Unifying HR Marketing and Brand, Part 2: Michigan Medicine

September 11, 2023

Marketing and talent acquisition executives from Michigan Medicine share how collaboration and brand alignment helped to address staff recruitment and retention challenges for their organization.

// By Susan Dubuque //

Susan DubuqueHealth care industry experts have been sounding the alarm about the staffing shortage for decades, with a variety of factors contributing to the problem — the aging population, lack of nursing faculty, competition from other industry sectors, and burnout. Now, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals and health systems face unprecedented challenges as experienced providers and support personnel are walking out in droves to explore new opportunities or leave the workforce altogether.

Woman smiling in an outdoor setting

Rebecca Priest, director of marketing, Michigan Medicine

At this year’s Healthcare Marketing & Physician Strategies Summit (HMPS), held in Austin, Texas, Rebecca Priest, director of marketing, and Rian Brooks, manager of workforce planning and talent acquisition, Michigan Medicine, joined J.L. Grayson, Moffitt Cancer Center, and Joel English, BVK, in a presentation titled Unify Brand and Recruitment Marketing. We followed up with these two leading health systems to learn how they united HR, marketing, and brand to increase the effectiveness of recruitment and retention efforts.

Part one of this two-part series highlighted Moffitt Cancer Center and part two features Michigan Medicine.

“When we started on this journey, HR worked on recruitment and retention, and marketing concentrated on patient acquisition and brand — each in our own silo,” recalls Priest. “We knew that by working together, we could have a far greater collective impact.”

“With a tightening labor market, and a shrinking number of applications, we knew it was time to do things differently,” says Brooks.

Read on to learn how collaboration between HR and marketing can enhance recruitment and retention efforts.


This content is only available to members.

Please log in.

Not a member yet?

Start a free 7-day trial membership to get instant access.

Log in below to access this content: