By: Adam Gomez

What does it mean to be the best? Is it a number?

When we’re gauging our own performance as recruiters should we only consider how many travelers we have working for us? How many of you agree that it’s only about the number? Unfortunately, many do believe that’s the only thing we should be looking at. Even more concerning, many of the folks who believe that, are in leadership roles and influencing the direction of many staffing companies. Don’t believe me? How many agencies provide incentives for quality? And how many agencies provide incentives based on the number of working travelers?

Here’s what I think. I think anyone who subscribes to that definition of “best” in this context should immediately resign from their position. They should immediately take up a sales position in an industry that doesn’t impact whether a human being lives or dies, whether a father returns to his family, or a mother holds her child again. Because that’s the reality of the job as a healthcare staffing recruiter.

Now, it’s true, as a recruiter you’re not providing direct care to patients. But you’re either naïve or in denial to think your actions aren’t playing a critical role in the lives of patients and their families across the country. And you’re as equally off the rocker, approaching bat shit crazy, to think that people aren’t dying in this country as a result of poor decisions made by travel healthcare staffing recruiters.

So back to my thoughts. I think the best recruiter in the healthcare staffing industry works with the best of the available healthcare staffing professionals. In addition, the best work with the largest number of these folks. Now, here’s the rub…hospital recruiters and administrators agree! They don’t care that you work for the largest staffing agency in North America. They want to know that when they hire a healthcare professional through your agency they will have the skills to do the job. Period. And even more importantly, every patient and every family member of a patient that your traveler cares for agrees with them.

But Adam, you say, we’re providing a service and we are doing the best we can. Bullshit, with a capital B. False. There’s not a single governing body in place to date, that oversees the travel healthcare staffing industry. Sure, there is the Joint Commission. But let’s be honest. The Joint Commission conducts audits and makes sure processes and paper work are in place. When an agency does poorly on an audit it hurts, but agencies are savvy to the Joint Commission game. They’ve learned how to prepare for their audits. They have improved the industry, for sure, but why is it that unfit healthcare professionals continue to hop from one agency to another? The truth is our industry is littered with agencies and recruiters who talk about quality, and then hire the next warm body that fills out an application. The truth, as I see it, recruiters and staffing agencies must be willing to step up and self-regulate. What do you think?

The next time you’re evaluating who is the BEST…include a measure of QUALITY. If every hospital across the country wants better quality healthcare professionals shouldn’t a quality metric be incorporated in your sales incentives? After all, isn’t that what the job is all about?