complexities of high-volume, multi-location recruitment, culminating in 787 hires within a single year and a remarkably efficient average time to fill of 32 days. The transformation underscores the critical role of sophisticated recruitment technology in supporting rapid organizational growth, enhancing operational efficiency, and elevating the talent acquisition function to a strategic imperative within the competitive healthcare landscape.
QualDerm’s Operational Landscape and the Unique Challenges of Healthcare Recruitment
With a workforce exceeding 2,000 employees, QualDerm Partners occupies a dynamic and challenging position within the healthcare sector. The organization’s expansive footprint across 17 states and over 60 facilities necessitates a robust and adaptable recruitment infrastructure capable of handling diverse hiring needs. These roles range from highly specialized surgeons and physician assistants to crucial medical assistants, front office personnel, and dedicated call center teams. The sheer variety of positions, coupled with the geographic spread, presents inherent complexities for talent acquisition teams.
Overseeing all non-provider recruitment efforts is Iesha Vann, the Manager of Talent Acquisition, who leads a lean team of six. This small but dedicated team is responsible for managing the entirety of QualDerm’s hiring workflow across the organization, frequently juggling as many as 150 open requisitions simultaneously. This substantial workload, characteristic of high-growth healthcare entities, highlights the immense pressure on TA professionals to deliver consistent results under tight deadlines. In the healthcare sector, every day a critical position, particularly a provider chair, remains unfilled, represents a direct loss of potential revenue and impacts patient access to care. This financial implication amplifies the urgency and strategic importance of efficient and effective talent acquisition.
The broader healthcare talent market is characterized by intense competition, persistent talent shortages in various specialties, and evolving candidate expectations. Organizations like QualDerm must not only attract top-tier talent but also ensure a seamless, engaging candidate experience to stand out. Furthermore, healthcare recruitment is heavily regulated, requiring meticulous documentation and adherence to stringent compliance standards, adding another layer of complexity to the hiring process.
The Pre-Workable Era: Navigating Bottlenecks and Data Deficiencies
Prior to their transition to Workable, QualDerm Partners faced significant operational hurdles stemming from the limitations of their existing applicant tracking system. Following a period of substantial organizational growth, including a pivotal merger, the TA team had been operating on Paylocity as their primary ATS. While Paylocity serves as a comprehensive HR and payroll platform, its applicant tracking capabilities proved inadequate for QualDerm’s rapidly escalating and complex recruitment demands.
The challenges encountered with the previous system were multifaceted. A primary concern was the minimal data and analytics functionality. In a high-volume environment where recruitment efficiency directly impacts revenue and operational capacity, the inability to reliably track key metrics such as "time to fill," "time to hire," and "candidate pipeline health" was a severe impediment. Without actionable data, the TA team lacked the necessary insights to identify bottlenecks, measure performance, or make informed, data-driven decisions about resource allocation and process improvements. This data void meant that the true cost of vacant positions, a critical metric in healthcare, could not be accurately quantified, preventing the team from building a robust business case for strategic investments in talent acquisition.
Beyond data deficiencies, the user experience of the previous platform was reported as difficult and unintuitive. Recruiters often found themselves grappling with a system that felt static and unresponsive to the dynamic demands of a fast-moving talent market. This lack of user-friendliness contributed to inefficiencies, increased administrative burden, and potentially impacted recruiter productivity and morale. The system’s inability to evolve with market trends meant that QualDerm was lagging in leveraging modern recruitment tools and strategies, putting them at a disadvantage in attracting and securing top talent.
Crucially, the QualDerm team, specifically Iesha Vann and her colleagues, possessed prior experience with Workable before the merger. This firsthand knowledge provided a clear understanding of what a well-designed, agile ATS could offer. When the opportunity arose to re-evaluate their recruitment technology stack, the decision to return to Workable was not merely a reaction to current challenges but a deliberate, informed choice based on proven effectiveness and anticipated benefits.
The Strategic Return to Workable: A Foundation for Modern Recruitment
The decision to re-adopt Workable was a straightforward one, grounded in the team’s familiarity with the platform’s capabilities and immediately validated by the stark contrast it offered to their previous system. Where their prior ATS was perceived as limited and outdated, Workable presented itself as a platform that was actively evolving, genuinely usable, and specifically engineered to support the kind of high-volume, multi-location hiring that is fundamental to QualDerm’s operational success. This strategic move marked a pivotal moment for QualDerm’s talent acquisition function, signaling a commitment to leveraging best-in-class technology to drive efficiency, enhance candidate experience, and provide critical data for strategic decision-making.
Transforming High-Volume Recruitment: Managing Scale with Precision
The operational demands on QualDerm’s recruiting team are immense, with up to 150 open requisitions active at any given time. This volume is often exacerbated by roles opening in clusters due to facility expansions or staff turnover, necessitating a system capable of absorbing significant demand without devolving into chaos. Workable’s robust requisition management and hiring plan functionality have proven instrumental in addressing this challenge. The platform allows the TA team to systematically stack and prioritize openings, ensuring that high-urgency roles receive immediate attention while the broader candidate pipeline remains organized and manageable.
A key advantage of Workable is its multi-location visibility. Recruiters can now access a comprehensive overview of all open positions across QualDerm’s 17 states from a single, unified interface. This centralized view was previously unattainable and represents a significant improvement in operational oversight and coordination. The ability to see the full picture enables more strategic resource allocation and a more cohesive approach to multi-site hiring.
Furthermore, Workable’s integrated AI screening tools have become a core component of how the team manages inbound application volume. Instead of manually sifting through hundreds of applications across dozens of diverse roles, recruiters can leverage AI to quickly identify and prioritize the most qualified candidates. This automation maintains the quality of the candidate pool while dramatically increasing the speed of the initial screening process, a critical factor in a competitive market where swift engagement can determine talent acquisition success. The efficiency gained through AI screening allows recruiters to focus their valuable time on more strategic activities, such as direct candidate engagement and relationship building, rather than repetitive administrative tasks.
Data-Driven Decisions: The Power of Metrics in Healthcare TA
One of the most profound impacts of Workable’s implementation at QualDerm has been the establishment of reliable, actionable recruitment metrics. Prior to Workable, the organization lacked a dependable method to measure "time to fill," a critical gap in a healthcare environment where provider availability directly correlates with revenue generation. Today, QualDerm’s team proudly tracks an average time to fill of 32 days. This benchmark is not merely a statistical figure; it serves as a foundational data point that anchors their cost-per-vacancy analysis, providing leadership with a clear, data-driven lens through which to evaluate recruiting performance and understand the financial implications of talent acquisition strategies.
Iesha Vann, Manager of Talent Acquisition, emphasized the significance of this metric: "We couldn’t track time to fill in Paylocity. Now we have a yearly average of 32 days, and that number is important because we use it to keep cost per vacancy as low as possible." This statement highlights the transition from a reactive, anecdotal approach to a proactive, data-informed strategy. The ability to quantify the financial impact of recruitment efficiency empowers the TA team to advocate for necessary resources and demonstrate tangible value to the organization.
The comprehensive data tracking capabilities extend beyond time to fill. Workable allows QualDerm to monitor candidate sourcing channels, analyze pipeline movement, and evaluate overall hiring outcomes with unprecedented clarity. This granular visibility has been instrumental in elevating the TA function from a purely operational role to a strategic business partner. Leadership is now actively engaging with real-time hiring data directly within the platform, rather than relying on secondhand summaries. This direct access fosters greater transparency, builds confidence in recruitment decisions, and enables a more collaborative approach to talent strategy across the organization.
Efficiency Gains: Video Interviews and Automation Redefine Screening
One of the clearest demonstrations of Workable’s immediate impact on efficiency at QualDerm came through the strategic deployment of its video interview feature. The call center, which experiences one of the organization’s highest turnover rates, frequently presents a significant hiring challenge. At one point, the TA team was confronted with more than 10 simultaneous openings for this critical role. Under traditional screening methods, this volume would have consumed an enormous amount of recruiter time, significantly slowing down an already time-sensitive process.
By activating Workable’s video interview feature for these call center positions, QualDerm was able to implement asynchronous candidate screening at scale. Recruiters could send video screening requests to multiple candidates, who then recorded and submitted their responses at their convenience. Hiring managers could review these recordings without the logistical complexities of scheduling live interviews, eliminating numerous back-and-forth communications and coordination efforts. The tangible result was an impressive saving of 20 to 30 hours of recruiter time within a single 30-day period, a testament to the power of automation in high-volume hiring cycles.
The success of video interviews in the call center context quickly led to its expansion across other departments. Notably, leadership, including senior executives who previously had limited visibility into early-stage candidate evaluations, now actively participates in reviewing video screens. This broader adoption not only streamlines the initial assessment phase but also enhances cross-functional collaboration in talent identification. The QualDerm team is proactively identifying additional roles and workflows throughout the year where video interviewing can be strategically applied to further optimize their recruitment processes. As Iesha Vann noted, "Anyone can watch them now, including leaders. It opened up the process."
Enhancing the Candidate Journey: Texting, Self-Scheduling, and Branded Experiences
In a fiercely competitive market for clinical and administrative talent, candidate responsiveness and a positive experience are crucial competitive advantages. QualDerm has leveraged Workable’s communication tools to create a more engaging and efficient candidate journey. The platform’s texting feature is utilized throughout the entire hiring process, from initial outreach and interview scheduling to crucial pre-start communications. The immediacy and convenience of text-based communication have significantly reduced candidate drop-off rates and maintained high levels of engagement at every stage, addressing the modern candidate’s preference for mobile-first interactions.
Similarly, Workable’s self-scheduling functionality has dramatically reduced the administrative burden on the recruiting team. Instead of manually coordinating interview calendars across over 60 facilities and numerous hiring managers, candidates can directly book into available interview slots. This eliminates tedious back-and-forth emails and phone calls, accelerating the time to interview and demonstrating a modern, candidate-centric approach.
The candidate experience on the front end has also been meticulously considered. QualDerm made a meaningful investment in customizing and building out their careers page within Workable. This effort resulted in a polished, branded, and intuitive entry point for candidates, regardless of whether they discovered the opening through a job board or directly via the company website. A professional and easy-to-navigate careers page is vital for establishing employer brand and attracting high-quality applicants in a competitive environment.
Compliance and Documentation Built Into the Workflow
Healthcare hiring is subject to stringent compliance requirements that often pose significant challenges for general-purpose ATS platforms. Workable’s flexibility has allowed QualDerm to seamlessly integrate critical documentation directly into their hiring workflows. This includes job description acknowledgment forms, which fulfill regulatory requirements and are now an integral part of the standard hiring process. These essential documents are securely stored within Workable alongside all other candidate records, ensuring a complete, auditable, and easily accessible hiring file for every new employee. This streamlined approach to compliance minimizes risk, reduces administrative overhead, and ensures regulatory adherence without disrupting the recruitment flow.
Furthermore, the entire offer letter workflow is now managed fully within the Workable platform. This centralization streamlines the offer generation, approval, and distribution process, enhancing efficiency and accuracy. The COO, among other key leadership team members, has recently adopted this feature, finding it straightforward and highly effective. This executive-level adoption of integrated compliance and offer management functionalities underscores the platform’s reliability and ease of use for critical HR processes.
Executive Adoption as a Signal of Success
Perhaps the most compelling indicator of Workable’s deep integration and success at QualDerm is the unprecedented level of engagement from the organization’s top leadership. The CEO, CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer), and COO all actively utilize the platform, not merely as passive observers of reports, but as direct participants in key hiring workflows. This level of executive adoption is exceptional and reflects two crucial aspects: the inherent usability and intuitive design of the Workable platform, and the elevated strategic importance of talent acquisition within QualDerm.
For the TA team, this executive engagement translates into significant advantages. The data they generate resides within a shared, transparent environment where leadership can directly engage with it. This direct access reduces the friction typically associated with reporting cycles, fosters a culture of data literacy at all levels, and significantly increases confidence in hiring decisions across the organization. It transforms talent acquisition from a departmental function into a company-wide strategic priority, with shared accountability and understanding.
Broader Implications for Healthcare Talent Acquisition
QualDerm Partners’ experience with Workable serves as a compelling case study for other healthcare organizations grappling with similar talent acquisition challenges. The industry faces an ongoing demand for skilled professionals across clinical and administrative roles, often compounded by geographical dispersion and the need to maintain stringent compliance standards. The ability to scale recruitment operations efficiently, leverage data for strategic insights, and enhance the candidate experience is no longer a luxury but a necessity for sustained growth and patient care delivery.
The successful implementation at QualDerm highlights several key implications for the broader healthcare TA landscape:
- Strategic Importance of ATS: A modern, robust ATS is not just an administrative tool but a strategic platform that can directly impact organizational revenue and operational capacity.
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Reliable metrics like "time to fill" and "cost per vacancy" are essential for demonstrating the ROI of TA efforts and guiding investment decisions.
- Automation and AI: Leveraging AI screening and video interviews can significantly reduce recruiter workload, accelerate hiring cycles, and improve the quality of candidate selection, particularly in high-volume environments.
- Enhanced Candidate Experience: In a competitive market, a seamless, mobile-friendly, and responsive candidate journey (through texting, self-scheduling, and branded career pages) is critical for attracting and retaining top talent.
- Compliance Integration: An ATS that can natively support or easily integrate compliance documentation and offer letter workflows is invaluable for regulated industries like healthcare, mitigating risk and ensuring audit readiness.
- Executive Buy-in: When senior leadership actively uses and values the TA platform, it signifies a company-wide commitment to talent strategy and empowers the TA team to operate at a higher, more strategic level.
Conclusion: A Resounding Recommendation
Without reservation, QualDerm Partners unequivocally recommends Workable. For healthcare organizations navigating the intricate landscape of high-volume, multi-location recruiting in a fiercely competitive talent market, Workable delivers the essential functionalities the field demands: unparalleled speed, comprehensive visibility, robust compliance support, and a candidate experience that impeccably reflects the professionalism and efficiency of the organization.
The QualDerm team, comprising just six dedicated individuals, now proficiently manages an astounding 787 annual hires and skillfully oversees up to 150 open requisitions simultaneously. This remarkable achievement is carried out with the unwavering confidence that stems from having the right technological infrastructure and strategic partnership in place. Workable has not merely optimized QualDerm’s recruitment processes; it has fundamentally transformed their approach to talent acquisition, positioning them for continued growth and sustained success in the dynamic healthcare sector.
