Signing an exclusive contract with a staffing agency might appear to be a beneficial move for your healthcare facility, especially if the agency is a big name in the market. However, exclusive contracts can be damaging to facilities in the long run.
Exclusive contracts refer to the context in which a staffing agency stipulates that a facility cannot pursue offers from other sources for staffing solutions during the length of the agreed upon contract.
Putting the pen to paper of an exclusive contract can seem like the fastest and easiest plan to succeed when you’re in need of additional coverage to fill staffing gaps. Yet, the general dangers far outweigh any short-term benefits.
It’s important for healthcare facilities to do what’s right by the industry, and that means keeping healthcare workers and patient care top of mind. Listed are the negative impacts of healthcare facilities signing exclusive contracts with staffing agencies.
Limited Access to Healthcare Professionals
Being tied to one agency during your contract vastly decreases the number of healthcare workers your facility has access to. There’s already a shortage of nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, and other positions.
Why wouldn’t your facility want maximum ability to reach and acquire healthcare workers from various places depending on your needs at any given time? Less reach equals less opportunity for quality healthcare workers.
Quality of Patient Care Affected
Dependence on one agency could be detrimental to the quality of care the patients at your facility receive. This is because quality of patient care is directly affected by every point within the facility.
What if the services provided by the agency workers are not up to par with your facility’s expectations? Now you’re stuck with one agency for your contract length. Again, if there’s limited access to overall healthcare workers because your facility only has one option, patients deal with the repercussions.
Less Options and Missed Opportunities
What if your healthcare facility discovers more potential utilizing other methods as a staffing solution? If a major opportunity presents itself to the facility, the facility would have to turn it down because unfortunately you’re locked in. Any future options are restricted until the contract’s end date.
The healthcare world is ever changing, and if the best case scenario always lines up with the exclusive contract terms and required stipulations, it’s a win. However, it’s impossible to make adjustments and take advantage of opportunities for greater growth, better rates or more preferably matched healthcare workers when you’re tied down.
Higher Risk and More Legalities
Exclusiveness can be a turn off for facilities because it signals that the risk now sits with the facility. The advantages of exclusivity are often higher for the agency, instilling more protection for the agency, not the facility.
What happens if your facility wants to break the contract? What are the consequences? Your facility has many other areas it’s trying to juggle. Why would you want to worry about legalities from an exclusive contract if there are plenty of other options for staffing solutions that don’t come with that burden?
Don’t Want to Be Forced into Exclusive Contracts with Staffing Agencies? Utilize the nurseIO platform!
Let the nurseIO platform help your facility fill staffing gaps while never having to worry about exclusive contracts.
Unlike traditional staffing agencies, nurseIO is a web and app based technology platform that connects your facility to local qualified RNs, LPNs, and CNAs. Post open shifts to the nurseIO platform and healthcare workers directly get notified with the ability to pick up your shift in real-time.
The nurseIO platform is for your facility to use at any given time depending on your needs. Whether it’s today, tomorrow, or sometime in the future – your facility can have the nurseIO platform in your back pocket ready to utilize when it’s time to flex your workforce. Get started here!
