As a healthcare leader, you have responsibilities that may feel like a never-ending to-do list. Despite being pulled in numerous directions, delivering quality patient care is one of your most important objectives. To meet this goal, your facility must be fully staffed with the right providers. Staffing shortages can be a daunting hurdle to overcome, especially around the holidays.
When you are already stretched thin, finding time to screen potential candidates for open positions and account for lapses in your schedule can be difficult. Thankfully, this is one important task that you can delegate by using a permanent staffing agency.
Not all agencies are the same, however. With plenty of permanent placement agencies available you can determine the best fit for your needs. Courtney Gould, Director at Optimum Permanent Placement, offers three reasons why working with a permanent staffing agency means you are also working with an advocate.
- Properly screening candidates demands too much of your time. Fortunately, a permanent staffing agency’s job is to vet candidates and find the best match for your facility. Recruiters are focused on relationship building, and they have the time and energy to thoroughly research each candidate’s background and conduct a rigorous screening process.
Gould explains that Optimum uses an extensive intake questionnaire to help determine fit. Recruiters spend hours on the phone with candidates to learn their “motivating factors.” After gathering information about the provider, recruiters compare each candidate to the opportunity before presenting the best match to a client. “We partner with the client and we partner with the candidate,” says Gould. “Our goal is to make the perfect match so that when we call back in three or four years, our provider is still at their placement, still thriving, and still growing with that facility.”
- You don’t have to be emotionally invested—they are. A permanent staffing agency’s job is to assess the needs of both parties, keeping a realistic mindset while matching providers to opportunities and mediating final terms. “It’s like buying a house,” says Gould. “It’s always easier with an agent. We are that third party, an advocate for both the provider and the client. We dive in, learn the goals and motivations of the provider in addition to the culture and needs of the facility.”
Permanent placement agencies have the luxury of taking a step back to analyze all the information gathered and objectively assess the fit. Provider quality is subjective and is difficult to determine without extensive information and a thorough review of qualifications and skillsets. Optimum strives to pre-determine: Is the candidate a good match for the culture of the placement? Will the candidate enjoy the area in which the opportunity exists? Taking time during the screening process to answer these questions honestly could make all the difference.
“The quality of a provider does not necessarily mean that a provider is ranked good or bad,” shares Gould. “At Optimum, quality is all about asking, ‘is this the best possible match?’ A successful placement depends on that answer being ‘yes’ without hesitation.”
- They are equipped to help smooth the transition process at your facility.Permanent placement can take anywhere from three months to a year. Factors such as state licensing can extend that process. During the transitional period, your facility still needs to be well staffed to operate effectively. Permanent staffing agencies can help in several ways. After matching a candidate to an opportunity, agencies are often prepared to help coordinate scheduling and contract negotiation. Some agencies, like Optimum, offer more extensive services. Optimum’s unique partnership with Medicus Healthcare Solutions, a locum tenens staffing service, enables both organizations to work in tandem to fill staffing needs throughout the candidate search.
“We are fortunate to have the capability to fix our client’s interim shortage and provide a long-term solution, too,” says Gould. “It relieves a lot of pressure on the client and makes Optimum a truly full-service solution.”
Discover how Optimum Permanent Placement Services can advocate for your staffing needs by calling 603.816.9070 to speak with an experienced business development executive today.
