Speaker 0: Hello, everyone. This is Jacob Emerson with the Becker's HealthCare podcast. Very pleased today to be joined by Mal Tedesco, who's the executive director at IGH International, and Damaris Delp, who's the senior manager of US operations and nurse experience for Insight Global Health. Mal, Damaris, thank you both so much for taking the time to be with me on the podcast today. I'm hoping to dive in, by talking about you all first.

Mal, can you get us started by talking a little bit about yourself and what you do at IGH International?

Speaker 1: Yeah. That'd be great. Thanks so much, Jacob, and thanks for having us today. As you mentioned, my name is Mal Tedesco. I oversee our international, practice here at Insight Global.

We bring nurses from The Philippines, to The US to help out US hospital systems. So I oversee all the the whole operation, immigration, the experience that we provide those nurses, the recruiting and delivery, and making sure that they're, you know, set up for success for their first day on-site at the client. I'm really excited to to be here and to talk about our program.

Speaker 0: Fantastic. And how about you, Damaris?

Speaker 2: Yeah. Hi. Thank you again so much for having us. So my my title is senior manager of US operations and nurse experience, which sounds like a lot of words, but really what that means is I have the privilege of helping support our nurses through their transition, when they leave The Philippines and come and, make The US their home. I'm very excited to do this because I'm actually an immigrant myself.

I came when I was five years old. And so for me, it is a true calling to be able to step in and help make sure that I remove any obstacles possible to make their new home, home.

Speaker 0: Wonderful. Well, really glad to have you both with us today and for taking the time to do so. Damaris, I wanna get started by talking with you about InsideGlobal's approach to enhancing the experience for the international employee network. Talk to us about why this is crucial for ensuring stability and boosting productivity.

Speaker 2: Absolutely. I mean, I'm sure you can imagine moving to a new country is just a big feat, takes a lot of bravery. It it brings its challenges. And so we feel wholeheartedly that if we can eliminate obstacles, they can then bring their best selves to work. If we can help with the personal stuff, then they can focus on the professional.

And so there's a lot of things that we do through the experience team, everything from supporting them before actual deployment, making sure they're ready, they know how much cash to bring, they know how to best prepare for bringing a family, and making sure that they're comfortable once they arrive here. Removing, you know, obstacles like I don't have credit to be able to get rent, to be able to sign up for a place to live. We help facilitate that. We help with cars and school enrollment, social security, just about everything you can think of to set up life in America, which a lot of people take for granted. And it is way more complicated than it needs to be, unfortunately.

So we take a lot of pride in what we do, and we've seen it directly impact the success that they have once they are on-site at the hospital.

Speaker 0: Certainly. So a massive and complicated transition. Mal, what would you add?

Speaker 1: Yeah. I would just say that, you know, one of our core values at Insight Global is to grow our people personally, professionally, and financially. And I'm just really proud of this program and and really largely the work that Damaris just outlined and the work that her and her team are doing to be able to do this for our clinicians and and, you know, at the same time, be able to, stabilize hospitals, with staff that they need and be able to give better patient care to their communities. So it's been a a very, rewarding program and and really proud of the team's work.

Speaker 0: Demaris, I wonder if you could expand for us a bit on how Insight Global is prioritizing the well-being of your employees, especially when we're talking on a global scale right now. What what are some of the specific measures that you're taking to really differentiate yourself as as a top destination employer?

Speaker 2: Sure. When you when you think about, you know, people on a global scale, there's you know, we're transitioning people from one country to the next, and there's a lot of cultural differences. There's a lot of education differences. There's a lot of just clinical differences. There's so much that's involved.

And so I do believe that the experience team, with the way that our we have engaged managers as well that connect with these nurses from the very first moment that they even hear about Insight Global and they start interviewing with us. It starts then, and it goes all the way through every day after that. And so, like, what that looks like, just to kind of give you an example, I guess, walk you through a scenario. If we have a nurse, that's interviewing, we get to know them personally from the beginning. You know?

Where do you have family in The United States? Like, what do you have your heart set on so that we can make sure we're using that information and what matters to them to match them with the perfect client? Because at the end of the day, we're not a company that's just looking to temporarily staff. We're looking to make connections that help facilitate stabilization of these hospitals, and that means retention. And so if we can better understand the nurse as a whole, as a holistic being, their family, their kids, what's important to them, their hobbies, and we can take that through their journey and give them avenues to really fulfill themselves, then they're going to stay in the communities that they're going to.

They're gonna stay working for these hospital systems that they have their sights set on. So to to me, it's just a matter of truly understanding the whole person. It's not just staffing. It's way more than that.

Speaker 0: I mean, it makes complete sense. Addressing their human needs is a key retention strategy. Mal, what are we missing here?

Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, I think that we just try to do the right thing. Right? We put ourselves in the shoes of the clinician and their family. As Damaris mentioned, she immigrated here herself.

We have a team of immigrants that have gone through that, whether it was with their parents, with their grandparents, with their family, their siblings. And so we do try to put their put ourselves in their shoes and help them every step of the way. It's just really personal to to us and our team. And so I think that's a differentiator for us. Our heart's there, and and we're just passionate about it.

The other piece of it is just the education, arm of it. You know, doctor Arnold Turriga, he runs our education, and he's a Philippine Nurse that, transitioned to The United States through The Middle East. And so he's gone through, you know, really the exact experience that these nurses, are undertaking. And he's built curriculum, you know, both clinically to to help them at the bedside, but then also personally, things that he wished he knew that, you know, can better acclimate them, to The United States. And so, you know, I think the combination of what Demaris and her team does from an experience perspective and taking care of the whole family and then also the education, you know, system and and modules that we've, created has really just been a differentiator for our program, and it has created a really, really vast referral network.

So many of the nurses that we are, recruiting now are friends, family, colleague, aunts, uncles, you name it, of our staff that we've, been able to place in the last two years. And so it's just a testament to the team and the program and us just doing the right thing and people trusting us with their lives and with their family members, and their career moves.

Speaker 0: Yeah. No. It's a it's a great example and really the, the great work that you all are doing. Demeris, talk let's let's drill down into the actual results you're seeing on the ground. How do you think that focusing on the employee experience has influenced your outcomes, especially when we're talking about turnover rates within Insight Global's international nursing program and your global centers as well?

Speaker 2: I get really excited talking about this because we I'm really proud of the fact that turnover is not an issue for us. We not even have money in a little bit. And where we have seen, issues with our nurses is there is a certain period once you have moved to a new country where it becomes really difficult, and you find people kind of dropping into this culture shock stage. And what's been really exciting is seeing being able to actually track and see, okay, around between the two and four month mark, people are dropping into this culture shock. Right?

Because when they first arrive to The US, they're in this just super amazed, excited. Oh my gosh. This is my American dream. I'm doing it. We're here.

It's really, really exciting at first. You're in the honey honeymoon phase. And then things just things just fall into place, and you're just like, wow. This is much harder than I expected. I miss my family, etcetera.

And I know I mentioned this earlier, but we do believe that it's so important to support the whole human. And what what happens is when they get lonely or homesick, unfortunately, oftentimes, it also relays into work, because we are human. And those two things are tied together. And the way that we've, built the entire program for how we engage with our nurses is built around this concept that it's gonna get hard after a few months and that's when we lean in the hardest and we're the most intentional. Because we've seen our nurses go from struggling, a little bit at work because of things going on at home, because they're homesick, they're lonely, they're getting down, to all of a sudden being able to facilitate them getting through that culture shock.

And then all of a sudden, they're doing great at work. Their confidence is back. They're getting DAISY awards. They're being nominated for other awards by their nursing managers. It is a direct impact.

Like, we can make a direct impact on their lives at work if we lean in the way that we do, especially during that really sensitive time. And so I think just being aware of that and working all hands on deck to make sure we're supporting them through that culture shock phase has made an incredible difference in the way that they perform at work.

Speaker 0: Absolutely. So not just focus on the initial transition, but really there for them in the long run. Right. Mal, yeah, what do you what do you think in terms of how is focusing on on not just the initial culture shock, how is that really influencing better outcomes?

Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely. I think that's something that some of, you know, some people get wrong is once the nurse gets here or the clinician or international worker really as a whole gets here, then they're here, and that's all that that it takes. But that's just a a very small part of their journey. You know, getting here is one step, but then how do you acclimate and really make that your home?

And that's where our team really steps in. When the nurse first arrives, you know, it's kind of the honeymoon stage. They're excited. You're taking pictures, checking out new restaurants or, you know, your new location. And it's really a month or two in that you start to feel, oh, wow.

This is for real. This is where I'm living now. And so how do we wrap our arms around that person? And and everyone's gonna go through those stages differently. Some, some people acclimate quicker and and some take a little bit longer, but but our team really is dedicated to being with them every step of the way.

Most of our clinicians come on a three year contract, and so we wanna be with them, you know, really for that first week, that first month, that first year, that second year because they're gonna go through different, you know, cultural adjustments during that entire time. And so Demeris has built out, really with some science, you know, some of the cultural adjustments and the emotional stages, that individuals go through and and how we can best support them during that time.

Speaker 0: Certainly. And, Mal, if we're sticking on this topic, can you tell us a little bit about, Insight Global's future plans for further enhancing the success and the stability of the global workforce that we've been talking about?

Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely. So I've said it a lot during this conversation, but I'm really proud of the team's hard work and dedication. You know, getting into the international space, there is a lot of, gotchas that can happen. There the immigration can constraint is definitely a big one that we face.

And so I'm just really proud of the team and all the efforts they've put in, that's put us in a position that we can expand our program. And so, you know, of course, we've seen tremendous success within our international staffing program and, you know, with our strong partnerships in The Philippines. But, you know, we we as we look ahead, we're gonna be looking into the next phase of that journey. And so what does that mean? Yes.

It's helping health systems nationwide, and The Philippines are gonna remain a key player. But we're also gonna be looking to expand to other regions, into Europe, into Africa, into The Caribbean, and being able to tap into a broader, more diverse talent pool to be able to, bring them to US health systems. And then in addition to the geographic growth, broadening our scope, you know, with the roles that we support. Beyond nurses, we're looking at skill sets, across the allied health space. I know that our hospitals are constantly asking us for for these type of, different specialists.

So medical technologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and more. I mean, the the demand is just vast across The United States, and it's continuing to grow. So we hope to be able to be a long term partner to health systems and be able to help them, you know, stabilize and and build a sustainable workforce, across both nursing and the allied space.

Speaker 0: And how about you, Damaris? Any upcoming initiatives or strategies that you can share with us today?

Speaker 2: For us, it's just super important to continue to iterate and have an open mind, and stay constantly curious on the experience side. Because every time we feel like we've got it all figured out, we meet a new nurse that has different, you know, stipulations or different thoughts or different constraints. And so, I think the strategy for us is really just staying, nimble and continuing to iterate our program to best support the transition and the success that they have at each hospital.

Speaker 0: Wonderful. Well, clearly, a lot of exciting things on the horizon for Inside Global. So, Mal, Damaris, I wanna thank you both for taking the time to sit down with us and for sharing your insights with our audience. We really appreciate it.

Speaker 1: Thanks for having us.

Speaker 2: Thank you.

Speaker 0: I'd also like to thank Insight Global Health for sponsoring today's episode. You can tune in to more podcasts from Becker's Healthcare by visiting our podcast page at beckers hospital review dot com.