RN staffing agency vs direct hire: Which is better for your facility?
Hospital owners like you must be aware of the fact that searching and recruiting certified registered nurses can be challenging in today’s competitive staffing market.
Unfilled roles, delayed recruiting timelines, and increasing workload on the existing team can make it challenging to maintain adequate workforce levels and operational efficiency.
The searching and onboarding approach you choose, such as direct hire or an RN staffing agency, can significantly impact how quickly you fill open positions at your clinic.
This blog explains the challenges you face when using the direct-hire method and how partnering with an RN staffing agency can provide recruiting solutions to address workforce gaps.
Understanding RN staffing agencies and direct hire models
Healthcare clinics mostly depend on proven recruiting models to address nursing workforce gaps. The most widely used and proven models are direct-hire recruitment and partnering with an agency to fill open roles.
Hospital owners must understand that with the direct recruiting method, nurses are hired through free career websites and free job portals.
On the other hand, leveraging agencies gives you flexible staffing support that fits your clinic’s requirements.
A registered nurse staffing agency assists you by connecting with pre-vetted certified professionals when they are needed.
- Direct hire is commonly used, as it is free to hire and onboard professionals.
- An RN staffing agency is often preferred by recruiters when a facility needs to hire within the timelines.
For example, if you want to hire a skilled registered nurse for an ICU unit, you will need an experienced professional, and agencies are more suitable for this.
While both recruiting models can address recruiting needs, the direct hire method may present a few challenges compared to agency-based staffing. These challenges are explained below to improve onboarding.
Common challenges of the direct hire process
Most facility owners choose the direct-hire recruitment process because it can be an effective way to recruit the nursing workforce on a limited budget. But the approach tried by many recruiters is not always recruiter-friendly
The talent acquisition model will assist you from searching for professionals to completing onboarding.
But several factors can make your talent acquisition process more time-consuming, particularly when profiles are unverified. To make your recruiting stress-free, the list of challenges is explained below.
Longer time-to-fill for RN positions
Hospital owners can use the direct method of recruiting, as it allows them to find, screen, and interview qualified registered nurses, but it can take weeks or even months. As a result, crucial positions at your hospital may remain vacant, leading to workforce gaps.
Unfilled vacancies can increase scheduling pressure on existing nursing staff.
It will also make shift coverage more difficult, increasing stress. Delays in filling crucial roles may also impact workforce planning and day-to-day operational efficiency.
Limited talent pool in competitive markets
Hospitals often compete with others for the limited pool of nursing professionals. Not having a certified talent pool can be challenging, especially in high-demand regions where healthcare needs are continuously increasing and the number of qualified candidates is not sufficient to meet demand. It can make it difficult to quickly hire registered nurse candidates to enhance patient care at your clinic or hospital.
As a result, crucial roles may remain unfilled for longer than planned. It affects staffing stability across nursing departments. Recruiters may also need to spend additional time sourcing candidates to meet urgent recruiting needs.
Increased recruitment workload
Recruiters must understand that the direct-hire method requires significant involvement from their hiring managers throughout the recruitment process. If you choose the direct-hire approach, your internal recruitment team will be responsible for managing most stages of the hiring process.
You must be ready to devote more time to tasks such as sourcing, screening, and credential verification, as these may not be handled through portals that follow the direct method.
Overload can slow down the overall hiring cycle and delay final candidate selection. It may also divert internal teams from other crucial workforce planning activities.
Rise in the workforce gaps during the recruitment process
Facilities with open positions can face scheduling challenges as there is a limited number of working professionals.
These unfilled and open positions will lead to increased workloads for existing staff and impact workforce planning efforts. It may also lead to increased dependence on overtime, which can cause stress in the workforce and, over time, contribute to staff burnout in your facility.
How RN staffing agencies help address these challenges
As a clinical owner, if you are looking for qualitative RN staffing solutions to address workforce gaps. It is a better choice to choose an agency that can help your facility connect with qualified nurses faster while providing flexible models to address immediate workforce demands.
In addition to the benefits outlined, there are several factors to consider before partnering with an agency, which are explained below.
Access to pre-screened profiles
Modern agencies are known for maintaining a pool of pre-vetted nursing candidates who have certified skills, which can simplify your recruitment process.
Gaining access to certified profiles with skills will allow your facility to fill positions more quickly within the recruiting timeline. It will also reduce the time spent searching for skilled talent.
Onboarding skilled talent is essential to enhance the quality of care.
To hire a registered nurse with the right skill set, it is important to understand the key competencies that can make the recruitment process more efficient and help you shortlist suitable candidates faster. You can refer to the table below containing essential skills to check in a candidate’s profile.
Core skills that support quality patient care
Skills | Key benefits |
Patient assessment | Identifies health changes and supports timely clinical decisions. |
Medication administration | Ensures safe and accurate delivery of medications. |
EHR proficiency | Maintains accurate documentation and care coordination. |
Adaptability | Enables effective responses to changing situations. |
Resilience | Helps manage workplace challenges and stress effectively. |
Source: SJCME
Ability to fill urgent vacancies and short-term workforce needs
Unplanned leave, seasonal workforce demand, and sudden increases in patient volume may create immediate workforce needs.
In order to address these requirements, you need to choose agencies that can provide timely and flexible RN staffing solutions, such as contractual and full-time. It will help you maintain continuity of patient care.
With a reliable healthcare staffing agency as a partner, recruiters can rapidly fill workforce gaps while maintaining operational efficiency and high standards of patient care.
Expanded talent pools beyond local candidate markets
When comparing RN staffing agency vs direct hire methods for filling open job roles, it is essential to search for skilled professionals nationwide rather than relying solely on local applicants.
Staffing agencies have a vast network with certified talent and can connect you with nurses from broader regions.
Selecting and onboarding talent from multiple regions will improve patient care and also help you with cross-team skill training. It expands your hiring opportunities and improves access to specialized nursing talent.
Reduced credentialing and compliance burden
Recruiting a registered nurse means not just verifying a resume and conducting interviews, but it also involves multiple administrative tasks. One such step is credential verification.
Most free job portals for direct hire will not help you with the credentialing process, which can increase the administrative team’s workload.
It is an essential process handled by the agency. It also allows internal teams to spend less time on recruitment-related activities.
It is vital to follow the credentialing process because failing to oversee credentialing can lead to compliance issues, and facilities may face regulatory scrutiny if required qualifications and licenses are not properly verified.
Credentialing is an essential process that helps ensure compliance, quality, and workforce readiness. To highlight its importance, a detailed infographic explaining the key benefits of credentialing is provided below.
The impact of credentialing on quality care
The problem with traditional staffing agencies
During the process of staffing, depending on traditional staffing agencies may not always be the best option for your nursing recruitment process. These agencies often come with multiple challenges.
Those common challenges include:
- High markups: Most traditional staffing agencies charge high markups, often ranging from 40% to 60%, which increases the overall cost of hiring registered nurses and makes recruitment more expensive.
- No clear cost transparency: Traditional agencies may also have unclear pricing structures, and hidden charges can make it difficult to understand the actual staffing costs and may not help you to manage recruitment budgets effectively.
- Multiple systems to manage: Most traditional staffing agencies are not technology-enabled. As a result, recruiters must depend on separate platforms for recruitment, payroll, leave, and timesheets. This creates additional administrative work and slows down the hiring process.
Overall, these challenges from agencies can increase delays in the recruiting of qualified nursing professionals, ultimately affecting workforce planning and patient care.
Choosing the right approach for your facility to improve recruiting
To complete the onboarding process successfully, you need to choose the right recruitment method. In this process, you can compare RN staffing agencies vs. direct hire, which can help you make the best decision.
With this comparison, you will understand that traditional agencies and direct-hire methods often lead to a lengthy recruiting process and unverified profiles, thereby increasing the administrative burden.
To overcome these challenges, you can consider partnering with a modern staffing platform like MedSquirrels, allowing you to access certified talent pools and accelerate the recruiting process. MedSquirrels is an AI-powered staffing and payrolling platform that offers a markup-free, transparent pricing model. That means, unlike traditional staffing agencies that charge markups as high as 60% of the provider’s pay, you just need to pay a flat fee over the provider’s monthly payroll cost. On our platform, you can view hiring costs upfront, along with the candidate’s resume and cover letter.
Hospitals and healthcare facilities can leverage our affordable hiring plans and hire experienced nursing talent within their budget.
Clinical recruiters can also book a free demo to see how the platform helps them make planned talent acquisition decisions. RN professionals can also check open jobs and apply for those that match their skills.
FAQs
What are the biggest challenges of hiring registered nurses through direct recruitment?
Direct recruitment can be time-consuming for internal teams. Tasks such as sourcing candidates, screening profiles, verifying credentials, and onboarding can extend hiring timelines. It can make it difficult to fill nursing positions quickly, especially in competitive markets.
Does working with an agency reduce the workload for internal recruiters?
Yes. Staffing agencies can assist with candidate sourcing, screening, credential verification, and onboarding support. It reduces administrative workload and allows recruiters to focus on hiring decisions and workforce planning.
Can staffing agencies help during sudden workforce shortages?
Yes. Staffing agencies can help facilities address unexpected staffing needs caused by employee absences, seasonal demand, or increased patient volumes. Their flexible staffing solutions help maintain continuity of care and support daily operations.
How is MedSquirrels different from traditional healthcare staffing agencies?
MedSquirrels uses a technology-driven approach to recruiting with transparent pricing and streamlined hiring processes. Unlike traditional agencies, it helps facilities recruit qualified professionals efficiently with no markups.
Does MedSquirrels support both contract and full-time recruiting?
Yes. MedSquirrels offers flexible recruiting solutions for both contract and full-time positions. Allowing facilities to choose the hiring model that best aligns with their workforce and operational requirements.
