Question 1: What key recruiting processes and candidate experience improvements have you identified and completed in the past 6-12 months? (Be as specific as possible with examples for each.)
This year, we successfully recruited for and opened a new state-of-the-art outpatient facility. We were responsible for recruiting and fully staffing the entire building, which meant having all staff interviewed, hired, and trained by opening day.
To achieve this, we organized a series of mass interview days designed to screen large numbers of candidates across multiple departments and nursing specialties. This required us to rethink our traditional interview day format. Typically, our interview days are either fully virtual or focused on a single department. In this case, we had to create an engaging, in-person environment that accommodated a wide variety of roles.
Another challenging area for recruitment for us is CRNA recruitment. While our team travels around the country to meet with candidates from different schools and attends annual conferences, we are often overlooked and only receive minimal engagement. At this year’s AANA Annual Congress in Nashville, instead of the typical recruitment booth, we sponsored a Puppy Adoption Bark Park. This created a massively engaging experience. When we’ve attended this conference in past years, we’d typically speak to around 50-60 CRNA’s. This year, the Bark Park enabled us to engage with and collect the information of over 300 CRNA prospects.
Question 2: How did you build support and commitment within your team and your leadership to make these improvements? (Be as specific as possible with examples.)
To host a large-scale interview day, we needed support across the board—from both our colleagues in Talent Acquisition and the departments we were staffing. Internally, we required a significant number of recruiters to assist. Additional sourcing support was also necessary to help identify candidates ahead of the event. On the day itself, we relied on many recruiters, even those not directly recruiting for that site. Fortunately, we work in a highly collaborative environment with team members who are eager to help.
To support our colleagues, we designed the event to be flexible. Recruiters were encouraged to take breaks for their own meetings so they didn’t feel they were falling behind on other responsibilities. We also provided private tours of the new facility to help them feel confident speaking about the space with prospective candidates.
For the Puppy Bark Park initiative, building support and commitment was more challenging. The event wasn’t hosted by us or held at an NYP location, and it came with a high cost. The recruiter responsible for CRNA recruitment took the initiative to present the benefits to leadership. This was a unique move, as recruiters typically avoid overshadowing the organization or the roles they’re trying to fill. Recognizing the need to think outside the box, the recruiter framed the proposal around generating attention and engagement. They also emphasized that helping dogs get adopted aligned with NYP’s commitment to community service—an important organizational value.
Question 3: Which of these improvements do you think are the most unique and innovative and why? (Be as specific as possible with examples for each.)
Hands down, the most unique event our team hosted this year was the Puppy Bark Park at a recruitment conference. CRNA recruitment continues to be one of the most challenging areas at NYP. The recruiter overseeing this specialty attends approximately 20 events annually across the country. This year, our team participated in the 2025 AANA Annual Congress in Nashville.
The AANA Foundation offers vendors first-come, first-served promotional opportunities to generate interest among attendees. Our team chose to host a puppy adoption event. Not only did attendees get to cuddle with adorable puppies, but they also had the opportunity to adopt them. The Bark Park featured NYP branding, and each puppy wore a NYP handkerchief. It quickly became the most talked-about event of the conference.
This event attracts CRNAs from across the country. While typical engagement rates hover around 65 candidates, this year we engaged with 316 individuals—an impressive increase attributed directly to the Bark Park. Even competitors in the East Coast healthcare sector took notice.
Although the event is primarily attended by students and fewer ready-to-work CRNAs, we typically expect a hiring timeline of several months to a year or more. Remarkably, we hired someone from this event within just one month. Normally, we engage with 3–5 candidates post-event; currently, we’re actively engaging with about 12.
Our improved interview day practices also delivered strong results. While location was considered during the initial planning of the new building, we wanted candidates to feel a deeper connection to the space.
Hosting interviews during the final stages of construction allowed candidates to see the facility before it officially opened, fostering a sense of ownership and emotional connection.
We also invited both internal and external candidates to interview on the same day, and encouraged interaction across different professions. In the waiting area, we created an engaging environment where candidates were encouraged to ask questions and talk with one another. This helped them connect with potential teammates and hear firsthand experiences from current NYP employees, offering valuable insight into our culture.
We streamlined the process by having candidates meet with both recruiters and hiring managers, and complete reference checks on the same day. This expedited approach allowed us to make hiring decisions much more quickly than usual.
Question 4: How do you know that your changes are making a difference and what data or evidence validates the innovative improvements you made? (Be as specific as possible with examples for each based on your people, your processes, and your technologies, and include any candidate quotes that validate the improvements made.)
The Bark Park event has already delivered significant results. Typically, our candidate engagement rate is around 65. This year, however, we engaged with 316 individuals as a direct result of the event.
This event is generally attended by students, with fewer ready-to-work CRNAs, so we anticipated a longer timeline from event to hire—ranging from several months to a year or more. Despite that, we successfully hired a candidate within just one month of the event.
Following events like this, we usually continue engaging with 3–5 candidates. Currently, we’re actively engaging with approximately 12, which is a strong indicator of the event’s lasting impact.
Question 5: Do you use any of your candidate experience benchmark data to quantify and demonstrate financial, referral, and/or employer branding business impacts and report to your leadership team, your recruiting team, and/or your hiring managers? If yes, how? (Be as specific as possible with examples.)
Yes, we actively use candidate experience data to quantify and demonstrate business impacts across employer branding, engagement, and hiring outcomes, and we share these insights with leadership, our recruiting team, and hiring managers.
For example, our Puppy Bark Park activation at the 2025 AANA Annual Congress was designed to elevate our employer brand and increase engagement in one of our most challenging recruitment areas, CRNAs.
Historically, our average engagement rate at similar events is around 65 candidates. This year, due to the Bark Park, we saw a 386% increase, engaging 316 candidates. This spike in engagement not only impressed our internal stakeholders but also caught the attention of competitors in the East Coast healthcare sector, reinforcing our brand as innovative and community focused.
We also track conversion timelines. While CRNA events typically yield hires over a 6–24 month period, we were able to make a hire within one month of the Bark Park event. Post-event engagement also remained high, with 12 active candidate conversations, compared to our usual 3–5. These metrics were shared with leadership to demonstrate ROI and justify future experiential recruiting investments.
Similarly, our enhanced interview day model—which included on-site tours of a new outpatient facility and cross-functional candidate engagement—was designed to deepen emotional connection to the workplace and accelerate hiring decisions. We measured success through:
- Time-to-hire reductions via same-day interviews with recruiters and hiring managers.
- Candidate feedback on the value of seeing the space pre-opening, which we use to refine future interview experiences.
- Referral interest, as candidates shared their positive experience with peers, increasing passive interest in future openings.
These examples show how we use candidate experience data not only to improve processes but also to demonstrate tangible business impacts in branding, hiring velocity, and engagement—data we regularly report to our leadership and recruiting teams.
