Boosting Candidate Conversions

Overview

The Nurse Connection Staffing, a healthcare staffing firm, was struggling with a problem common across the industry: a growing gap between the number of open roles and their ability to fill them quickly. Despite having a substantial candidate database, they were plagued by slow response times, heavy reliance on job boards, and recruiter bandwidth stretched thin by manual screening.

By integrating Curately with their existing LaborEdge ATS, NCS activated the untapped potential already sitting in their pipeline. The result was faster conversions, significant recruiter time savings, and a measurable lift across the full recruiting funnel.

The Challenge

The Nurse Connection Staffing faced three compounding problems, each feeding into the others.

Slow Response Times

When a candidate applied, the average response time ran between 12 and 24 hours. In a competitive healthcare market, that lag was enough time for a qualified nurse or allied health professional to accept an offer elsewhere. Speed was not a nice-to-have; it was the difference between a placement and a lost candidate.

Over-Reliance on Job Boards

The team was spending heavily on job board advertising to source new applicants, with costs rising and no sustainable pipeline being built in return. Meanwhile, a database of previously engaged candidates sat largely dormant, representing qualified talent that was never being systematically re-activated.

Recruiter Overload

Manual screening and initial outreach were consuming hours of recruiter time every week. With bandwidth tied up in top-of-funnel tasks, recruiters had less capacity for the high-value work that actually drives revenue: building relationships, making placements, and managing client needs.

The Solution

The answer was already inside Nurse Connection's existing workflow. They needed a way to engage their pipeline faster and more consistently, without overhauling how their team operated.

Curately's AI recruiter, Maya, was integrated directly into LaborEdge, the ATS Nurse Connection was already using. The integration was designed to fit existing recruiter workflows with no retraining required and no disruption to the team's daily operations.

From the moment a candidate applies or is surfaced from the existing database, Maya takes over the initial engagement:

• Candidates are contacted less than a minute after they submit their application, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including nights, weekends, and holidays.
• Maya conducts automated screening and qualification conversations, gathering the information recruiters need before they ever pick up the phone.
• Qualified candidates are handed off to recruiters with full context, so the first human conversation is focused and productive.

The result was a seamless three-step workflow: candidate applies, Maya engages and screens, recruiter receives a warm, pre-qualified lead.

The Results

The impact was measurable and immediate. Across speed, conversion, and recruiter productivity, Nurse Connection saw meaningful gains within the first weeks of going live.

• ~1 minute speed to contact — down from an average of 15 hours.
• 45%+ applicant conversion rate — up from approximately 35% prior to implementation.
• 28% overall conversion lift across the full recruiting funnel.
• 7 hours saved per recruiter, per week — redirected from manual screening to high-value placements.

The Impact on Recruiters

Beyond the numbers, the change in how recruiters experienced their work was notable. Cold calling dropped significantly as recruiters shifted to working pre-screened, already-interested candidates. Time that had been spent on repetitive top-of-funnel tasks was redirected toward the conversations that actually move the business forward.

Pre-qualified leads shortened time-to-fill and increased revenue per recruiter. And with fewer cold calls and more meaningful interactions, job satisfaction improved alongside productivity.

Key Takeaways

• Existing databases hold more value than most teams realize. Re-engaging qualified candidates already in the CRM costs a fraction of sourcing new ones through paid channels.
• Speed to contact is a competitive advantage. In healthcare staffing, the team that reaches a candidate first is most likely to convert them.
• Automation amplifies recruiters rather than replacing them. When routine screening is handled automatically, recruiters focus on the relationships and placements that drive revenue.
• Integration matters. Curately worked within LaborEdge rather than around it, which meant no disruption to the team and no learning curve standing between implementation and results.