Staffing Robot - Healthcare Staffing Technology, Design & Marketing Blog

OR Nurses, ER Nurses, ICU Nurses - Which Job Is Easier To Recruit?

Wanted Analytics is a site dedicated to delivering business inteligence data around talent acquisition. They provide the data through their application in ways that are visually appealing and easy to understand.

Clients in the staffing, HR, RPO, media, and government sectors use WANTED Analytics™ to find sales leads, analyze employment trends, gather competitive intelligence, forecast economic conditions, and source hard-to-fill positions.

Wanted puts out a lot of data around healthcare job modalities. You can get summaries from a lot of this data simply by subscribing to their blog. For example, in a recent post they put forward data on the difficultly level between recruiting OR Nurses, ER Nurses and ICUS Nurses. The results are pretty interesting.

 

 

Another recent post supplies data on the best places to post jobs ads on the web for registered nurses.

 

 

What's Your Staffing Company's Mobile Recruiting Strategy?

Here's a great post about mobile recruiting from the Recruiters Lounge blog. In this post, Jim Stroud chats with Michael Marlatt about mobile recruiting.

The 3 biggest take aways we got from the video:

• Be sure your recipients have opted in to your campaigns
• Have a clear Call To Action - confirm a job, download information, fill out a form, etc.
• Be sure your sending them to a page that has been optimized for mobile. This one is perhaps the most important. Texting your candidates and bringing the a page that hasn't been optimized for mobile = serious fail.

What's your mobile recruiting strategy? If you don't have one we should talk. Contact us and we can discuss your mobile recruiting strategy and optimizing your web presence for mobile.

3 Rules for when to outsource your Business Processes

Guest Blog Post by: David Folwell, CMO at Travelers Haven, the only NATHO endorsed temporary housing provider. 

3 Rules for when to outsource your Business Processes

And

3 Times you should keep it in-house

Are you outsourcing strategically? If you’re not, you might want reconsider the importance of outsourcing… Take it from Harvard:

"Today, outsourcing is not just a trend; it is an integral part of how smart companies do business….The concept has matured. It now connotes a strategic relationship between partners, with shared risks and goals - a relationship in which a company concentrates on its core business and relies on outsourcing partnerships to get the rest done. Unless managers periodically reexamine how they make sourcing decisions - and how resources get allocated - they can find themselves… starving what is core".

- Harvard Business Review

With the importance of outsourcing in mind, here’s a simple framework that can help you decide which business processes to keep in house and which ones to outsource.  

When to outsource:

1. It’s not your core business
2. Someone else can do it better
3. Costs less to outsource

When to keep it in-house:

1. It’s your core business
2. You can do it better
3. Costs less in-house

These simple rules are not comprehensive, but a rough guide to start the discussion. We believe that you should spend at least one day per year looking at how you are spending your resources and determining if there’s a better way.  

When you have the discussion about what to keep in-house vs. outsourced, you might also want to consider these words from a business legend:

"Don’t own a cafeteria: Let a food company do it. Don’t run a print shop: Let a printing company do that. It’s understanding where your real value added is and putting your best people and resources behind that.Back rooms by definition will never be able to attract your best. We converted ours into someone else’s front room and insisted on their best. This is what outsourcing is all about." 

- Jack Welch, former CEO, General Electric “Jack: Straight From the Gut”

Over the last year, we’ve noticed healthcare staffing companies looking for ways to improve services, and reduce costs. Some have achieved these results by outsourcing simple business processes, while others by bringing services back in-house. Here are a few examples:

Outsource examples:

1. Website development: An in-house service for some, but mostly outsourced for cost savings and improved expertise. 
2. Cleaning services: Much cheaper and more effective than managing your own cleaning team.
3. Housing: Can offer savings, and if you find the right partner improve quality control. 
4. 24/7 phone support: Offers big savings outsourced, but quality control can be an issue

In-house example:

1. Staffing / recruiting (it is your core after all): Always in-house
2. Sales:  Almost always in-house, but call centers or sales campaigns are occasionally outsourced.
3. Housing: This made the in-house and outsourced list because we often see both.  Some companies are shifting to a hybrid model where their housing department partners with a housing provider to improve services and reduce costs.
4. Marketing: Mostly in-house, though advertising and design work is often outsourced.

In full disclosure the company I work for offers temporary housing services, but I can tell you that even as a business process outsourcing provider, we spend time asking each other challenging questions. Question like, "Is this our core business?", "Can someone do this for less?", and we make each decision strategically. 

 

Guest Blog Post by: David Folwell, CMO at Travelers Haven, a company that provides temporary housing to the healthcare staffing industry. 

VMS and MSP Growth Slowing: SIA Reports

The Staffing Industry Analysts are reporting data suggesting VMS and MSP adoption is slowing.

The percent of large buyers reporting use of VMS and/or MSP in 2011 was roughly flat with the previous year, according to just-released research from Staffing Industry Analysts.

The full report is behind a paywall unfortunately, but the summary is available. It would be very interesting to see the data as it relates specific staffing segments.

Back in 2009 we posted a snapshot estimating VMS/MSP adoption based on the VMS/MSP providers in the healthcare staffing industry. This was just a high level estimate but already seemed to identify a market nearing saturation. There are only about 5000 hospitals across the nation and now, almost 3 years later, there have been new players in the industry and VMS/MSP adoption increased dramatically. In healthcare staffing, it makes sense that adoption would slow. 

Any signs or data suggesting that's the case (or not the case)? Post in the comments below.

 

Onward Healthcare travel nursing infographic

Great infographic by Onward Healthcare titled 'A Guide to Travel Nursing Jobs.'

Data for the Onward Healthcare travel nursing infographic included motivational factors for choosing a travel nurse career, age demographics, benefits information, and social media usage of these travel nurses. The guide also highlights salary info for travel RNs and a timeline of the travel nursing process.

 

© 2011 Onward Healthcare

Healthcare Staffing Summit 2011 Wrap UP

We once again attended the Healthcare Staffing Summit this year. The 2011 summit was held in Philadelphia and it did not disappoint. It was great to network with other companies in the industry, meet new people and catch up with some of our clients. In addition, we were asked to present at the API Healthcare Client Forum. We gave a presentation titled 'How To Improve Customer Engagement and Increase Loyalty - tips, trends and strategies for marketing your healthcare staffing company." We got great feedback on the presentation from staffing agencies in the audience. We'll post info from that talk in some future posts.

Perhaps the best reason to attend the show is to get the industry data from Barry Asin's keynote presentation. This year Barry's keynote was titled 'Capturing Opportunities In A Changing Industry.' Barry kicked off the summit with this keynote providing lots of interesting about the industry. 

Many things have changed since last year and the news wasn't quite as bleak as the previous two years. Although there weren't as many big events or all the acquisitions that happened last year, here are some of the highlights we took from his presentation.

• The estimated size of healthcare staffing industry is currently $8.1B and estimated to grow to $8.9B in 2012. Yes, grow. Woot!

• The top 15 staffing companies in the industry have 49% share of the healthcare staffing market.
• Average Gross Margin for top healthcare staffing companies has increased over the years and is presently around 28%.

• At $2.9B, Allied health is now the largest segment in the healthcare staffing industry.
• Locums is now $2.1B (23% of the entire market) - larger than travel nursing.
• Within the locums market, Hospitalists make up the largest segment (17%).
• Per diem staffing is growing while travel nursing is still on the decline.

• Healthcare reform is still predicted to have a dramatic effect on healthcare staffing.The positive: increased volumes. The negative: cost controls.
• The number of people leaving the healthcare workforce as a 'quit' is once again increasing.
• Revenue results for public staffing companies are improving.
• EMR requirements are driving massive growth for IT Health Staffing. 
• IT Health staffing is predicted to grow 12% in 2012.
• As stated last year, hospital internal resource pools are still having a major impact on healthcare staffing companies.
• As far as VMS adoption, 55% of Hospitals state they currently have a VMS solution. 10% have an MSP. In the next 2 years these numbers are predicted to be 73% and 40% respectively. There has been a large correction to these numbers over last year. Last year the Staffing Industry Analysts suggested hospitals had adopted VMS at a rate of over 70% and MSP of over 50%. You may remember we questioned these numbers then - looks like a more accurate estimation has now been made.
• Most healthcare professionals are now working outside of a hospital setting. Ambulatory is the largest segment of employment.

So there you have it. If you missed this years summit you definitely missed out. It's not too early though to start thinking about next year! Next year's summit location - Vegas baby! See you there.

Top 10 Reasons to Outsource Joint Commission Certification Consulting

Guest author: Prophecy Professional Services

Chances are if your searching has found this article, your healthcare staffing agency made the decision to become JC certified. Now your goal is to maximize the effectiveness of this experience. Here are the top ten reasons that make hiring a consultant specializing in Joint Commission Health Care Staffing Services Certification a wise investment.

1.  Streamlining the Process

Many organizations find it overwhelming and extremely time consuming to prepare for Joint Commission Certification. A consultant streamlines and simplifies the process so you can focus on growing your business.

2.  Frees Up Key Personnel

Organizations that prepare for JC certification on their own, often pull key employees from revenue generating activities for 6-12 months depending on the size of the organization. Using a consultant is more cost effective and utilizes less internal resources, allowing your employees to focus on revenue generating activities.

3.  Faster Certification

Working with a consultant decreases time to survey readiness and you can enjoy with benefits of Joint Commission certification even sooner.

4.  Objective Assessment of Compliance

Have you heard the statement that is difficult to see the trees from the forest? Using a consultant allows for an objective assessment of your organization to determine compliance with standards and to identify opportunities for improvement.

5.  Eliminates Misinterpretation of Standards

A consultant brings expertise to the process, so there will be no misinterpretation of the standards. It is important to verify that your consultant has worked in the healthcare staffing industry so they truly understand your business as well as the JC standards.

6.  Expert Experience for Guidance

A consultant brings proven techniques, processes and tools. Why try to recreate the wheel?

7.  Support from Start to Gold Seal

A consultant provides you ongoing support throughout the entire Joint Commission process. In addition to onsite consultation, your consultant is just a phone call away to provide support, guidance and reassurance.

8.  Insider Info on JC Reviews

A consultant has first hand experience with the JC reviewers by participating in multiple JC reviews. A consultant can prepare you specifically what the reviewers will be looking for and the types of questions they will ask.

9.  Trial Run Survey

A consultant will perform a Mock Survey, using the same review tools used by the Joint Commission reviewers. It allows the organization to get a feel for what the actual review will be like. It also allows the organization to make any last minute changes as needed to achieve compliance with the standards.

10.  Guaranteed Certification

Clearly no explanation is needed – your organization will achieve JC Certification – no if’s, ands, or buts about it!

Congratulations on deciding to distinguish your organization as one of the “elite” healthcare staffing companies in the nation.  The benefits of achieving JC Certification certainly out weigh the costs. And, hiring a proven professional, well-versed in leading healthcare staffing organizations to JC HCSS Certification, allows you to stay focused on building your business from the front line.

Next Step?

If you're looking for a consulting professional for JC Certification Prophecy Professional Services can help. With over 45 healthcare certifications to their credit, nationally experienced RN executives guarantee certification in as little as 4 months. In partnership with Staffing Robot, Prophecy Healthcare's Professional Services is offering services to healthcare staffing companies. Contact us if you have questions or would like to schedule a free consultation. Let us know you heard about our services from this post and we'll give you a 10% discount on the prices we quote you.

About Prophecy Professional Services

Prophecy Professional Services (PPS), a division of Prophecy Healthcare, was founded in response to the healthcare staffing industry’s need for consultants experienced in Joint Commission’s Health Care Staffing Services Certification. PPS’ nationally experienced Nurse Executives with 20+ years of healthcare staffing experience assist healthcare staffing firms prepare for Joint Commission certification and provide cost effective clinical operation and risk management services. PPS also provides staffing operations start-up support for new healthcare staffing organizations. Prophecy provides all the forms, websites, and policies pertinent to each staffing agency they work with, leading them every step of the way. For more information, visit http://www.prophecyhealth.com/pps/joint-commission/.

Top Healthcare Staffing News of 2010 and Predictions for 2011

At the end of 2009 we recapped the top stories in the healthcare staffing industry and made our predictions for healthcare staffing industry trends in 2010. As 2010 now comes to a close, it's interesting to see how we did on these predictions, reflect on industry events in 2010 and make some predictions on healthcare staffing trends in 2011.

The Healthcare Staffing Industry in 2010

Healthcare Staffing and the Economy 2011
The macro economic effects on the healthcare staffing industry were still the big stories this year. The SIA's 2010 Healhtcare Staffing Summit gave us all some great insight and data on this topic. While not as dire as the economic downturn in 2009, the news was still mostly a downer.

In 2010 hospitals still struggled with everything from reduced budgets to nationwide nursing strikes. All of this caused hospital job growth to slow dramatically and negatively impacted the revenue for the entire industry. While the revenue dropped for almost every company (large and small) in the healthcare staffing industry, perhaps the most notable news was learning Medical Staffing Network filed for bankruptcy in 2010.

The bad economy also claimed a few tech companies in the healthcare staffing industry in 2010. One of the largest was Healthcare VMS provider, Symbio Solutions, who filed for bankruptcy in 2010.

Negative changes in the economy produce acquisitions in every industry and the healthcare staffing industry was no exception. ABRY Partners made news with their acquisition of Comforce late in the year. However, the biggest merger news of 2010 was AMN's acquisition of Medfinders. This alliance will definitely be a game changer in 2011, particularly on the vendor management side of things.

There was also a lot of news this year regarding healthcare staffing tech company acquisitions. Concerro was one of the first, expanding their client base and service offerings by acquiring Res-Q Healthcare Systems. More significantly, however, were the acquisitions of Medefis by OnWard Healthcare and Symbio Solutions by Broadlane. Broadlane picked up the remaining assets from Symbio's bankruptcy and Onward Healthcare made a bold move by acquiring the once, vendor neutral, Medefis VMS technology.

New Technology Products for Healthcare Staffing in 2010
2010 also brought the introduction of some new software applications to the industry. Tweetdeck announced a new tool for recruiters called Job Deck, while Concerro launched their new IPhone scheduling app. Amistaff also launched a fantastic new product called Prophecy to help hospitals with employee hiring assessments. Finally, we can't leave out our or own product - ePromoter. Staffing Robot launched ePromoter in September as the first email marketing software designed and created specifically for managing healthcare staffing email marketing campaigns.

Successful Marketing Strategies for Healthcare Staffing Companies in 2010
This year, healthcare staffing companies found their most successful marketing efforts on the web. There were many changes to both search and social marketing this year that companies had to pay attention to. While Bing made itself a respected search competitor, Google decided it was time for their searches to get more social. And then Bing got really social by being the first search engined allowed to search facebook.

Although many things changed this year for social media marketing, the top stories were all about Facebook. Facebook is perhaps the best place for healthcare staffing companies to market on the web. The biggest news from Facebook was the announcement of their new 'Like' button. This simple button is changing a lot on the web in terms of how companies interact with their audience. It even started getting people asking which was more important - search engine or social network optimization.

Another marketing strategy some healthcare staffing companies took in 2010 was rebranding. Access Nurses became Aya Healthcare and Broadlane rebranded their VMS division to Prolucent. The biggest news, however, was the fact that AMN rebranded after some large acquisitions and expanding their service offerings.

Staffing Robot
Our company also went through a lot of changes this year. The most significant change being that we went from simply being a healthcare staffing blog to a full service website design and marketing company for the healthcare staffing industry. We also launched a healthcare industry news service called The Healthcare Staffing Report. Look for more changes from us in this next year as we continue to grow, expand our service offerings and launch new staffing related software products.

So, like we said, 2010 was a very eventful year for the healthcare staffing industry. So what will the next year bring?

Our Predictions for Healthcare Staffing in 2011

Further Consolidation of Staffing Agencies and Tech Companies
Although there was a lot of acquisition activity in 2010 we haven't seen the end of it. Unfortunately, many healthcare staffing agencies are still hoping for a major rebound in the economy to keep them in business. When this doesn't happen they will be looking to sell. In addition, stronger partnerships and mergers amongst small to medium players are going to be necessary to compete with the size of companies like AMN.

Tech companies in the healthcare staffing industry will be no exception. In the last decade, many tech companies have started in the healthcare staffing industry. Several of them have realized that considerable capital backing is necessary to fully realize their opportunity. Therefore, we'll see a lot of these companies forming partnerships or selling to larger, better capitalized players who can successfully deliver their offerings.  

Note to future self: Be honest about revenue and its cost of acquisition. If it's not working out - call it a day or change your game.

Success of the MSP Model
The SIA predicts that by the end of 2011 over 90% of hospitals will have adopted a VMS solution. While we don't believe it will be quite that high, hospital adoption of VMS is certain to continue increasing. In the last two years the vendor neutral, tech model has failed to prove its success when competing against the MSP model at large health systems. In addition, the MSP model has had a major resurgence of success in the last two years as hospitals have cared less about vendor neutrality and more about the successful outsourcing of their entire staffing operation.

As big companies like AMN continue to improve these offerings through technology, process and acquisitions, they will become more of a dominant service offering in the industry. If you're not AMN, figuring out your strategy on how to thrive in the presence of this new model is highly advised.

Note to future self:  Starting your own VMS offering is not the answer.

Greater Success with Web Marketing
2011 will be the year healthcare staffing companies realize the value of marketing on the web. More and more companies in the space are developing mobile web applications and launching successful social media campaigns as a way to grow their audience and increase their revenue. In 2011, understanding how to succeed on the web will become more critical than ever before. Many companies in this space are still wondering if there is any real value here and spending months analyzing (read: guessing) at the ROI they'll receive on their efforts. Beat them by doing the opposite.
 

Note to future self:  Stop guessing - start acting.

 

 Healthcare Reform
How healthcare reform effects the healthcare staffing industry will once again become a major topic as companies prepare to deal with some of the reform aspects that begin in 2012.

Note to future self:  Start preparing for this in 2008 - the good and the bad. 

Industry Innovation
At the end of 2009 we predicted that 2010 would bring about some new innovation for the healthcare staffing industry. Sadly, we were wrong here. It was mostly business as usual in this area as most tech companies just focused on how to stay in business. Hopefully this year we will see new tech innovations from some of the larger players or new comers in the market.

Note to future self:  Make your idea a reality.

 

The Market Will Rebound
Oh! A very bold prediction indeed! In 2009 we predicted the market would return in mid 2011. We're holding to that prediction. Almost every company we speak with is seeing positive signs that the market is turning around. Although no one expects this year to return to pre 2008 levels, any improvement will be welcomed. The SIA also put out some encouraging data for next year supporting this prediciton:

Note to future self:  Innovate and run a better business so I'm prepared for the market return.

 

Your Predictions
It's been another exciting year being in this industry. Time will tell what 2011 has in store for all of us. What are your predictions for healthcare staffing in 2011? If you have any, please share them here.

We wish you all happy holidays and much success in the new year. See you in 2011!

Related Posts

Top Healthcare Staffing Stories of 2009 and Predictions for 2010

Wrap Up From The Healthcare Staffing Summit 2010

We spent this week at the Healthcare Staffing Summit in Chicago. I've gone to this conference for the last 8 years and I have to say I felt this year was one of the best conferences ever. Even though the industry data presented wasn't anything to celebrate, it did appear there was some light at the end of the tunnel.

Aside from the data it was a great networking opportunity and the venue at the Palmer House Hilton was amazing. We met lots of great people doing some very interesting things and attended many sessions that provided invaluable information. Also, as a company, Staffing Robot, was honored to speak on a panel about social media marketing that was well attended and full of great participation from the audience.

Here is a summary of some of the highlights from my notes throughout the week.

Barry Asin's Keynote: Succeeding in A Time of Change

As usual, Barry Asin kicked off the summit providing lots of great information about the industry. Of all the data presented, perhaps the most shocking was that in 2010, spend on healthcare staffing has been cut to $7.9B. For comparision, in 2006 it was at $10.1B.

• Unemployment continues to be a huge negative factor for the overall economy. As of August, unemployment still remains high at 9.64%.
• Hospitals have continued to decrease their spending on contract labor as this unemployment number has increased.
• Even though the data is negative for contract labor, full employment remained a relative bright spot in the overall economy. Much of this employment growth occurred in ambulatory settings.
• Many hospitals have or are in the process of implementing internal resource pools but need assistance in consulting, recruiting and the staffing managment. Agencies should see opportunity in helping hospitals manage internal resource pools. 
• VMS/MSP adoption continues to accelerate. The Staffing Industry Analysts suggest that hospitals have adopted VMS at a rate of over 70% and MSP of over 50%. Personally, I question these numbers. Although there has been widespread acceptance, this number seems very high to me. Regardless, the lesson here though is that buyers prefer to consolidate their suppliers.
• 2010 spend on healthcare staffing cut to $7.9B. In 2006 it was $10.1B.
• Private healthcare staffing company revue is improving. However, becaue of previous losses, they are still in the negative.
• Major industry events this year:
  • L.A. Times article criticizes temp nurses ‐ Dec. 2009
  • Symbio VMS sold in bankruptcy court ‐ Feb 2010
  • Healthcare Reform Passes –March 2010
  • MSN files ch. 11 and acquired by creditors – July 2010
  • AMN announces acquisition of Medfinders – July 2010
  • MedAssets acquires Broadlane – Sept 2010
• The overall forecast for 2010 for spending on healthcare staffing shows a slight improvement of 1% and a 10% improvement for locums tenens.
• Data suggests that the nursing shortage won't return in full swing until 2018.
• Older nurses make great candidates to recruit. Many of these nurses are looking for supportive and flexible work arrangements and practices (e.g. modified workloads, flexible scheduling options, reduction in hours of work, etc.).
• Hospitals expect four key things from contingent workers: Quality, Efficiency, Cost (not just rates, but true costs of the overall program) Risk (How much do I really have? Should we
  mitigate or eradicate? What’s best for the business?)
• Of all the temp industries, healthcare uses the fewest amount of contingent labor and has the worst perception of contingent labor.
• The rank of the largest healthcare staffing firms by revenue has changed. Most notably, Cross Country was pushed down to the 3rd spot by CHG Healthcare:
• The impact of healthcare reform on the staffing industry is still largely unknown. Some of the reforms (such as additional coverage) will have a positive impact, while others (employer mandates) will be mostly negative.
• The overall healthcare staffing industry forecast for next year does show some slight imrovement

Social Media: No Longer a Hobby

We spoke on a panel about Social Media Marketing for Healthcare Staffing Agencies. Because of the other topics at the same time, I was expecting a small turnout. However, we actually had a packed room with people standing around in the back. The audience was very much interested and engaged in the topic, which made for a great discussion.

 

 

 

 

I intend to blog more about this session in a separate post but here are some of the highlights and questions from the discussion:

• Definition of Social Media: Social media is defined by the act of sharing content in
  and between social networks regardless of the content type.
• Who owns Social Media: Marketing? President/Owner? Recruiters? Sales?
• Value (why participate) in Social Media: It’s cool and fun - I don’t, I leave it for the young people - It is a time sink, so I don’t - I love it, it is how I keep up with everything.
• What’s relevant and what’s not: Blogs, Micro-blogging (Twitter), Video sharing, Social CRM (Jigsaw, InsideView), Facebook vs. LinkedIn – Facebook and LinkedIn.
• How do you create good content and how do you keep people engaged?
• How can I ensure my staff are using social media properly?
• When engaging in social media, what should I be measuring and tracking and what tools can I use to do this?
• How can staffing agencies 'control' their brand and employee/customer particiaption in social media?
• What are the legal considerations of social media?

Brace Yourself. VMS Is Here to Stay, So What Do We Do About It?

VMS is always a contentious topic and this years discussion was no exception. Many people expressed many concerns they have about Vendor Management Services (VMS), mostly around the Managed Services Provider (MSP) model.

I did think it was great that the panel was mostly talking about VMS and defined VMS strictly as being the technology delivery model, not to be confused with the MSP model. Yes! Also, Dana Shaw is my favorite panel moderator, as she is always very energetic and entertaining.

Although the panel provided some interesting information I did think it was somewhat odd that they only had 1 (non SIA) participant and this person was not from a healthcare VMS background. Surely having someone from Medefis, Prolucent or ShiftWise would have added significant value and perspective to the topic. Unfortunately, much of what the panel participant had to say was not relevant to healthcare staffing.

Here are some of the other highlights from my notes:

• VMS panel claim: "VMS has faster adoption if it is accompanied with a service program." This simply isn't true. Pure play VMS tech companies have had a much higher acceptance/adoption than those accompanied by a service. Barry Asin's keynote data even suggested that hospitals have adopted VMS at a rate of over 70% and MSP of over 50%.
• One of the things the panel did do was attempt to dispell a huge VMS myth: VMS companies keep vendors from talking to their clients. The reality is that the client sets these rules. The VMS is just the tech.
• The biggest issue healthcare staffing companies still face with VMS tech companies is that disparate systems keep the complications of working with VMS high. There is no systems standardization.  The hosptials and staffing agencies are all using different systems and then 5 - 10 different VMS systems are sitting in the middle.
• VMS panel claim: "No buyer really wants vendor neutrality. Vendor neutrality is dead." Again, I couldn't disagree with this more. When vendor neutral, VMS tech first appeared in the industry it was all the rage for 3 - 4 years. Since then, the managed services model has made a big come back. However, suggesting that there is no longer a demand for vendor neutrality is not accurate.
• VMS panel claim: Avg fee for VMS is 1/2% - 10 years ago it was 5-7%. Again, this data is inaccurate. I know that every MSP charges 3 - 5% and all of the big VMS tech players charge 2 - 4%. So, I'm not sure how they are getting to this number.

In short, it was a great conference. If you've never attended I highly encourage you to do so. It's the best signle event for getting industry data, networking, checking out your competition and learning more about new things in the industry.

See you next year!

 

Healthcare Staffing Agencies Help Both Hospitals and Nurses During Strike

Discussing the politics between unions, hospitals and striking nurses is always a touchy subject. Lately, however, this subject continues to come up as nurse unions threaten strikes all around the country.

In June, the largest nursing strike in the nation was planned with over 12,000 Minnesota nurses striking and thousands more nurses from the University of California hospital system, prepared to walk out.

Strikes are never optimal situations for any of the parties involved. Nurses participating in the strikes stated that nurse-to-patient ratios and large hospital profits with no employee pay increases were core to the issue. The unions went as far as to state that the nursing strike was predicated on "unfair labor practices." Such a label means nurses can collect unemployment compensation for their time away from work and the hospitals cannot permanently replace them.

The hospitals feel such a stance from the unions is too strong and detrimental to their ability to deliver quality patient care. Many nurses actually worry about the patient care issue as well. For most, it is the primary reason why they don't strike more often. A major difference between nurses going on strike and workers in other industries is that the lives and care of patients is involved. Even a temporary lapse of care can put lives in danger. When nurses are ready to strike because of an imbalance in staff-to-patient ratios, justifying a walkout that exacerbates this situation is difficult.

Therefore, being prepared for a strike is the best situation for both hospitals and their healthcare staff. The best way for hospitals to be prepared for a strike is to have strong contracts with reputable staffing agencies that can have staff ready to go in a strike situation. Having such contracts can ensure the best bill rates for strike situations and more importantly, that your facility will have trained, oriented staff ready to go.

Establishing such relationships doesn't just benefit the hospitals by helping them keep their doors open, it also provides nurses and the public with the comfort they need in knowing that patients are still being taken care of. For example, A Superior Court Judge in California was successful at preventing the recent nursing strike by issuing a restraining order just prior to the strike. The grounds of the order suggested that the strike would cause a danger to the public. However, if hospitals are prepared at all times with trained agency staff there is no reason a lapse in care should occur. 

It's true that employing temporary staff in a strike situation is more costly in terms of pay rates and orientation costs. Further, many staffing agencies charge higher rates for the last minute, critical needs. However, the more prepared a hospital is for such a situation, the more affordable temporary staff become and the better trained they are to start providing good patient care on day one.

A suggestion for hospitals would be to have some sort of 'Strike Insurance' agreement with one or more of your staffing agencies. This 'insurance' would perhaps be something you pay for monthly, quarterly or annually and would allow you to identify key temporary staff that you have screened and oriented to your facility. It would also help you negotiate better rates so that paying for such a service would go towards the bill rates during a strike, keeping the rates reasonable and your budget more manageable.

I'm not sure if there are any staffing agencies out there that offer such a service but I think it's one worth considering. There is a great opportunity for all sides to make a bad situation more manageable. Healthcare staffing agencies can help both hospitals and nurses during a strike if more creative solutions are sought. I'd love to hear from any hospitals or staffing agencies that have been part of a strike situation to learn what their process and overall outcome was.