QualDerm Partners, a prominent dermatology organization spanning 17 states and over 60 facilities, has dramatically transformed its talent acquisition strategy, completing 787 hires in a single year and establishing an average time-to-fill of 32 days, thanks to the strategic implementation of Workable’s applicant tracking system (ATS). This significant operational overhaul has not only streamlined recruitment for a workforce exceeding 2,000 employees but also elevated the talent acquisition function to a strategic level, integrating executive leadership into the hiring workflow and establishing crucial data baselines for performance analysis.
Background: Navigating the Complexities of Healthcare Talent Acquisition
The healthcare sector, particularly specialized fields like dermatology, faces unique and persistent challenges in talent acquisition. A rapidly aging population, coupled with increasing demand for specialized medical services, creates an intensely competitive market for qualified professionals. Organizations like QualDerm Partners must recruit across a diverse spectrum of roles, from highly specialized surgeons and physician assistants to medical assistants, front office staff, and critical call center teams. This necessitates a robust and adaptable recruitment infrastructure capable of managing high volumes of requisitions across a wide geographic footprint.
Prior to their transition, QualDerm Partners found themselves grappling with the limitations of a legacy system that hindered their ability to scale and optimize their hiring processes. Following a period of significant organizational growth, including a merger, the company had been operating on Paylocity as its primary ATS. This platform, while serving basic functions, proved inadequate for the sophisticated demands of high-volume, multi-location recruitment. Key deficiencies included minimal data and analytics capabilities, a user experience that was often cumbersome, and a static product roadmap in a rapidly evolving HR technology landscape.
For Iesha Vann, Manager of Talent Acquisition, and her lean team of six, these shortcomings had tangible operational and financial consequences. The inability to reliably track critical metrics such as time-to-fill and candidate pipeline health meant that QualDerm lacked the insights necessary to quantify the direct costs associated with open positions. In healthcare, an unfilled provider chair directly impacts revenue, making the absence of data-driven performance indicators a significant impediment to strategic decision-making and resource allocation. The urgency to address these gaps became paramount as the organization continued its expansion.
A Strategic Pivot: Returning to Workable for Scalable Solutions
The decision to transition to Workable was rooted in the team’s prior positive experience with the platform before the merger, coupled with a clear understanding of what a well-designed ATS could offer. The contrast with their existing system was stark. Where their previous platform was limited and outdated, Workable presented itself as an actively evolving, user-friendly solution specifically engineered to support the kind of high-volume, multi-location hiring that is central to QualDerm’s operational model. This move was not merely a software upgrade but a strategic investment aimed at empowering the talent acquisition team to operate more efficiently, intelligently, and strategically.
The implementation of Workable brought immediate improvements across several critical areas, fundamentally altering how QualDerm approaches recruitment. The platform’s comprehensive features allowed the team to overcome previous operational bottlenecks and establish new benchmarks for efficiency and effectiveness.
Transforming Recruitment Operations: Key Impact Areas
1. Managing Hiring at Unprecedented Scale:
QualDerm’s recruitment demands are substantial, often involving up to 150 active requisitions at any given time. Roles frequently open in clusters due to facility expansions or staff turnover, requiring a system that can absorb this volume without introducing chaos. Workable’s robust requisition management and hiring plan functionalities provided the necessary infrastructure. This allowed Iesha Vann’s team to systematically prioritize openings, ensuring that high-urgency roles received immediate attention while maintaining organization across the broader candidate pipeline. The multi-location visibility offered by Workable was a game-changer, enabling recruiters to view the entire recruitment landscape across all 17 states from a single interface – a capability previously unavailable.
Furthermore, the integration of AI screening tools has become integral to managing the high volume of inbound applications. Instead of manually sifting through countless resumes for dozens of open roles, recruiters can now leverage AI to quickly identify and prioritize the most suitable candidates. This maintains hiring quality without sacrificing the speed essential for competitive healthcare recruitment. The ability to filter, rank, and process candidates more efficiently has freed up significant recruiter time, allowing them to focus on high-value activities such as candidate engagement and strategic planning.
2. Optimizing Time-to-Fill and Cost-per-Vacancy:
Perhaps one of the most impactful changes was the ability to accurately measure time-to-fill. Before Workable, this critical metric was either untrackable or unreliable. Today, QualDerm proudly reports an average time-to-fill of 32 days. This figure is not merely an operational statistic; it serves as a crucial baseline for their cost-per-vacancy analysis. Industry benchmarks for time-to-fill in healthcare can often range from 45 to 90 days or more for specialized roles, making QualDerm’s 32-day average a testament to their improved efficiency. This data empowers leadership with a quantitative lens through which to evaluate recruiting performance, directly correlating recruitment efficiency with financial outcomes.
Iesha Vann 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 direct link between recruitment data and financial impact underscores the strategic value that Workable has brought to QualDerm’s operations. The ability to track candidate sourcing, pipeline movement, and hiring outcomes has effectively elevated the TA function from a purely operational unit to a strategic partner within the organization.
3. Driving Efficiency with Asynchronous Tools: The Impact of Video Interviews:
The efficiency gains from Workable’s video interview feature were particularly striking. In one instance, QualDerm faced more than 10 simultaneous openings for call center positions – a role known for its high turnover. Traditional screening methods would have consumed an enormous amount of recruiter time and significantly delayed an already time-sensitive process. By activating Workable’s video interview feature, QualDerm was able to screen candidates asynchronously at scale. Recruiters sent video screening requests, candidates recorded their responses at their convenience, and hiring managers reviewed these recordings without the logistical complexities of scheduling live interviews. This innovative approach resulted in a documented saving of 20 to 30 hours of recruiter time within a single 30-day period.
The success of this feature has led to its expansion beyond the call center. Senior leaders, including those who previously had limited visibility into early-stage candidates, now actively participate in reviewing video screens. This broad adoption signifies a cultural shift, opening up the hiring process to broader organizational engagement and insights. The team is actively exploring additional roles and workflows where video interviewing can be strategically applied throughout the year, further embedding efficiency into their hiring practices.
4. Enhancing Candidate Engagement: Texting, Self-Scheduling, and Branded Experiences:
In today’s competitive talent market, particularly for clinical and administrative roles, candidate responsiveness is a critical competitive advantage. QualDerm leveraged Workable’s texting feature throughout the entire hiring process – from initial outreach to scheduling and pre-start communications. The immediacy of text-based communication has demonstrably reduced candidate drop-off rates and maintained high levels of engagement at every stage, a crucial factor in securing top talent in a tight market.
Similarly, the self-scheduling feature has significantly reduced the administrative burden on the recruiting team. Instead of manually managing interview calendars across more than 60 facilities, candidates can now directly book into available slots. This eliminates the cumbersome back-and-forth communication, accelerating the time-to-interview and improving the overall candidate experience.
On the front end, QualDerm also made a meaningful investment in developing its careers page within Workable. By creating a polished, branded entry point for candidates, regardless of how they discovered the job posting, QualDerm reinforced its professional image and commitment to a positive candidate journey. This cohesive branding and user-friendly interface contribute to a strong first impression, which is vital for attracting and retaining quality talent.
5. Streamlining Compliance and Documentation:
Healthcare hiring is subject to stringent regulatory and compliance requirements, which general-purpose ATS platforms often struggle to accommodate effectively. QualDerm proactively addressed this by building critical documentation directly into their Workable workflows. This includes essential forms like job description acknowledgements, which now fulfill regulatory requirements as an integral part of the standard hiring process. All these documents are stored within Workable alongside other candidate records, ensuring a complete, centralized, and auditable hiring file for every single hire. This embedded compliance mechanism mitigates risk and ensures adherence to industry standards.
Furthermore, the entire offer letter workflow is now fully managed within the platform. This includes the involvement of key leadership, such as the Chief Operating Officer (COO), who has recently adopted the system for offer approvals and found it to be straightforward and efficient. This integration ensures consistency, transparency, and traceability in a crucial stage of the hiring process.
6. Elevating Strategic Oversight: Executive Adoption and Data-Driven Decisions:
Perhaps the clearest indicator of Workable’s profound impact at QualDerm is the direct engagement from the organization’s executive leadership. The CEO, CHRO, and COO are not merely passive observers but active participants in the hiring workflows within the platform. This level of executive adoption speaks volumes about both the usability of Workable and the elevated priority that hiring visibility has achieved within QualDerm.
For the talent acquisition team, this means that the valuable data they generate lives in a shared environment where leadership can directly interact with it. This direct access reduces the friction typically associated with reporting cycles, fosters greater confidence in hiring decisions across all organizational levels, and allows for more agile and informed strategic planning. The ability to present real-time, accurate data on recruitment performance has transformed the TA team from a transactional function into a strategic advisor.
Broader Implications and Future Outlook
QualDerm Partners’ experience with Workable provides a compelling case study for how strategic investment in advanced HR technology can yield significant returns in complex, high-volume recruitment environments. The shift has not only addressed immediate operational challenges but has also positioned QualDerm for sustained growth and competitive advantage in the highly contested healthcare talent market. By establishing clear metrics, enhancing efficiency, and fostering a superior candidate experience, QualDerm has fortified its ability to attract, hire, and retain the talent essential for delivering high-quality dermatology services.
The long-term implications for QualDerm are substantial. With a robust data infrastructure, the organization can continually refine its recruitment strategies, predict future talent needs more accurately, and allocate resources more effectively. The reduction in time-to-fill directly translates to reduced revenue loss from vacant positions and improved operational continuity. The enhanced candidate experience helps build a strong employer brand, attracting a wider pool of qualified applicants in the future.
Official Responses and Recommendations
When asked if QualDerm Partners would recommend Workable, the response was unequivocal: "Without reservation." For healthcare organizations navigating high-volume, multi-location recruiting in a competitive talent market, Workable delivers on the critical demands of the field: speed, unparalleled visibility, robust compliance support, and a candidate experience that truly reflects the professionalism of the organization. QualDerm’s lean team of six manages an impressive 787 annual hires and up to 150 open requisitions simultaneously, operating with the confidence and strategic insight afforded by a powerful, integrated infrastructure. This success story underscores the pivotal role that modern talent acquisition technology plays in driving organizational success in today’s dynamic business landscape.
