The TalentTrack Podcast

The TalentTrack Podcast is a hard-hitting, highly actionable deep dive into the staffing and recruiting industry—built for operators who are in it every day. From healthcare staffing to transportation, logistics, and beyond, we break down the real dynamics shaping talent markets right now. Expect practical frameworks, real-world experiences, and strategies you can apply immediately—whether you're trying to drive hires and placements, improve recruiter performance, or scale smarter. Brought to you by the folks at TrackFive!

The TalentTrack Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Oliver Feakins, with 27 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Oliver Feakins hosts The TalentTrack Podcast, a business show with 27 episodes published.

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  The TalentTrack Podcast

  How Adex Built an AI Recruiting System from Scratch!

  Sep 28, 202652 min

  What happens when a healthcare staffing CEO gets confronted by one of the toughest markets the industry has ever seen? For Ryan McGuire of ADEX Healthcare Staffing, the answer was simple: build something. After COVID, ADEX went from more than 465 travelers on assignment and 50+ internal employees to navigating a dramatically smaller, more competitive market. Margins tightened. Advertising got more expensive. Competition intensified. Ryan knew doing more of the same wasn't going to be enough. Then he started experimenting with AI. Ryan wasn't a programmer. He didn't have a technical background. He didn't hire a development team or start by purchasing another expensive enterprise AI platform. He taught himself. What started with automating simple administrative tasks quickly turned into something much bigger. Ryan spent months obsessively testing, learning, reviewing conversations, and building an AI system specifically around the realities of healthcare staffing. Today, that system is helping ADEX engage clinicians, reactivate its database, match candidates to jobs, create job-specific resumes, automate workflows, and handle recruiting conversations at a scale that would be nearly impossible for a human team alone. In just two months, Ryan says the system sent roughly 175,000 SMS messages, engaged in 70,000 conversations and identified 9,000–10,000 interested clinicians. But this episode isn't about replacing recruiters with robots. Ryan's vision is an AI-powered agency where technology dramatically increases what a great human team can accomplish. We get into what worked, what failed, how his recruiters reacted, where AI still makes mistakes, what it actually costs to build something like this, and why Ryan believes the work he's doing today could position ADEX very differently when the healthcare staffing market eventually enters its next growth cycle. This is one of the most fascinating AI stories I've heard in healthcare staffing — because Ryan didn't wait for someone to sell him the future. He started building it himself.

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  The TalentTrack Podcast

  Live From TravCon! - The Modern Recruiter Playbook

  Sep 17, 202627 min

  How to Recruit, Convert & Retain Travel Clinicians in 2026 Travel healthcare recruiting has changed. During COVID, the market came to recruiters. Today, recruiters have to go out and win it. In this live session from TravCon, Oliver Feakins breaks down The Modern Recruiter Playbook —a tactical look at what actually works in travel healthcare recruiting today. The big idea? Recruiters need to speed up and slow down at the same time : respond to inbound clinicians faster than ever, but slow down once they connect to understand motivations, uncover flexibility, build trust, and create more opportunities instead of simply matching someone to the job they originally applied for. We dig into the entire recruiting funnel—from inbound and outbound sourcing to submissions, interviews, offers, starts, and ultimately redeployment—and explain how to identify exactly where your pipeline is breaking instead of simply telling recruiters they need more placements. You'll learn how to re-engage older candidates your competitors have stopped calling, replace "just checking in" with value-first outreach, use the S.E.N.D. framework for better recruiter texts, build a personal brand through social media, handle objections and redirect clinicians without creating pressure, and use microcommitments and pre-closes to build real commitment throughout the recruiting process. And perhaps most importantly, they explain why the best recruiters aren't thinking about one placement . They're thinking about assignments two, three, four and beyond—starting the redeployment conversation almost as soon as a clinician begins their current assignment. If you're a travel healthcare recruiter or agency leader trying to compete in a slower, more competitive market, this episode is packed with practical tactics you can put to work immediately. Stop hoping. Start guiding. Build the pipeline.

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  The TalentTrack Podcast

  Healthcare Staffing Isn't Broken—But Agencies Must Change ft. Holly Bass (NATHO)

  Jul 13, 202640 min

  Healthcare staffing isn't getting easier—but the agencies adapting the fastest are finding ways to win. Oliver welcomes Holly Bass, Executive Director of NATHO, for an honest conversation about what's happening behind the scenes across the staffing industry. From AI and recruiter performance to margin pressure, MSPs, redeployment, and the future of travel healthcare, this episode explores the trends every staffing leader needs to understand. Whether you're running a healthcare staffing agency or leading a recruiting team, this conversation offers practical ideas you can implement immediately.

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  The TalentTrack Podcast

  Beyond the Fill: How AI, Data & Workforce Strategy Are Reshaping The Industry with Chris Sund

  Jun 18, 202642 min

  Healthcare staffing is no longer just about filling jobs. As hospitals face mounting workforce challenges, tighter budgets, and increasing demands for transparency, agencies are being asked to deliver more than candidates—they're being asked to deliver insight, strategy, and technology. In this episode, Oliver Feakins sits down with Chris Sund of GQR and Uniti Med to explore the future of healthcare staffing and the evolving role agencies play in workforce management. Together, they discuss industry trends, MSP/VMS growth, changing clinician expectations, recruiter effectiveness, and the growing importance of data-driven decision making. The conversation also dives into Nebula , GQR's AI-powered recruiting platform, and how organizations are using automation, intelligent candidate engagement, and large-scale talent discovery to uncover clinicians faster than ever before. Chris shares real-world examples of how AI can reactivate dormant talent pools, accelerate recruiting efforts, and help organizations solve staffing challenges at scale—while explaining why the human recruiter remains irreplaceable in building relationships, uncovering motivations, and guiding clinicians toward the right opportunities. From workforce analytics and candidate engagement to AI recruiting and the future of travel healthcare, this episode offers a practical look at where the industry is heading and what agencies must do to stay competitive in the years ahead. Source:

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  The TalentTrack Podcast

  TalentTrack 2026 Session: Industry Pulse Check: Where Healthcare Staffing Stands Now

  Jun 16, 202636 min

  Where does healthcare staffing really stand in 2026? Is the market recovering, stabilizing, or simply entering a new normal? In this data-driven session from TalentTrack 2026 in Omaha, industry leaders dig into the trends, challenges, and opportunities shaping the next chapter of healthcare staffing. Featuring insights from the latest industry research and benchmarking data, along with candid reactions from agency executives who are living these changes every day, this panel cuts through the headlines to explore what’s actually happening on the ground. From margin compression and MSP/VMS expansion to direct business growth, M&A activity, recruiter productivity, and the rise of niche specialization, this conversation provides a practical snapshot of where the industry is—and where it may be headed next. In this episode, you'll hear discussion around: Why many leaders are calling 2026 a year of stabilization rather than recovery The strategies separating high-performing agencies from those still struggling The continued shift toward niche markets, direct business, and diversification Margin pressure, hospital buying behavior, and the evolving MSP/VMS landscape The impact of AI, technology, and culture on agency performance Why accountability, execution, and perseverance matter more than ever The opportunities emerging from consolidation, market shifts, and changing client needs More than just a market update, this session is a reality check—and a reminder that while the old playbook may no longer work, there is still tremendous opportunity for agencies willing to adapt, stay disciplined, and focus on what they do best. If you're a healthcare staffing executive, owner, or leader looking to benchmark your business against the broader market, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

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