Presenting The First Accredited Staffing Firms By The USSA

By: Kevin M. San Juan
Date: 7/1/2008

The United States Staffing Association (USSA) has identified these two organizations as the first accredited staffing firms recognized by the USSA.

Founded by Kevin M. San Juan, CPC, CSP, these organizations have been providing staffing services to the Healthcare industry since 1987. Mr. San Juan, a former professional snow skier, brought his competitive philosophy and belief to the recruiting industry and has developed a high quality, full service Healthcare recruiting group.

Mr. San Juan says that physician groups and hospitals demand excellence. These stringent demands have guided his company to become a first-class recruiting group. He has developed a fifteen-point process that yields high-caliber results. The physician demands are vast and their expectations are of "only the best" in regard to the quality of service and candidates presented. The hospitals will typically make you compete against other recruiters. He says that he only presents two or three candidates for most all positions. He has a sense for the chemistry, and believes that people change careers for culture and environment first! He believes that most of the work should be done upfront, before the interview process begins. He knows that if there are issues it is because the process was not followed in the beginning of the search.

Advanced Medical Resources (AMR), specializing in Executive Healthcare Recruitment, is committed to continuing education. This practice develops skills, keeps the process fresh in his recruiters' mind, drives enthusiasm, and exposes the staff to the latest trends in the Healthcare industry as well as the recruiting industry. AMR has regular weekly meetings hosted by each member of the staff with topics that span the recruiting business, from mechanics to motivation. They also attend local, regional and national conferences. Mr. San Juan is the Chairman of the Board for the Connecticut Association of Personnel Services. "The recruiting profession requires a high level of confidence, consistency, and focus," says Mr. San Juan.

The trend today is towards a blended business model. It is not a new trend but one that is gaining popularity. Advanced Medical Resources has expanded their Executive Healthcare Recruiting business by creating a separate yet related business, Advanced Staffing Solutions, a healthcare temp business. They focus in many areas of healthcare, i.e. administrative, financial, and clinical, but their biggest percentage of effort is in "pool nursing," primarily serving the nursing home industry. In addition to this they also work within the Governments Healthcare employment.

So when the USSA went looking for criteria to evaluate, then formulating that criteria into a standard by which recruiting agencies would be measured, we identified the most important items that would constitute an accreditation process. We came up with five measurable components.

1) Process

2) Quality Control

3) Continuing Education

4) Experience

5) Certifications and Associations

When we identified AMR, we found that they clearly met and even exceeded the requirements of becoming the first accredited staffing firm recognized by the USSA.

We then asked Mr. San Juan to explain who they are and how they operate. He began with his Executive Healthcare Recruiting Company first.

Process / Quality

"We start with our process. It is a fifteen-step procedure, which, if followed, will increase the percentage of being successful for our client(s). We begin with an in depth conversation with our clients defining their needs, characteristics of the ideal candidate, compensation, and, most importantly, the attraction factor. We then create a need analysis followed by a custom marketing profile of their organization. We have team meetings to determine the best plan. Once our plan is set, we target our sources and resources. After twenty-one years we have an abundance of both, including a large national network.

Next is the recruiting part of the process. This requires a lot of time spent with potential candidates and a stringent qualification process. There are several components within our process. The majority of our time, on nearly all search assignments, is spent upfront, before the interviews. We find that if we spend more time and have multiple contacts with candidates before we submit them to our clients then our ability to define their qualifications is much greater. In fact, it will sometimes lead to not presenting them at all. At AMR we present two to four candidates on average to any assignment because we have such a stringent qualification process. We learned this from our clients, many of whom are physicians and experts in their field. They expect us to be the experts in our field, and this is our mission.

Once candidates are presented we take additional steps to qualify their candidacy and credentials through reference checking, in some cases (by request) background and drug screening. We take care of all the arrangements for interviews, including scheduling, travel, etc. Prior to our client meeting, our candidates are informed of the information we have gathered through our pre-screening processes. Everyone is ready and anticipates an excellent result from this process. Follow up consists of a debriefing on both sides with determination of an offer and what that offer will be. We negotiate if necessary, and then close the candidate and client on the relationship they will build with each other moving forward. We also have a seven step suggested search process that we provide to all of our clients. This serves as a guide toward successful hiring.

Education / Experience

When asked about his commitment to continuing education Mr. San Juan responded in true form. "In 1987, I first became involved in continuing education through my local Connecticut association. I achieved my CPC in 1989 (Certified Personnel Consultant), and soon discovered the national association conferences. In 2002, I became a member of the Pinnacle Society that offers two conferences per year. This year, as Chairman of the Connecticut Association of Personnel Services, I've programmed seven educational events, believing that without continuing education you cannot improve. The fact is, that everything out there is changing, so we should change as well. Over the twenty-one years that I have recruited in Healthcare, I have learned so many things: mostly, how to treat people, how to identify what my clients need, how to help candidates achieve excellence in their lives, and how to change the lives of individuals and families by finding a perfect match for both their skills and character. It truly is my passion."

Certification / Associations

We took a look at these two staffing companies credentials and here is what we found. They are members of the Connecticut Association of Personnel Services (CAPS); Kevin is the Chairman. They are members of the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS). Kevin is a member of the Pinnacle Society, an elite honor organization of top recruiters in the recruiting industry, and Kevin is on the Board of Directors.

AMR has a staff that is 90% Certified Personnel Consultants (CPC).

The USSA found these two organizations to meet the requirements of accreditation by the way they have been conducting business all along.

We asked Mr. San Juan what he could give to the readers. He said "prep" .?? "This is how you can teach your clients how to prep in the "beginning" of the interview process."

Whether they are interviewing a front desk person or an executive, they must be prepared.

Preparation starts long before the person walks in. It begins when an event takes place and there is a decision to hire. At every level there requires a profile or description of the duties and responsibilities along with 3 traits the ideal candidate will have.

Once they have determined the requirements, they must then attract the potential candidates. There are many mediums in which to do this, ranging from an internal candidate (always look inside first), employee referral, networking, word of mouth, advertising, and using a niche search firm. If searching for an office temporary or clinical temporary, be sure to only use the company that has experience and that staffs the titles you are looking for.

Lets take a look at the options. Choosing the right tool(s).

1) Always look inside first. Is there someone within your organization that can step into the role?

2) Employee Referrals. You should ask them who they know, which is where the networking begins (bonuses for referrals is a great idea).

3) Networking. Who knows whom that knows who, etc?

4) Advertising. There are several tools to use from public job boards to association specific job boards - local and national. Which media works depends on whom you want to target. Newspaper and job boards go out to the masses. The cost benefit risk is who is reading or has the time to read the ads. Is the ideal candidate actually searching for a new opportunity or does it take a direct contact to reach them?

Once you have received resumes of these potential employees, you must screen them first by going through the resumes to find the best suited two or three and engage them. -You can pre-screen over the phone or bring them in for a face-to-face interview.

5) Experienced Healthcare Recruiters. Only work with the most experienced (large network) credentialed firms that have a reputation of integrity, ethics and success. It is critical that you find the correct one that meets the following criteria:

a) Years of experience in your niche.

b) A large national database and network (reach ing all candidates).

c) Highly credentialed - Member of state and na tional associations and certified consultants. This reflects commitment to the industry and to continuing education.

d) Reputation for integrity, ethics, and success.

Often times the cost benefit of using a search firm associates itself with time savings, (the clients), complete preparation and screening, high caliber candidates that meet their specific needs and a guarantee!

When we asked Mr. San Juan how he created a blended company and why does this company excel, he said this:

"We needed to find a logical blend. We looked at the market and determined a good focus was in the pool nursing business, which complemented his already existing administrative, billing, and other clinical titles like medical assistants.

Healthcare employees that fit into any position in a private practice, a hospital, or a nursing home on a temporary basis can be a large asset to these organizations. When one of the many reasons for needing "fill in" or "project" employees arise, like vacation leave, sick leave, personal leave, work backlog or a special project, what is the solution?

For many it is finding an organization that specializes in the exact type of work or workers that they employ in their industry.

They ask: How do you qualify such a company in a market place that everyone claims to be in? Are they actually experienced or are they "Wanna be" in the industry?

Nursing home, nurse labor, is ever changing. More and more RN's, LPN's and CNA's are joining "Nurse Pool" companies. They want to have flexibility in their schedules and earn higher wages. Most Pool Nurses get their healthcare benefits from their spouse or group health programs as individuals, which allows them to work on assignment.

Nursing homes are challenged by labor shortages in the nursing field. Pool nurses are in part contributing to the "employee" shortages because they are leaving their jobs for flexibility and higher earnings.

The challenge is compounded by cost of care. Admissions and census must stay consistent at a profitable level. This may require many different solutions.

Pool nurses may be a necessity. How do you find/build the best contract company? Is bigger better?

Staffing Solutions can be obtained by choosing the correct company. A few things that you should consider when looking for or building a temporary staffing company:

1. Do they have experience?
2. Do you like the people that are in the staffing company? Are they nice people to work with?
3. Do they do background checks?
4. Do they conduct drug screens?
5. Do they have a reputation for quality and integrity?
6. What programs/benefits do they have in place for their employees?

"Make your own list of criteria that equals the quality standards of your facility and test the staffing companies that want your business. Many companies contract with one primary staffing company and have two fill in or back ups. A good staffing company will work twice as hard for a commitment by their client(s). It makes sense to commit because it will make the staffing company accountable and strive to keep your business. Keep in mind that in business the non-performers waste your time and must be cut loose. This methodology applies to all healthcare facilities including hospitals and physician practices."

Our unanimous conclusion was to honor Advanced Medical Resources and Advanced Staffing Associates, as the first two staffing agencies to be accredited by the USSA, Congratulations!

Kevin M. San Juan, CPC, CSP is the President of Advanced Medical Resources and Advanced Staffing Associates. He can be reached at kevinsj@advmr.net, 800-393-2674, www.advmr.net, www.pinnaclesociety.org