Travel nurses allow healthcare organizations to fill critical needed roles amidst short-term or long-term talent shortages, and they’re in higher demand than ever. But is there a more effective, cost-efficient way to hire them?
As a critical nursing shortage tightens, hospitals need more travel nurses. Instead of pulling back from pandemic peaks, US health systems are relying more than ever before on temporary clinicians. The only catch: The cost to hire travel nurses will often be the highest balance on a profit and loss statement. This will continue to be a major challenge for hospitals impacted by inflation and rising labor costs.
But expensive recruitment systems for travel nurses no longer have to be part of the cost of doing business. An AI-driven direct sourcing provider using the right technology can give you pre-screened, qualified and interested candidates available to work when you need them — and let you contract and negotiate with them directly, saving time and money.
Here are the top three reasons your healthcare organization should use a direct sourcing platform to cost-effectively hire travel nurses.
You can see how many travel nurses are available to work at any given time, in real time. Many hospital systems and healthcare organizations rely solely on antiquated but established VMS or MSP systems and/or work with recruiters because they believe this is the only way to know who is available to work and when. That’s no longer true. Direct sourcing platforms often have large, engaged, pre-screened and constantly refreshed talent pools. These ready-to-go candidates create profiles with the platform’s service, uploading their credentials, key skills and other necessary information while frequently interacting with job openings they are served each day.
Make no mistake, though: This is not just another job board. Direct sourcing platforms use AI to match workers and their skills with job openings that are a good fit. This systematic approach enables tailored offerings with increasing accuracy the more the candidate interacts with them. It brings together the highly intelligent algorithms that drive rideshare or dating apps together with the high industry standards needed for hiring healthcare professionals.
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You don’t need to ask anyone else when you want to hire staff. If you’re using the third-party VMS hiring systems that most healthcare organizations operate with, there’s a lot of waiting. First, hiring managers or staff comb through a likely outdated database of candidates. Then, they need to reach out to every single one to see if they are available or interested. Not all of them are, and the ones that do respond might involve extensive pay negotiations or delays in credentialing. This process can take weeks, which is never helpful when you need staff now.
Direct sourcing brings both speed and transparency to the hiring process. The right direct sourcing platform collects information about supply and demand, work hours, and budgets in markets nationwide, which makes it easier to figure out that magic number for competitive pay. Plus, it shows you exactly who is available when you need them — no mysterious databases necessary.
It keeps your hiring costs low and consistent. It’s true that there is a 35% higher cost when the recruitment process is not automated. More importantly, though, direct sourcing shortens the life cycle of filling open jobs, saving time and operational costs. Using a direct sourcing platform is a proactive way to eliminate the financial rollercoaster of inflation and rising labor costs. It’s one set expenditure per year or month, so you can hire your travel nurses when you need them without eating into your organization’s bottom line.
Travel nurses are a key component of any successful health system, and hiring them does not need to be expensive or time consuming. Using the right direct sourcing platform to hire travel nurses can save time and money while enabling you to care for every patient who comes through your doors.
