Top 10 Reasons For Using A Pharmacy Staffing Agency Or Firm
During the current national pharmacy staffing shortage, regardless of how well a pharmacy may schedule their staff and employees, temporary staffing shortages are bound to occur. Here are the top ten reasons for allying your business now with a reputable and experienced staffing company in preparation for those times when finding temp talent becomes a necessity to run your operation.
1. An Immediate Need For Short-Term Or Temporary Talent -
Pharmacies often require temp talent to provide relief and to fill any absences by permanent staff members who are ill, on maternity leave, going through a family emergency, or simply taking a leave of absence for a period of time. A temporary staffing agency gives employers the flexibility to schedule the necessary talent for short periods of time to handle these types of situations.
2. Reduced Overhead -
When using a pharmacy staffing agency for the hiring of temporary relief workers, inclusive of both pharmacists and technicians, an employer or owner doesn’t pay any of the following costs that are associated with full-time employees:
- Health, dental or vision insurance
- Vacation, personal or sick leave pay
- HR expenses such as criminal background checks, license verification, drug screening and paperwork
- State unemployment compensation insurance
- Payroll taxes
- Severance pay
There are additional examples of a reduction in overhead costs, because the candidate is basically an employee of the staffing agency, who absorbs these costs as well as several others.
3. Reduction Of Overtime Pay To Permanent Staff Members -
When temp talent is required as is often seen during unusually busy times and "peak seasonality" in certain resort areas for limited time spans, a pharmacy owner can choose to bring in temporary agency workers to help split up the work. This obviously saves the pharmacy any additional overtime costs for full time employees, which is a major benefit of using a staffing agency. This approach additionally has the benefit of not placing any additional demands on the businesses' permanent staff, thus resulting in a reduction of stress and "burn-out" for the pharmacy's existing staff members.
Note that a continued reduction of overtime pay using temporary talent over time is also a benefit that often results from recurring temp staffing. A commonly seen recurring use of temp talent keeps OT pay in check, while supporting a pharmacy’s business growth.
4. Staffing Agencies Have Access To Talent Networks -
A great pharmacy staffing agency has spent many years building up their talent network through referrals, networking, and basically speaking with pools of candidates daily. With an agency, you sometimes will get to choose from several candidates that all will meet your specific, individual requirements. Most owners simply lack the time and resources required to constantly engage such talent. This is especially true for the owners and managers of specialty pharmacies, where additional skill sets, certifications, and/or licensure requirements may be a potential barrier in locating the proper talent that's required. An additional benefit is that if you're not satisfied with the RPh or tech for any reason, a reputable agency can easily replace them, usually within 24 hours.
5. Staffing Agencies Assist With The HR Work -
Reputable and experienced staffing agencies are proficient at performing all of what would normally fall on a company's Human Resources Department, including such tasks as:
- Checking potential candidates' references
- Screening resumes
- Creating candidate "shortlists"
- The scheduling of interviews with potential talent
In such instances, the candidate is basically an employee of the staffing agency, who absorbs these costs as well as several others.
6. Reduced Training Time -
The training of any new employees is a major investment in both expense and of time. Utilizing a temp staffing agency provides the pharmacy owner or manager with someone who is qualified, ready and prepared to do the work that they need done.
7. Staffing Agencies Provide Strategies for Alleviating Stress and Preventing Staff Burnout -
These can include both traditional and creative strategies to attract and retain talent such as:
- Increasing compensation
- Flexible scheduling
- Discounts with other companies
- Tuition reimbursement
- Childcare allowances
- Temporary staffing services
As discussed above under the reduction that’s seen in overtime pay by utilizing temp staffing talent, these benefits will only continue if the pharmacy chooses to continue the use of temporary staffing talent, or recurring staffing, to both support business growth and reduce the high burnout levels currently being seen in our profession.
8. Industry Market Experience and Knowledge -
Another advantage that using a pharmacy staffing agency brings is that an employer gains access to the firm’s insider knowledge of skilled available candidates both active and passive, salary ranges, and local market trends.
9. Agencies Allow For "Quick Hiring" -
Sometimes an owner may face the unexpected - an employee quitting on the spot, thus an immediate replacement is required. A temp staffing agency can deliver qualified talent quickly, many times in less than 24 hours due to its extensive network of candidates.
10. Pharmacy Staffing Agencies Allow Owners to Focus on Running Their Businesses -
By allying with a staffing agency, a pharmacy owner can get help finding temp talent, so they can stay focused on their primary job: to grow their business and increase their profitability.
About Healthcare Consultants Pharmacy Staffing (HCC) -
The best solution available to owners and managers of pharmacies nationally when it comes to attracting the right talent to meet their temporary staffing needs is to ally with an experienced pharmacy staffing agency such as HCC. For well over three decades now, HCC has been providing temporary staffing for pharmacies in all 50 states, as well as providing relief pharmacy staffing during emergency situations. We work with owners and managers of every type and size of pharmacy business and operation, from the small independent retail community pharmacies to the large national pharmacy groups. We are therefore able to meet almost every individual pharmacy's specific needs when it comes to finding the right temporary staffing talent, including specialty pharmacies.
If you're interested in finding out how HCC can help your pharmacy business meet your specific staffing needs, then call us today at (800) 642-1652, or simply fill out our easy-to-use online form now, and an experienced, in-house HCC staffing expert will get back to you as soon as possible.
