Cold Outreach to Warm Leads: Evolving the DVM Engagement Model

The classic challenge of hiring Vets

After 27 years in talent acquisition, Marty Spokony has seen his fair share of “talent deserts” with the best-fit candidates just out of reach via traditional recruiting channels. Vets certainly don’t lack for hiring opportunities, are inundated with cold calls, and are hesitant to get locked into contracts.

In Marty’s experience, most Vets want to know exactly what they’re getting into before making a career move, large or small. With constant noise and outreach in their inboxes, the bar for trust is high. And getting there can be a challenge.

“Veterinarians want some assurance before they walk into a place. There’s a big trust factor that needs to be developed.”

‍

There must be a better way

Marty knows one thing: hiring works best when trust comes first. He kept coming back to the same question: What if there was a way to establish trust before the hiring conversation even started? He had a hunch there was. And it wasn’t the usual route.

Enter relief shifts: Vets get to experience actual team dynamics and medical standards. Marty’s hospital teams get firsthand insight into how Vets communicate and care for pets. Both sides get to test the fit in a way that “best behavior” interviews just can’t.

“You’re, in a way, swimming against the tide if you’re not leaning into relief as a staff augmentation tool.”

When it came time for his team to talk about offers and hiring contracts, that shared experience made the conversation feel less like a pitch and more like the next logical step. Only one issue remained: Marty’s recruiters didn’t know which Relief Vets were working at which hospitals.

‍

At a Glance

Contact Marty Spokony, Head of Talent Acquisition with 27 years experience

Hires made with Roo's Talent Tracker 28

Primary Challenge Reaching DVMs and maintaining enterprise-wide visibility into an active talent pool

Result Stronger cross-location visibility and more confident hires

Innovating through partnership

Marty approached Roo to tackle this challenge and was instrumental in developing Roo’s revolutionary Talent Tracker: a recruiting and sourcing tool built specifically to give talent acquisition teams visibility into Roo relief Vets at their hospitals.

Marty has worked with plenty of vendors, but he describes Roo as a premier partner because collaboration goes beyond filling shifts.‍

Marty’s talent acquisition team got something that’s hard to replicate anywhere else: a pool of Vets actively working with their teams and demonstrating where, when, and how they like to practice.

“It’s a warm talent community. If they’re not ready now, they may be down the road or they may know somebody who is.”

‍

Double the recruiting power with Roo

With the Talent Tracker, recruiters can see who’s working where and approach sourcing with more precision without relying on scattered updates across dozens of busy locations.

For enterprise recruiting teams, that matters because it improves the practical work of talent acquisition. Recruiters can prioritize outreach based on real activity and tap Roo’s Career Pathways team to engage candidates at the right moment.

Since adopting Roo's platform, the team has seen positive improvements in DVM hire metrics, beating the Vet Med industry average. By pairing relief-built trust with Talent Tracker's visibility, the organization has increased its recruiting power without adding headcount and is landing Vets who are a genuine fit for the practice. It’s been a win-win-win for everyone!