Benefits of Working With Healthcare Staffing Professionals

For those working in the healthcare field, the last several years have seen an unprecedented upheaval through changes in procedures and traditional workplace norms, leaving many facilities struggling to fill empty positions and plug holes where needed. Luckily, there are several methods to mitigate the issues and liabilities this can cause, with the most effective being to retain the services offered by healthcare staffing professionals.

Staffing agencies can offer benefits that can’t be found anywhere else, such as qualified staff that are available to work at a moment’s notice. No matter what type of healthcare field you are in, from long-term care to a hospital setting, your workplace can benefit in many ways from utilizing the services of a staffing agency. In this article, we’ll look at some of the most important ways you will see noticeable and demonstrable improvements from taking this route.  

Top Ways Staffing Agencies Will Benefit Your Facility

As time goes on, the nursing shortage in the United States, and indeed, worldwide, is only projected to get worse. Other than hiring incentives and in-house promotion and education, there is only so much that can be done to fill holes when needed. Not having an adequate amount of staff on hand can lead to devastating effects on patient care, lowered staff morale, and increased financial and legal liabilities. 

Benefit #1: Staffing agencies are there when you need them.

Hiring can be a tricky process, and advertising open positions can only get you so far. When you find yourself in a tight spot with spots open that need to be filled on an emergent basis, only staffing agencies can step in and provide staff on very short notice.  

Staff shortages can be caused by any number of issues, some of which have no quick resolution. Staffing agencies can step in and prevent the ripple effects of understaffing from spreading and causing further consequences down the line, which keeps your facility running smoothly until more full-time staff can be hired.

Benefit #2: Staffing agencies take care of the hardest parts of onboarding.

All administrators know that sourcing, interviewing, screening, and training candidates takes a long time. Even if everything is done perfectly, some people will still flake out or turn out to be underqualified or undertrained. Staffing agencies take this risk out of the equation for you, as they handle all of the preliminary tasks like these that take a lot of time and resources.  

Besides offering a pre-screened and selected pool of candidates, staffing agencies handle many other roles that cause headaches for administrators, like payroll, management, and credentialing. If there is an issue with the staff, the responsibility will be shared and largely fall on the staffing agency, which makes your job easier. Having an agency to handle payroll takes a load off of your facility and makes the whole operation run more smoothly.  

Benefit #3: Staffing agencies provide greater flexibility to meet your needs. 

All healthcare facilities have a wide range of staffing needs. Some might be looking for on-call workers, temporary workers, or full-time staff. No matter what your needs are, staffing agencies will be able to help you.

It’s also important to consider the wide range of professionals needed to run healthcare facilities. From CNAs, to Respiratory Therapists, to RNs, to anesthesiologists, the list goes on and on, and these positions can suddenly need to be filled at any time. Only staffing agencies can provide exactly the qualified staff member you need to keep things running until a permanent replacement can be hired.  

Benefit #4: You’ll spend less time training and have more time on the clock.

One of the things that facilities love about staffing agencies is their ability to provide staff who can hit the ground running. These workers are vetted to filter out the ones who don’t know their way around a facility, which means that you get staff capable of handling patient care or direct work on day one.  

This has an immensely positive effect on worker morale and overall productivity. Your permanent staff will enjoy not having to show agency staff the ropes, and patients will benefit by having another set of hands ready to help. That’s the most important aspect of all – staffing agencies lead to more effective patient care and a higher quality of life for residents of the facility. 

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing warns that nursing shortages will only increase as more baby boomers age past retirement. It’s best to be proactive here, and even if you are fully staffed at the moment, beginning a professional relationship with a staffing agency will ensure that you have a pipeline and resource ready when you need them the most.

Based on all projections, that time will come. Don’t wait until it’s too late, and contact a healthcare staffing agency today to begin the process of meeting your needs.