Insourcing a Vendor Management System (VMS) to source and deploy clinical staff is an effective way for hospitals and health systems to tackle labor shortages.
A dedicated VMS works much like the Managed Staffing Provider (MSP) model. It grants hospitals access to multiple staffing resources – chosen and approved by the health system itself – through a single portal that can use credential templates and intelligent technology to streamline the path to qualified, available candidates. Essentially, an in-house VMS cuts out the go-between.
When deploying an in-house VMS, properly populating and managing your vendor panel of staffing agencies is key. Following the right process can decrease costs, shorten time-to-fill rates, and improve overall workforce outcomes. But what is the right process?
Setting Up the Vendor Panel
We recommend an 8-step approach to building and managing the vendor panel.
1: Incumbents first.
If your health system has established relationships with preferred vendors, invite them to join the VMS upfront. A robust VMS solution will support organizations in onboarding selected staffing agencies. Your VMS can also make life easier for the staffing agencies. For example, agencies working through MSPs frequently complain about the inability to ask hiring managers for clarifications around job orders. The lack of transparency makes it harder for staffing agencies to supply labor, which increases the risk of a poor fit.
2: Specialty vendors.
Existing vendors may not be enough to fill all special needs or positions. That’s where a niche staffing vendor – covering specialty areas ranging from cath labs to surgery – can help. For instance, Einstein II VMS has well over 400 approved agencies (including a wide range of specialty vendors and all geographic areas) that users can leverage within the system.
3: Most experienced.
Your organization should also look at other staffing agencies based on their experience in the marketplace. Focus on the most active agencies by submissions and staff type, and those that have successfully filled positions in the applicable geographic areas. Then select the ones you deem to be top contenders to round out your vendor panel.
4: Add agencies ad hoc as needed.
After an initial VMS launch, circumstances can change, and needs can evolve. Thankfully, the vendor panel is not set in stone, and it can evolve and flex with your needs. Most hospitals and health systems are frequently fielding requests from new staffing agencies anyway – and with the right VMS solution in place, it can do the work for you by vetting and onboarding the new agencies.
5: Maintain a vendor panel of the right size – not too small or too large.
Be careful not to make your vendor panel too expansive. A targeted group can focus more on your needs and forge better, closer relationships. There’s a tradeoff here, and a right-sized vendor panel will strike the right balance between having a healthy number of staffing agencies in the system, but not so many that relationships suffer because the sheer volume is unmanageable.
Managing the Vendor Panel
6: Facilitate future success with your best vendors.
Relationship-building is a critical success factor. Talk to the vendors that provide the most successful submissions. Thank them for their partnership and ask what you can do to facilitate the relationship. Reward strong performance and encourage future success. To that end, you’ll want to know the main point of contact at each staffing agency you use. Note: if you use Einstein II VMS, you can access always-updated lists of each agency’s main point of contact and current rates.
7: Host regular (monthly to quarterly) webinars or meetings with staffing agencies.
One high-impact relationship-building activity is a recurring webinar or meeting. Invite your entire vendor panel. Start by thanking them for their partnership, then go over current and upcoming open positions. Finally, open it up and ask questions (e.g., are my rates sustainable, what do you see in this market), so you can solicit information from a group setting. Note: If you use Einstein II VMS, we can set this up on your behalf.
8: Ask for special help when you need it.
Sometimes your organization will have an unusual need. For example, one health system had a special need for hundreds of orders at once. That’s a lot to fill at the same time, so they turned to Einstein II VMS to encourage a few high-performing vendors to dedicate resources to the special project, and to offer exclusivity arrangements to give those vendors a sense of ownership. In the end, a handful of vendors were able to successfully fill 728 positions over six weeks.
Smart technology helps achieve your goals for staffing and labor spend
Creating and managing vendor panels doesn’t need to be complicated, especially if you leverage a VMS provider that helps with vetting and onboarding the agencies (as they ideally should). By adhering to the above tips and following some simple steps, health systems and healthcare organizations can get another step closer to achieving staffing goals and decreasing labor spend.
