86,000 Physicians shortage. Back office playbook for the 24/7 Premium Human Staffing Service.

Updates for last week include a few new iterations on our platform, an AI learning centre, 3 major releases, two AI workers of the week, news, an AI playbook, and a deep dive into healthcare, all right here by EQ.app

I hope you had a great weekend! Last week, something shifted for me.

And after all this time, as someone who has been in AI since 2016, I am finally starting to feel that we are closer to a real 24/7, self-serve workforce for staffing and recruiting firms; it's starting in the back office.

Why? It's not how much AI is underneath it or the models; it's the connections to systems in one place, the context, and doing real work that grows companies with people working on the right thing.

Recently joined Michael J. Chief AI Officer at Microsoft. Our podcast is coming this week.

Now a payroll AI-powered worker who can see across ALL the tools involved in a healthcare staffing firm’s process and process over 1,000 time cards.

Every five minutes, checking newly submitted timecards, consolidating the relevant information, comparing what they find with the rules they’ve been given, and surfacing exceptions with the evidence a payroll specialist needs.

It’s complex work as there are new rules all the time.

EQ 2026 Healthcare Staffing Market Report: forecasts the U.S. healthcare staffing market at approximately $38.7 billion this year and $39.6 billion in 2027.

Really, the strongest opportunity is not an unsupervised system that makes consequential payroll decisions.

It is an AI-enabled workforce that gathers information, applies approved rules, explains exceptions and routes decisions to the right person.

For example, in high-stakes back-office work, explainability is not an optional feature. It is part of the control environment.

How should staffing firms get started?

The best first deployment is usually narrow, high-volume and reversible.

It should create evidence of value without putting accuracy or worker trust at unnecessary risk.

15min Free Consultation

The more I look at the data, the more convinced I am that the advantage will come from redesigning the work, not simply adding another tool.

More EQ updates

1. We have also turned EQ Buddy into more of a live learning center for AI in staffing and recruiting. Learn more

2. You can talk with Buddy about where AI fits, map a workflow, ask what a worker should own, and get help finding the right place to begin. You can now call Buddy on our site, too.

3. Thanks to you all our substack community has also added approximately 6,300 subscribers in the last 30 days

If you want to understand how we are doing it, ask Buddy.

An EQ design partner is a staffing or recruiting firm that works directly with our team to turn one high-value, multi-system workflow into a governed worker, working with our CTO, a former GitHub and Microsoft leader.

Together, with EQ Buddy, we map the systems, rules, approvals, and success measures, then build and test the worker around the firm’s real operating environment.

This is best suited to a CEO and senior operating leader who can point to a costly, repetitive workflow and wants to redesign it properly.

It is not an innovation theatre program but a working process with a clear owner, evidence and human control.

Apply here - 15min call

1. Revelio Labs: demand for the most AI-exposed roles is down 42%, yet AI-adopting companies have grown headcount 27% more than non-adopters—and now require 5.05 job postings for every hire

2. Gartner: 22% of CHROs say at least one business leader has stopped entry-level hiring because of AI; 95% have implemented AI, but only 20% report significant value

3. Equifax: 73% of HR professionals encounter misleading candidate information, 36% say AI-generated content reduces hiring confidence, while 78% report faster hiring and onboarding

4. Fiverr: revenue fell 10% and active buyers fell 21.9% as AI compressed low-value freelance work; spend per buyer rose 16% as demand moved toward higher-value projects

5. Workday: 97% of enterprise workers are optimistic about AI, yet thousands lose eight hours every week manually moving information between disconnected systems

6. BHEF: AI-enabled jobs in Connecticut nearly doubled in one year—from 1 in 52 jobs to 1 in 27—forcing employers and colleges to build new talent pipelines together

7. Jobs for the Future: the U.S. could face an 86,000-physician shortage by 2036; 90% of doctors supported through TIMGA now work in rural communities and have served roughly 70,000 patients

One principle.

AI can synthesise information and surface risk, but several decisions should remain with authorised professionals.

Have an amazing week!

Marcus - Happy monday!

Explore next: Start free | Talk to Buddy | Call Buddy | Read the healthcare report | See how workers fit into staffing

Editorial note: This article provides general operational information, not legal or tax advice. US healthcare staffing firms should validate federal, state and local requirements with qualified counsel and tax professionals before changing compensation or payroll practices.