Working with the Right Therapy Staffing Agency
Despite the stagnant U.S. economy over the course of the last several years, jobs in the medical profession continue to be plentiful in most parts of the country. Jobs in the various medical therapy fields are especially attractive right now, because there are few professionals to fill them. With the supply and demand scenario that currently exists, therapy staffing agencies are also on the rise, all competing to find the best therapists to fill the needs of their clients.
The old method of therapy staffing usually involved posting internal job openings on the hospital bulletin board, or working with the local medical school to recruit therapy graduates. It was a method that worked well as long as the need for therapists remained stable. But the explosive growth of the industry has changed the face of therapy staffing. Job postings are now mostly the domain of medical staffing companies.
Like any staffing company, therapists need to be careful when choosing an agency to deal with. Some therapy staffing agencies are simply better than others. Professional therapists have invested a lot of time and effort into their education and licensing, the last thing they want is to be treated like pieces of meat by their staffing agency. Any search for an agency should include comparing at least three or four prior to sitting down with them for serious discussions.
You can research therapist staffing agencies through a variety of means, First, ask others in the field which agency they used to find their job. Ask their assessment of the characteristics that are important to you. Find out if work for the agency is done on a contract basis or as an employee. All the things you’ll need to know about dealing with an agency from the worker’s perspective can be gleaned from colleagues.
The Better Business Bureau and various medical trade organizations are two more outlets for researching therapy staffing agencies. If an agency is a registered BBB member, you’ll be able to find their ratings, numbers and types of complaints, and overall reputation in the community. Trade groups will often have internet discussion boards where you can post a question about specific agencies you’re considering.
Finally, length of time in the business is a very telling statistic. Not that an agency who’s only been in business a few years is automatically suspect, but a company that’s been offering medical staffing for ten or fifteen years is more likely to be a reliable agency you can work with. As long as they offer the pay, benefits, and working conditions you’re looking for, the long-established staffing agency is almost always a safe bet. Stay away from fly-by-night operations at all costs.
Whether job seekers prefer permanent placement positions, locum tenens positions, or even travel therapist jobs, the therapy staffing agency is the best way to break into the industry or find a new position. They have become in indispensable asset to both the medical facility and professional therapist alike.
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