Staffing can be an exhausting, time-consuming and expensive process that seems to need a science of perfect variables to be successful – who should I hire? When is the best time to hire? How do I know this is the right hire? The difficulties in these processes are often amplified in the healthcare industry and more specifically for long term care (LTC) homes where resources are not always abundant and reliability is essential. Fortunately, staffing agencies are here to alleviate some of the frustration and confusion, but even then – which agency is best?
We have gathered the answers to some of the industry’s most important considerations about healthcare staffing to provide clarity relevant to you and your facility.
Why a Staffing Agency?
If you’re wondering what a staffing agency has that you and your facility may not, the answer is access to resources. Staffing agencies gather a long list of resources, connections and personnel that equip them to serve the needs of various organizations. The access agencies bring help to save time and money for their clients, which is especially important in today’s work environment where skill is in high demand. Not only can a staffing agency help your facility find the hire you need, they can reduce the risk of bad hires that make for costly repercussions. Instead, agencies can help you build the working team you need and provide you access to workers that carry long-term potential.
What to Look for in an Agency
Recruitment
A staffing agency is meant to alleviate some of the pains that accompany the hiring and staffing processes, so it is important to pay mind to the recruiting process of any agency you are considering enlisting. Anyone can use the internet to find workers in need of a job, but that is not always enough. A staffing agency should be dedicated to digging deeper than any client would be willing to or have the tools to do so on their own. Throughout your own research process, ensure you understand how the agencies you are looking at will provide value that cannot be brought on by yourself – understand how their screening processes work, how they find valid candidates and how they plan to choose the best hires for your organization.
Transparency
As for any organization, the level of transparency shown by a staffing agency should be on your immediate radar. A reliable and credible agency should be able to openly explain to its audiences how it is able to create connections that its clients would not be able to make on their own. Just as the details of the recruiting process shows, an agency’s efforts to be transparent should provide clarity on how its expertise and tools can be of additional value to meeting the goals of your facility. An agency’s story can say a lot about its work, but even more so do the stories of its core audience – its clients. Consider whether or not the agency you are researching provides opportunity for its clients to tell their stories about their experiences with the company, and what it is those clients have to say.
Dedication
Along with the transparency of an agency, its dedication to its clients should be inexcusably apparent. The priority of any staffing agency should be to understand and meet the needs of its clients. Not only should an agency work to fulfill staffing needs, but it should also ensure it understands why its clients have chosen to use a staffing agency at all, and what each of them hope to gain from that relationship. Agency values and client testimonials can be the telltale of whether or not it aims to benefit itself as an organization or consistently keeps the interests of its clients and the workforce in mind as well. Understanding client needs will equip an agency to provide staffing resources both effectively and efficiently.
Engagement
The relationships an agency builds are crucial to the success of its work for its clients. Not only should an agency focus its best efforts in building a foundation with every one of its clients, but it should conduct the same form of business with workforce candidates. The better an agency understands each of the candidates it maintains contact with, the better it can provide for clients. By understanding its candidate base, an agency can meet the needs of both employee and employer and do so in a timely manner that does not waste opportunity or resources for either party. Being mindful of the needs and wants of both parties allows agencies to reinforce relationships with and between key stakeholders.
Durability
Finally, what better way to read the greatness of an agency than by the relationships it holds with its own staff? As with most companies, a high-turnover rate should not be taken lightly. As staffing agencies, these companies should be dedicated to the relationship they carry with their own employees, just as they would with their clients. If an agency consistently employs workers that are loyal, long-term employees, it speaks a great deal to its ability to conduct hires and manage teams. If given the opportunity, find out why an agency’s employees choose to work where they do – what keeps them happy? What keeps them loyal?
HealthOPM
HealthOPM is Ontario’s own professional consulting firm that is dedicated to the recruitment and management of healthcare teams throughout the province. Our organization is committed to providing our clients with the healthcare professionals they need when they need them the most, while alleviating some of the burden that accompanies the staffing process. Not only are we devoted to aligning businesses with talent, but we keep the interest of both parties in mind to create long-lasting, working relationships that everyone can benefit from. By fostering relationships between clients and the workforce, we believe we can contribute to better healthcare for patients and their families across Ontario.
Ontario’s care facilities are home to some of the province’s most vulnerable. They host our dearest loved ones who are at the mercy of staff we count on to be guardians in our place. In a time stricken with fear and uncertainty, the quality and assurance of a reliable staff is essential to the comfort of our family members and the nature of your facility. HealthOPM assesses the credentials of Ontario’s most qualified, experienced and caring healthcare workers to ensure its facilities are equipped with knowledgeable teams we can trust to take care of our families.
Specifically in a time of crisis, we understand that facility resources are limited, time is of the essence and reliability of workers is a must. Let us help you staff your facility with the teams you need to battle through these unprecedented times.
For more information on how we can help your care facility with recruitment and management of healthcare teams, visit our main site or contact us directly with your inquiry.
