When a position is open, it may seem like a smart idea to wait and see if it really needs filling, or take time with finding the very best candidate, but that sort of thinking can become expensive in more ways than one. While it makes sense to take hiring seriously, leaving a position vacant for too long has its own consequences.
- Literal costs. According to the London-based Centre for Economic Research, unfilled positions (often attributed to a skills gap) cost U.S. companies more than $13 billion a month in lost revenue and profits. You may also lose money due to lost patients. When they have wait longer or have trouble making appointments due to short staffing, they’ll go somewhere else.
- Personnel costs. When resources get spread too thin and everyone left behind must “do more with less,” it can often lead to a lack of productivity and diminishing returns. And if you have to pay overtime for those employees doing the work of more than one person, it will end up costing you more in the long run as you pay employees time-and-a-half for work a temporary employee could do for less pay. Overstressed employees tend to make more mistakes because they deal with more patients and more stress — and that’s the last result you want.
- “Customer” costs. As mentioned above, while patients tend to expect some wait time if they consider the fact that each person deserves time and attention from their medical professionals, when lack of proper staffing leads to extremely long wait times, more difficult scheduling of appointments and feeling rushed (as the employees try to service their numerous patients), customer satisfaction goes down. This may have long-term repercussions as well, such as losing business and earning a negative reputation.
Bottom line, when you have an open position, do what you can to fill it efficiently and effectively. Working with the medical staffing experts at Medical Professionals is a good place to start.
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