Excel Healthcare Welcomes Martina Young as Director of Healthcare Recruitment

The Excel Recruitment Group is proud to announce the appointment of Martina Young as Director of Healthcare Recruitment. With over 20 years of leadership experience across the healthcare, hospitality, and recruitment industries, Martina brings a wealth of expertise, insight, and vision to this pivotal role.

Martina’s appointment underlines Excel Healthcare’s unwavering commitment to delivering innovative, high-quality staffing solutions that support the success of healthcare providers across Ireland’s public and private sectors. A proven leader in team development, strategic business growth, and lean leadership, Martina will lead our specialist recruitment team in placing dependable, qualified professionals in critical healthcare roles nationwide.

Since joining Excel, Martina has exemplified a passion for excellence and a dedication to creating meaningful, long-term partnerships between clients and candidates. She holds a Master’s Diploma in Organisational Leadership and is a certified Executive Coach, highlighting her focus on building high-performing, collaborative teams and driving continuous innovation in healthcare recruitment.

Shane McLave, Managing Director of the Excel Recruitment Group, commented on the appointment:

“We are thrilled to welcome Martina to this key leadership position. Her wealth of experience and dedication to quality recruitment will strengthen our healthcare division and support our mission to deliver tailored staffing solutions for every client across Ireland. Martina’s leadership will play an integral role in shaping the future of healthcare staffing, ensuring that we continue to exceed the expectations of both our clients and candidates.”

Sharing her excitement about the new role, Martina Young said:

“I am delighted to take on the role of Director of Healthcare Recruitment with Excel Healthcare. I look forward to working alongside an exceptional team to build on our reputation for delivering innovative, client-focused recruitment solutions. Together, we will continue to grow, evolve, and support the healthcare professionals and organisations that are the foundation of Ireland’s healthcare system.”

Excel Healthcare has long been a trusted leader in healthcare staffing solutions, with a presence across Dublin, Belfast, Galway, Cork, and Kildare. We are uniquely positioned to source exceptional talent for a wide spectrum of roles – from catering and administration to highly specialised healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, HCA’s, Pharmacists and allied health professionals.

With Martina’s appointment, we are excited for a new chapter of growth, innovation, and collaboration, as we continue to match exceptional talent with healthcare organisations across Ireland.

The Beliefs We Borrow And The Ones We Lend

As managers and leaders in retail, whether you’re running a supermarket, leading a convenience store, or overseeing a district of discounters, you’re lending beliefs all the time.

There’s a concept doing the rounds lately that I’m obsessed with: “borrowed beliefs.” The idea is simple: many of the things we believe aren’t truly ours. They’ve been handed to us by family, friends, bosses, or society. We absorb them, often without question, and they shape the way we see the world.

In recruitment, I see it every day—candidates limiting themselves based on beliefs that were never truly their own:

“I’m not management material.”

“Area manager roles are only for men.”

“You can’t switch from convenience to multiples.”

None of those statements are inherently true, but they get repeated so often, people internalise them. But here’s where it gets interesting: if we can borrow beliefs, we can also lend them. And as managers and leaders in retail, whether you’re running a supermarket, leading a convenience store, or overseeing a district of discounters, you’re lending beliefs all the time, whether you realise it or not.


Beliefs are contagious—so make sure yours are worth catching

Years ago, when I was managing in the discount sector, I worked under a regional manager who had a firm belief: “Every store can be top performing with the right attitude.” He didn’t just say it; he lived it. He visited stores with a notepad full of ideas, empowered his managers, and always asked, “What do you need to hit your target?” Not “Why are you behind target?” – it was a subtle shift, but one that lent us the belief in ourselves.

I saw managers go from stressed and defensive to ambitious and proactive. They started believing their stores could top the leader board because someone believed it first. That belief spread like wildfire. Sales rose, shrink dropped, and morale skyrocketed.

Contrast that with another experience in different retail group. The area manager’s favourite saying? “Head office always messes it up.” That single borrowed belief trickled down like a slow leak. Store managers blamed “the office”. Supervisors passed the buck. Staff stopped suggesting ideas. What’s the point if it’s all going to be ignored or messed up?

As leaders, we are walking belief-lending libraries. Every casual comment, about head office, about customers, about “young staff these days” is potentially being adopted by your team.

One area manager I admire says: “Head office always messes it up.” That’s right—borrowed from years of hearing a similar belief. Sure, head office has made mistakes, but progress has been solid. That story stopped suggesting progress. What’s the point if all is going to be ignored by ‘them upstairs’ anyway?


Mind the message beneath your message

When you say to your young managers, “Shift work is tough, but that’s retail for you,” are you lending resilience or resignation?
When you suggest that “you can’t trust part-timers to go the extra mile,” are you lending caution or quietly discouraging initiative?
Your beliefs become your team’s atmosphere. So ask yourself: are you creating a culture of blame or ownership? Burnout or balance?


Recruitment: Where borrowed beliefs really show up

We often see hiring managers unintentionally carry over limiting beliefs into interviews or promotion decisions. Like when they assume a candidate from the convenience sector “won’t cope with structure” in a multiple. Or that someone without formal education “won’t manage systems or KPI’s.” Or that “you need ten years in the business” to take on a regional role.

I’ve worked with hundreds of retail candidates over the years who only progressed when someone took a chance on them, when a manger lent them the belief that they could do it.

The most forward-thinking hiring managers I work with, the focus on mindset, attitude, and potential. They actively challenge their own assumptions. And more often than not, they end up with stronger teams because of it.


Spotting borrowed beliefs in your staff

A deli assistant who says she’s “not cut out for supervising.”

A young man who won’t apply for a trainee manager role because “I didn’t go to college.”

A night packer who jokes, “I’ll never get off these shifts.”

What if you stopped them in their tracks? What if you said, “You’ve got what it takes. I’ll help you build the skills,” or “That’s not a rule, it’s just something someone once said.”


Be the belief-lender they need

The Irish grocery sector is full of people who started as shelf stackers and now run regions. I’ve placed dozens of them over the years. What separates them isn’t always talent – it’s belief. Often, someone, somewhere, lent them one they could use. So, here’s your challenge this month: tune into the beliefs you’re lending. Are they opening doors or closing them?

Let your belief in your people be the spark that lights something bigger. Because while borrowed beliefs can limit, the right ones, shared with intention, can empower, uplift, and transform—and make your store an incredibly attractive environment for your new hires.

For more information call us on 01 814 8747 or email nikki@excelrecruitment.com.

Retail Talent Landscape q1 2025

Retail’s Talent Tightrope

As Q1 2025 wraps up, recruitment across Ireland’s retail landscape—especially in fashion, non-food, grocery, and pharmacy—remains active but more complex. While job vacancies continue steadily, both candidate engagement and employer strategies have shifted in response to economic pressures and evolving workforce expectations.

Fashion & Non-Food Retail: Leadership & Agility in Focus

According to Aislinn Lea, Director of Fashion & Non-Food Retail Recruitment, the market has been exceptionally buoyant, with new roles added daily. However, she notes a shift toward more deliberate and thoughtful hiring, where employers are placing greater emphasis on leadership ability, change management experience, and authentic passion for retail.

The exit of several fast fashion and high street brands has forced remaining retailers to redefine their bricks-and-mortar presence, focusing on enhancing customer journeys, creating meaningful in-store engagement, and reinforcing the unique identity of each brand.

Duty Managers remain the hardest roles to fill in non-food retail. “Many employers are now looking to hospitality talent pools, leveraging their strengths in customer service, sales performance, and KPI management,” Aislinn explains. Speed in recruitment remains critical: businesses with streamlined interview and offer processes are securing talent ahead of slower-moving competitors.

Head Office & Buying: A Cautious Candidate Market

Aoife Clarke, Senior Recruitment Consultant for Head Office & Buying, describes a slow-moving market where candidates are showing increased hesitation, often withdrawing late in the process. Active job seekers are focused on securing the most competitive offers, while passive candidates attend interviews without genuine intent to move, unless all requirements are met. When combined with slow timelines, below-market offers, and inflexible expectations, this often results in unsuccessful hires.

At the same time, employer offers often fall short of market expectations, further widening the gap between demand and supply. As Aoife notes, “Recruitment cycles are now longer and more complex, and success hinges on strong relationships, clear communication, and employer flexibility.

Pharmacy: Stabilisation Amid Structural Shortages

Barbara Kelly, Senior Recruitment Consultant for Pharmacy, describes a more stable but constrained environment. Rates for Supervising Pharmacists have levelled out, and there’s been minimal movement due to the high salaries already locked in during recent shortages. Relief and support roles remain scarce, while locum rates are holding steady.

One standout challenge remains the shortage of qualified pharmacy technicians, which has pushed up pay slightly. Encouragingly, Barbara notes an uptick in technician roles being filled by non-EU pharmacists who’ve gained local experience.

Grocery: Investment in Fresh Food Talent & Work-Life Balance

Nikki Murran, Director of Grocery Retail Recruitment, highlights a continued investment in fresh food talent, especially in butchers, bakers, deli staff, and retail chefs. Supermarkets are responding to increased consumer demand for health-conscious, convenient, and online options by shifting manpower to these key departments.

There’s also a noticeable move toward better work-life balance offerings. “Many retailers are now providing improved shift patterns and 39-hour contracts to attract and retain staff,” says Nikki. Trainee managers are in demand, with higher salaries justified by expectations for stronger leadership potential.

While talent shortages and candidate hesitancy remain central themes in Q1, retailers that adapt quickly, offer competitive packages, and streamline hiring processes are best positioned to succeed in an evolving employment landscape.