Today’s struggling economy continues to force medical practices to make tough choices concerning one of their biggest operating expenses and one of their greatest assets – their staff.

Staff costs, such as healthcare, insurance, taxes and benefits, are soaring at a time when practices are under even greater pressure to perform. Everyone’s being asked to do more with less. The mandate continues to get and stay lean.

A tailored, strategic approach to temporary staffing can help reduce overhead and manage payroll costs. The overall performance of the practice can be improved by scheduling staff only when they are needed, reducing risk and saving time. Here’s how:

Reduce costs

Temporary staff can provide the help when it is needed. For example, additional staff and doctors can be added to help with the end of the year rush as patients use up their insurance benefits and spending accounts.

Because temporary employees work for the staffing company, the practice is not responsible for paying their benefits or handling their unemployment claims. For example, the rate for outside staff includes legally required expenses such as social security taxes and discretionary costs such as medical benefits, holiday and vacation pay.

Reduce risk

Most staffing companies offer a temp-to-hire option so that practices may try out candidates before the commitment is made to add them to the team. Before making the final decision, candidates can work in the office for an extended period of time without making a commitment to hire until you are certain the fit is right.

Using temporary help during busy times relieves stress and prevents burnout among regular staff, which can reduce absenteeism and worker’s compensation claims in the long run. During the crunch of the summer back to school rush or the end of the year, selectively adding staff for just those select times keeps the core staff fresh.

Increase flexibility

Adding extra staff as needed to smooth fluctuations in workload helps avoid being overstaffed during slow times or understaffed during key busy times. Staff levels can be managed to be at productive levels all year.

Letting temporary employees handle routine business functions allows regular staff to concentrate on critical issues. For example, temporary staff can handle answering the phone and making appointments while the manger works on insurance claims and billing.

Save time

The staffing company performs all the advertising, screening, interviewing and reference checking needed to attract and qualify potential employees. No need for the doctor or manager to sift through piles of unqualified candidates and hold unproductive interviews. The practice benefits by making one call and having staff sent that is ready to work.

Because they are pre-screened for the necessary skills, limited training is needed before the new employee becomes productive. Candidates meet the criteria selected by the practice and typically can step in to help right away.

The staffing company takes care of the temporary staff’s payroll processing and benefits administration, which saves time and money. No need to process payroll for the temporary staff or generate year end tax documents.

Keep the benefits of temporary staffing in mind. Using temporary employees boosts your productivity without raising your payroll costs. It also allows you to keep your staff at levels you can afford while gaining flexibility to meet patient schedules and work demands quickly.

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