Getting Ready to Do Business

• Get copies of their driver’s license, social security and other forms of ID for verification of their US citizenship. • Get the prospective employee to fill out an application form. Give them time and settle them in a comfortable environment so they do not have any problems. • Ask questions regarding their experience once they have filled out the forms. Try to determine the level of their understanding for the job they are applying for. As a result, you will gain a better understanding of which facilities that particular candidate would be suitable for. • Ask them when they are able to start. Discuss the shifts they are interested in doing and how far they are willing to travel.

Ultimately, you need to understand that all the candidates would be searching for a healthcare staffing agency that pays them the most. This is nothing to be viewed from a negative perspective. In fact, many professionals might not even settle for an interview until or unless you give them a ‘ball park figure’ of the pay scale you would be offering.

Once the healthcare staffing agency has been launched and is operating, and after you manage to secure contracts and the calls start to pour in, you will have no time to sit around and ‘hope’ to do business. In fact, your mornings would normally be the busiest, particularly the Mondays and the Fridays. You will have calls from clients coming in with requests for shifts that need coverage or complaints. Prospective employees would also be calling to get more information.

In the midst of such hustle and bustle, do not forget to greet the prospective candidates in a positive manner. While you may be very busy, you do not want to turn them away as this will build a bad reputation for your business. On the other hand, even if you have no placements for any additional employees, it is still a good idea to keep interviewing and collecting the resumes of the candidates that call you up. You can let them know that you currently do not have any placements available, but if they are willing, you could call them up whenever there is a vacancy.

This pool of applications will also keep buffer that can come very useful in busy times and at times of emergencies.

Your employees will normally call you on a daily or a weekly basis to let you know of their availability. Using a healthcare staffing agency software, you can keep track of all the employees’ availability and fill any gaps as necessary.

Just make sure you do not accept call-in timesheets from your employees, and make it a part of your company policy, clearly stating that employees would not be paid if they do not mail their timesheets. It is

already very difficult to deal with hospitals that pay Net 60 or above, and it would be very problematic to not have employees mail in their timesheets.

When running a healthcare staffing agency, work orders come on a daily basis. It is very important to take note of everything, including all requests and complaints from clients or candidates. Different facilities request particular types of employees in order to cover certain areas. For instance, a request may come in for a female ultrasound technician. If you send a male technician instead, you will only be frustrating the client.

If you get a call from a client with a request to fill a shift, and you promise to call them back in an hour, then make sure you fulfill your promise. If it is taking you more time to fill in their shift, make sure you get back to them and request additional time.

If you are not able to produce an employee, let them know. Nothing is more frustrating for a client than not having a particular shift covered as well as not being informed that the shift was not/could not be covered.

Often, healthcare staffing agencies confirm with their clients that shift would be taken care of without having a candidate to fill in the position. This is only possible if you have a large enough employee base with sufficient employees at standby.

Typically, calls come from clients who have already signed contracts with you. Many a times you will get calls from new hospitals or healthcare facilities that were referred to you by your existing clients – if they request you to have one or more of their shifts covered, go ahead with providing your services. Getting a contract signed is a secondary thing when your new client’s needs immediate assistance.

If, for any reason, you are not able to provide them coverage, there are several things you can do:

• Call your client and recommend another staffing agency so they can get coverage for their shifts • Call your client and ask for additional time to confirm the shift • Get an employee of another client to cover their shift • Call any other staffing agency and arrange coverage • Call an employee who might have an off day to arrange coverage at a higher rate in order to secure the account • If you are a healthcare professional and suited to cover the shift, you may want to do it yourself

Your clients and candidates will always be calling you to report any issues. The clients may be reporting no-shows, discussing billing errors, or the employees could be pitching requests to be taken off certain clients’ facilities. Some clients may also be calling to not send certain employees to their facility (Do Not Call List).