The Pros and Cons of Hiring a Staffing Company

The bad news: there’s an ongoing staffing shortage that affects the whole healthcare industry at all levels. According to the American Hospital Association, there will be a shortage of up to 24,000 physicians by 2033. Additionally, we will need at least 200,000 new nurses in the workforce to keep up with patients. A national healthcare staffing crisis means there isn’t enough personnel to meet the needs of patients and the professionals still working are dealing with burnout which could also lead to them leaving their jobs too soon.

The good news: there’s a solution to be found in hiring a staffing company. While finding qualified and willing employees during a workforce shortage can be overwhelming for practice, hospital, and health center managers, it’s exactly the type of challenge hiring companies are equipped to handle. In this blog, we’ll expand on the pros and cons of hiring a staffing company so you are well aware of what to expect.

Pros of Hiring a Staffing Company

Stress-Free Management

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The main benefit of hiring a staffing company is that you no longer have to manage the recruiting process yourself. This frees you up as a manager to focus on other aspects of running a healthcare facility while ensuring that staffing needs are met. A staffing company can handle all of the administrative work of employee management including onboarding, payroll, benefits, and vacation time.

Access a Large Pool of Candidates

Staffing companies have vast databases of candidates, whereas you might only have historical resumes of people who have applied to your healthcare facility in the past. When you work with a staffing company you have access to more jobseekers, which maximizes your chances of finding suitable candidates.

Flexible Hiring

There will come a time when you need to hire someone at the last minute or you only need someone for a short period like a weekend – a staffing company can accommodate this. Staffing companies are connected to enough candidates to meet flexible hiring needs such as during surge periods or for the purposes of a temporary project.

Thorough Vetting Processes

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Professionals with up-to-date and relevant credentials are essential in all parts of the healthcare industry but vetting is a time-consuming process. Staffing companies make it their priority to confirm and update the qualifications of all the candidates that they engage with. This ensures that your facility will always be compliant with regulations when hiring without wasting limited internal resources on credentialing.

Happier Employees and Healthier Patients

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Ultimately, working with a staffing company ensures that the employees you have and the ones you hire all have a balanced workload and support. This way, no one is burnt out and tempted to pursue a different career. Patient outcomes are also vastly improved when employees have better job satisfaction.

Cons of Hiring a Staffing Company

Potential Culture Mismatches

It’s not common, but sometimes candidates with the right skills might not be a good culture fit for an organization. This can be caused by regional differences, unmet job expectations, or being trained in an environment that’s completely different from the one a candidate is expected to work. Culture mismatches can be minor but sometimes they can interfere with job satisfaction.

Dependency on Third-Party Staff

Once you get used to a staffing company, you might find that it’s the only way you prefer to hire. This could leave your organization dependent on third-party staff or no longer able to fulfill your staffing requirements using traditional hiring practices. If you’ve found the perfect staffing company, this is less of a problem and more of a beginning of a long-term partnership.

Low Employee Retention

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Employees that are placed by staffing companies are rarely ever looking for permanent opportunities. Most are looking for seasonal employment or other types of flexible arrangements, meaning that organizations that hire them have low employee retention rates. This doesn’t mean they’re short-staffed, however, because they always have enough employees but it’s never the same faces for too long.

Not All Staffing Companies Are The Same

Unfortunately, you’re not guaranteed success with every staffing company on the market. They charge different costs for different services, some aren’t as thorough at credentialing, while others have smaller pools of candidates than the rest. Looking for the right staffing company is almost as onerous as looking for staff, except once you find the ideal staffing company for your needs, you never have to look again.

Get It Right The First Time (And Every Time) With Progen

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We are committed to supporting healthcare providers with highly qualified employees to handle their intakes and other essential tasks throughout the five boroughs of New York City and Westchester County. Our streamlined process ensures that we tailor-fit solutions to meet the specific needs of each company we work with.

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