Why Healthcare Employers are Shifting toward Staffing Agencies

If there’s anything we’ve learned from this pandemic, it’s this: nurses and healthcare practitioners are indispensable.

They are vital to the survival of societies, and now, demand for them is rising exponentially. In a report by the US Census Bureau, the number of America’s senior demographics is expected to rise as the baby boomer generation becomes 65 or older by 2030. That can mean 1.1 million openings for healthcare forecasted as early as 2026. Given these figures, a deep sense of urgency looms healthcare employers to find qualified nurses.

It’s no secret that having adequate staffing is critical to providing excellent patient care while also ensuring that workforce needs are taken care of. However, finding the best healthcare professionals is no easy feat. Still, it will require a significant amount of time and resources if companies choose to recruit independently. This is why they turn to recruitment and healthcare staffing experts to help them better meet their present and future staffing challenges.

BRIDGING THE GAP IN SHORTAGE OF HEALTHCARE WORKERS

As the medical needs heightened during the pandemic, the critical nursing shortage also became more evident:

In the next five years, the demand for nurses will grow up to 5% more.
However, more than 900,000 nurses are expected to leave their jobs voluntarily.
Twenty-nine states will face unmet demands in nursing positions.

These indications are a sad truth for healthcare institutions. It’s like the mass exodus of nurses has begun, and America already sees quits in huge numbers. Though, here lies the opportunity for healthcare staffing firms to make a difference.

Staffing firms exist for one reason: to find the best candidates that fit the client’s needs. In addition, healthcare recruitment agencies are committed to keeping up with current trends to foresee potential skill shortages or fluctuations in talent demands. Being abreast of trends keeps them well-prepared to have a constant stream of highly competent healthcare professionals and never run dry of qualified candidates should demands arise.

The difference between in-house recruitment teams and staffing agencies is the innovative, data-driven strategies that staffing agencies apply to ensure successful placements each time. Long-term value is their priority not only for clients but also for candidates — a winning recipe that yields the most return-on-investment for both parties.

Better still, staffing agencies create a cycle of sustainable growth in the healthcare industry as critical aspects like candidate experience and job fit are front and center. This results in a highly engaged workforce that reduces turnovers up to 59%. That turnover rate isn’t something that healthcare employers want — it’s what they need to function optimally. California’s RN staffing ratio law sheds light on how important this is.

WHAT STAFFING FIRMS PROVIDE TO HEALTHCARE EMPLOYERS

According to a study, only 40% of healthcare employers have a strategy for managing their workforce. With this insight, it’s critical that as a healthcare employer, you must never forget that your workforce is the heart of your organization. Delivering a nurturing and excellent healthcare service to your patients will always be preceded by adequate staffing.

This is why partnering with a healthcare staffing firm for your workforce needs can benefit you in more ways than one.

1. They enable you to take better care of your staff and reduce your turnover rates.

With so much going on within the walls of healthcare institutions, the sudden need for additional staff is almost constant. While it can be tempting to focus primarily on patient needs and stretch the workforce too thin, we believe that when you better take care of your workforce, they will, in turn, take better care of your patients.

As the well-being of your staff suffers, so does the quality of their service. Even worse, burnt-out employees can eventually abandon ship and leave you with even more slots to fill. This is particularly significant to address, considering that job satisfaction rates plummeted at an all-time low since 2010, mostly because organizations failed to check in on the well-being of their staff and offer the support they need. The thing is: 41% of workers feel burnout and more than 45% of them already feel drained emotionally.

Partnering with a healthcare staffing agency can enable you to conveniently fill positions temporarily so that you can prevent workforce burnout. Tapping into these services helps you take care of your employees better and provides them with the opportunity to get adequate rest. Quality management like this will not go unnoticed and can make a difference in keeping them highly satisfied in their careers versus quitting prematurely.

Remember, your staff is your best asset. Planting seeds of investment in their well-being can produce tenfold fruits that will branch through excellently sustained patient care and healthcare employer brand reputation.

2. They provide access to exceptional and talented nursing professionals who deliver excellent patient care.

As you may be well aware, healthcare is more than just sciences and biology; it’s about enriching lives through excellent patient care. When your patients come through the door of your facility, they are in the most vulnerable season of their lives physically and emotionally, and it is your team whom they will trust to provide the support they need.

That’s why it can’t be said enough: it’s not sufficient to only add people into your workforce; you need to bring in caring and competent individuals who will help build up the patient care you offer. Healthcare staffing firms fully understand the cost of one bad hire in the healthcare industry — even one small mistake will impact another’s life. That’s why they make it a point to go the extra mile in conducting extensive screenings and background checks to ensure they offer only the best nurses who can positively impact the lives of your patients.

3. They fill positions fast, all while you focus on what you do best.

Did you know that the healthcare industry takes an average of 46.5 days to find one qualified candidate?

That number equates to a significant loss of time that your company could have better spent on higher-value priorities like tending to your patient’s healthcare needs or immediate medical concerns. In addition, the whole recruitment process involved in filling your workforce takes longer as you wait for applications to come in from the job ads you posted.

Unlike in-house recruitment teams, staffing firms don’t have to start from scratch. Instead, they proactively build their talent pool year-round, so they can easily pull the best matches from their extensive database of pre-screened and qualified candidates.

Just tell them what you need, and they’ll take it from there. As a result, you can confidently grow your organization without constantly worrying about staffing shortages.

4. They give you room to cut down on long-term costs and save more.

Here’s the thing, the longer the recruitment process, the higher the cost-per-hire. Doing things manually and starting from zero will essentially yield you one good hire (at best) within the average recruitment timeline of 46 days. If you do the math, that’s 46 days’ worth of your institution’s money and time spent on a hire that you don’t even know is a good job fit until they join your company.

On the contrary, partnering with a healthcare staffing agency that provides full-vetted nurses in half the time will do more than prevent burnouts and increase patient care; it is an investment that can save you valuable resources and increase your profits.

Reduced costs and increased savings are the recipes for continuous growth. Investing in a reliable healthcare staffing agency to meet your organization’s needs is a great way to minimize financial risks.

You’ll end up saving more in the long haul.

PARTNER WITH A HEALTHCARE STAFFING FIRM AND ENHANCE YOUR WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

PRS Global understands that your most valuable assets are your healthcare professionals. That’s why we partnered with the Philippines and other culturally nurturing countries in bringing excellent nurses to complement your staffing strategies. Through this, we envision partnering with you in upholding quality patient care that transforms the lives of your patients and takes care of the well-being of your employees.