What you need to know when choosing a healthcare staffing firm partner

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Benefits of Medical Staffing FirmFacilities all over are trying to manage resources.  Flexibility is of paramount importance today given the uncertainty of today’s healthcare landscape.

That being said, there are several factors you need to consider in choosing a staffing partner.

Expertise

If your practice has a need for a physical therapist, you should work with a staffing firm that understands physical therapy and places physical therapists.  Do not simply turn to the staffing firm that found and placed your last medical assistant.  Several ways to ensure this expertise is to question them on their:

  • Database.  If they specialize in placing physical therapists, their database should have many, many physical therapists listed.
  • References.  Ask the staffing firm for the names of other clients who they have successfully been helped in locating similar positions.

Credentialing

Credentialing involves more than a typical background check, and it is critical in choosing the right firm to partner with.   

Ensuring the staffing firm partner conducts the appropriate level of credentialing is important, so question the firm to find out what they provide. The credentialing process should include skills and competency testing, licensure verification, drug screening and reference checks at a minimum. In addition, with the recent press about bad placements risking patient health, make sure you fully understand how the firm handles oversights and bad placements.

Timeliness

If you need to bring on a new employee or provide temporary coverage quickly, the staffing firm must be able to deliver.  Ask them about their time-to-fill and fill rate metrics to see if they meet your standards.  Also, pay attention to how timely the firm’s recruiters and managers respond to your inquiries.  If you call and leave a message, do they respond?  Do they take days to respond?  If they are out of the office, do they leave instructions on how to contact a back-up person?

First impressions

First impressions are usually pretty accurate.  What was your impression of the website?  Did it address all your questions, provide you with needed information, and make you believe that they understood your needs?  Staffing firms are responsible for placing people who will be interacting with your patients, so make sure you are dealing with a professional, adept organization.

Snelling Medical Professionals is a division of Snelling, one of the most respected staffing firms in the industry, but we are focused exclusively on medical talent.  Over 1/3 of our offices are certified and staffed to work closely with you to provide a comprehensive staffing and workforce planning solution – geared specifically for you.  So, locate your local Snelling Medical Professionals office today, and let’s work together.

By Christiane Soto,