When A Need Turns Critical
The Delta Companies Therapy Recruitment & Staffing Survey
In the fourth quarter of 2009, human resource and rehabilitation administrators from healthcare facilities across the country provided feedback to The Delta Companies on their most recent search for a therapy provider. The following is a summary of the results from those respondents who completed the survey, with concluding commentary from a consultative staffing perspective.
Setting Expectations
Administrators were first asked about their most recent search for a therapist, and how their expectations to fill that position compared to their actual results. Respondents were provided time categories from which to choose, ranging from less than 3 months to 18 months - 2 years. Over 70% of hirers expected the position to be filled within the first 6 months, and almost 90% of those surveyed expected to fill the vacancy within the first year.
How long did you EXPECT your last therapy position to be open for?
Then respondents were asked to share the length of time that the vacancy was actually open for and the results fell short of initial expectations. Only 51.9% of the therapy positions were actually filled within the first 6 months, and 73.6% were filled within the first year.
How long was your last therapy position ACTUALLY open for?
Consequently, actual results for these two time frames were between 15-20% below expectations. This discrepancy can be caused by a number of factors that should be taken into consideration when initiating a search to source a therapist for a permanent position. For instance, understanding all dynamics of the job opportunity and how those aspects match up competitively to other facilities with the same need. How does the job compare competitively in terms of compensation, hours, and environment? What is the department’s track record on retention or on-boarding its new therapists? Other important aspects to consider include the location and vicinity to particular amenities or activities that a candidate (or spouse and children if applicable) may find desirable in a community.
Certain factors affecting a job search may be out of the control of a facility, such as current economic conditions like the housing market or federal healthcare reform. There are solutions that can help to combat these conditions. For example, student loan or relocation assistance and sign-on or retention bonuses that can be offered in the agreement. All of these factors and more must be considered before a search is initiated by any healthcare facility.
The Effects of an Open Vacancy
Next, administrators shared some of the consequences to their healthcare facility while their last therapy position remained unfilled. Respondents were asked if the open position contributed to a loss of patients, higher volumes and overtime for other staff members, loss of revenue, or a combination thereof. Almost one-third of respondents said the vacancy did contribute to higher volumes and overtime for other staff members. In addition, over 28% said that their facility experienced all three of the consequences listed, including loss of patients and loss of revenue.
But exactly how much additional volume and overtime for staff members, or patients and revenue were lost? Since some facilities track this information according to varying metrics, administrators were provided open parameters as to how they could submit this information.
Survey respondents said that during their last therapy vacancy, their facilities experienced on average a 14.38% increase in volume per provider and 10.5 hours of total overtime per week for their remaining staff members. Administrators who said they lost patients, lost them at an average of 16.25% overall.
In addition, the most notable responses came from those facilities that were able to track their loss of revenue. Healthcare facilities reported a wide range of total revenue lost depending on the length of time they experienced an opening. Those who responded with a monetary metric lost $11,000 a week on average, and one facility reported they lost $375,000 for a vacancy that was left open for one full year.
Options for Facilities
What defines a department’s vacancy as “critical” differs by facility when taking into account their unique situation. Facilities can opt to procure candidates on their own or outsource through a recruitment firm. Some facilities attempt to find a replacement utilizing their own resources, with varying degrees of success.
However, when working with a recruiting firm or supplemental staffing provider - the sooner a facility requests assistance, the better the chance of assessing the situation and avoiding long term implications of a position left unfilled on its patient base and community.
Recruiting firms or supplemental staffing providers can allow a therapy administrator to recoup time otherwise spent on recruitment that can be utilized for other initiatives to benefit their community, and ultimately help them increase (or maintain) revenue instead of experiencing a loss.
Therapy administrators may first choose to utilize supplemental staffing as a temporary solution while working to fill the position permanently. Travelers are available for a thirteen week assignment or more tailored time frame. This can ease the additional stress on a department from an open position, and ultimately help to lesson potential compounding long-term problems such as retention of those providers who are otherwise left to carry the load. A temporary provider may even lead to an opportunity to offer them a permanent position based on their performance.
Utilizing a firm that specializes in permanent placement has advantages as well. Some offer a facility profile, first visiting a facility to gain first-hand knowledge of the opportunity. This may include meeting with not only the facility decision-makers and other providers, but a local real estate agent and school administrator as well. This provides the recruiting firm with the knowledge of the opportunity’s intricacies so that it’s accurately represented in advertising and additional exposure to candidates that their service offers.
Regardless of which answer is the right one for therapy administrators, the effects of a need turned critical are clear. By tracking how a vacancy affects your department and understanding the consequences of an open position over time, potential costs can be minimized and a more proactive solution can be implemented on your next search for a therapy provider.
About the Authors
Will Ho is a Director of Recruiting with Delta Flex Travelers and Carlos Rodriguez is a Senior Recruiter with Delta Healthcare Placement. Both are members of The Delta Companies Thought Leadership Council. The Delta Companies has been a recognized leader in the healthcare staffing industry since 1997 and offer permanent and temporary staffing solutions nationwide for physicians and allied healthcare professionals through four companies: Delta Physician Placement, Delta Healthcare Placement, Delta Locum Tenens and Delta Flex Travelers.