The sun has set on another ASA Staffing World. We unpacked our bags, hung up our cowboy hats, and arranged our swag around our desk. But we took home way more than cool chotchkies; we left full of energy, ideas, and new connections from Thrive, keynotes, sessions, and the staffing PAC dinner. From Moonshot Thinking to embracing AI to the changing landscape of staffing in healthcare, there were interesting and practical lessons tucked into every corner of the agenda. 

There was no way to do it all, so here is a quick summary of the key themes and takeaways from the sessions we attended. 

It’s Time to Embrace Moonshot Thinking 

Physician, entrepreneur, engineer, and world-class futurist Peter Diamandis set the stage for the rest of the conference and content by inviting us to change our mindset…moving from fear and scarcity to optimism and abundance. He painted a clear and well-supported picture of the acceleration of innovation and technology, pointing to the exponential growth path we’ve been on. And then, illustrating how the growth that AI provides dwarfs that curve. 

He encouraged us to: 

• Practice 10x thinking: How can you use technology and all its innovation and power to fuel your growth, taking your ideas, strategic planning, and innovation from having an incremental impact to transformational? 
• Develop a purpose-driven mindset: identify and develop a “Massive Transformative Purpose” (MTP). An MTP is the cornerstone of achieving ambitious goals. It fosters resilience, fuels learning and growth, and encourages bold action in the face of rapid change.
• Harness the power of AI: To be competitive and relevant, you must embrace AI. AI is amazing in that as it has become more and more refined, it’s also become more accessible. Instead of fearing the changes that it will bring, embrace them. Proactively learn and utilize AI. 

Connectional Intelligence is the New Necessary Skill 

If we learned on day one that AI and our mindset around embracing it will be critical to our success, on day two, we brought it closer to home, focusing on the skills that make us effective and successful business people. Erica Dhawan, businesswoman and author on teamwork, innovation, and collaboration, shared her perspective on Connectional Intelligence–a collection of skills and behaviors that focus on the value of networks and relationships. While these skills have always been important, the shift to hybrid work environments has brought the need for connectional intelligence into focus. She asked us: How can we communicate and collaborate more effectively in a world with endless tools and information?

She suggested that we do that in four ways:

1. Value visibly: Value people’s time, inboxes, and schedules. Understand that recognition isn’t universal, and acknowledge the individual differences in how people prefer to be recognized.
2. Communicate carefully: Think before you type, deliver with clarity (clarity over brevity), and choose the right channel to deliver the message.
3. Collaborate confidently: Inform the right people at the right time. Pay attention to details and develop norms around expectations, channel, length, and response times. 
4. Trust totally: Encourage courageous conversations, create hybrid water cooler moments, and lead by example by showing vulnerabilities and appreciating when your team shares theirs. 

All About AI [It’s Past Time to Start Using It]

While there were more than a few sessions on AI across the agenda, we were able to attend Lauren Jones’ masterclass, Supercharge Your Staffing Agency: Unleashing the Power of Generative AI, and Pankaj Jindal’s session on AI for Catalyzing Talent: Unleash the groundbreaking power of AI in Recruiting. 

Both Lauren and Pankaj emphasized the importance of omnichannel success and thinking holistically about utilizing AI. You want to use AI to be where your candidates are and look at every single business process and see if there is an opportunity to make it faster, more efficient or give you better insights to drive your strategy. Thinking this way allows your recruiters and team to focus on the higher-value tasks that improve the candidate experience. Here are some practical ways that we heard speakers suggest staffing folks use AI in their businesses: 

• AI tools and technologies you may want to consider: Lauren recommended various AI tools for different purposes, like ChatGPT for formal logic tasks, Perplexity for creating presentations, Claude for personal style replication, Jasper and Copy AI for marketing, and Gemini for email composing and subject lines. Tools like Synthesia create human-like avatars, while Fyxer organizes inboxes. 

• Practical tips to implementing AI in your organization: So you’re on board to use AI, but how do you effectively introduce AI into everyday business processes? Lauren stressed the importance of creating clear roles, context, and desired outcomes for AI’s use. Organizations may have concerns about responsible AI usage and implementation, so they should probably develop an AI policy, consider how they upskill employees on using AI, and look at the internal enablement of AI applications.
• AI as the great augmentor: There are so many exciting and practical applications for generative AI in staffing, including writing job descriptions, educating about new roles, creating compound prompts, and enhancing email communication. Using the optimistic, abundance mindset that Peter Diamandis encouraged us to embrace, think of AI as a tool to enhance human capabilities, not replace them.

3 Trends In Healthcare Staffing

Healthcare has seen more than its fair share of change and evolution over the past handful of years. Healthcare staffing agencies have been on the front line of ensuring there was a frontline ready to help. That created a dynamic environment rife with tension between traditional systems, new norms, and updated expectations. The panel session, Charting the Course: Clinicians’ Views on Healthcare Staffing’s past, present, and future with John Ruffini, Phil Light, Gabrielle Neff, and Dr. Amanda Alexander, dug into what’s changing in healthcare staffing today. Here are the top takeaways:

1. Transparency and communication are essential: Clinicians are demanding more open communication regarding compensation (bill rates, agency margins), and they value strong, personal relationships with recruiters.

What to do: Implement transparent compensation structures, explaining the breakdown of bill rates. Invest in recruiter training emphasizing relationship building, active listening, and responsive communication. Prioritize personal referrals and use technology to streamline communications while maintaining a human touch.

2. Balancing the appeal of full-time and contract staffing: The healthcare industry faces a challenge in attracting and retaining talent, needing to balance the benefits of full-time employment with the flexibility of contract work.

What to do: Offer competitive benefits packages for both full-time and contract positions, highlighting the advantages of each. Develop strong relationships with facilities to ensure smooth transitions and consistent work for contract staff. Create incentives for returning contract workers (e.g., bonuses, priority assignment).

3. Strategically integrate AI, don’t replace human interaction: AI tools offer potential benefits in streamlining tasks, but clinicians express concerns about interactions that don’t feel human when there is a very human element to their work.

What to do: Focus on using AI strategically to support administrative tasks (e.g., scheduling, benefits information) rather than replacing human interaction in crucial areas like initial screenings and personal communication. Clearly communicate how AI is being used and prioritize maintaining meaningful connections with clinicians.

Plan for Growth

 A key theme we heard across the board was that it’s been a tough couple of years for staffing and that we’re ready for the upswing, and we need to keep our eyes on how to grow. The Annual Planning for Growth Initiatives panel- facilitated by Jeff Pelliccio with Erin MacKenzie, Shannon Kahn, and Jon Davis, was a perfect spot to get actionable tips. Here’s what we learned:  

• Create strategic alignment across departments (Finance, Sales, Marketing, Technology): Success requires alignment of financial strategies, sales processes, marketing efforts, and technology infrastructure with overall business goals. Inconsistent approaches across these areas create communication problems (connectional intelligence, anyone?) and inefficiencies that thwart growth.
• Make data-driven decisions and find ways to optimize your processes: Your data and analytics must help you and your organization understand what's working and what's not. Use your data to make informed decisions and optimize processes. I’ll add, don’t be afraid to disrupt processes “because they have always been done this way,” which often indicates it's a process that needs to be evaluated. 
• Choose your technology investments wisely: Avoid "tech bloat" and conduct a technology audit to identify redundant or underutilized systems. Develop a technology strategy that supports business goals and streamlines workflows. Prioritize investments in essential technology (like ATS/CRM) and integrate other systems as needed.

We were so lucky to have the opportunity to meet so many of you at the mixers, at our booth where we chatted about Cartwheel’s automated accounts receivable and fun socks, the PAC dinner, and more. Even if it feels like we covered a lot of ground, we missed so much. If we missed chatting with you, we want to! You can always schedule some time with us here or ping me on LinkedIn. 

What were some of your favorite takeaways from the conference? Let us know what you think on LinkedIn.