Travel Therapy Staffing and Temporary Therapy Staffing Secrets

After 22 years in the travel therapy staffing business at all levels, I've seen a lot and I want to share some of this experience.  There are a few "dirty little secrets" in the Travel Therapy / Temporary Therapy Staffing business.  Among them:

• Most companies have a very similar inventory of open jobs. 
  • Except for a very few "exclusive" relationships, healthcare facilities sign contracts with multiple staffing providers.  Some even send out "needs lists" to dozens of therapy staffing companies on a regular basis, meaning that we all get the same jobs at the same time.  In fact, even our bill rates will be similar (or even identical) for any given PT, OT, or SLP job - around $60 to $65 per hour in most cases.
• With similar client bill rates, most companies operate with the very same limitations when negotiating your pay and benefits package. 
  • The result is that many companies deliberately attempt to confuse you to make it difficult to compare packages. 
  • All staffing companies have to make some profit to stay in business and provide service and security to you.  The formula: "Bill Rate - Pay Rate - Benefits - Travel and Housing Costs - Office Costs = Profit" is the same for everyone.  And while some travelers think otherwise, here's the truth - most company's net profit is around 5% of the bill rate.
  • You should look at each of these factors carefully.  Don't worry which category the dollars fall into, but try to add up all the things that go into your pocket (in italics above) and compare the total.  If the recruiter is evasive about this, doesn't understand the numbers, or tells you that she isn't allowed to share them with you, run.
• Not all benefits are as alike as the advertising suggests.
  • Health insurance varies widely between companies.  Check this out thoroughly if it's important to you.
  • Sign on and completion bonuses often come at the expense of your hourly rate.  In other words, you are waiting until the end of an assignment to get what you should have been getting every week. 
  • Many benefits come with restrictions and "fine print".  Again, understand thoroughly what these are for things important to you.  If you need lots of CE, for example, make sure you don't have to wait until your one year anniversary for reimbursement. 
• Intangibles count.
  • The bottom line is, the jobs may be similar and the pay/benefits, unless you are mislead, will usually work out to be pretty close.  So the subjective criteria loom large:
    • Does my recruiter listen to me, return my calls, and answer my questions honestly?
    • Does this company specialize in PT, OT, and SLP staffing, or are they a general medical staffing company with only a small therapy group, or not even any full time commitment to therapy?
    • How experienced is my recruiter?
    • Do I feel unduly pressured to accept an assignment?
    • Will they submit me for jobs without my knowledge or permission?
    • What happens if something goes wrong?  Especially after hours?
    • Are payroll and reimbursements handled efficiently, accurately, and on time?
    • If I have a problem in the facility, will this company "be on my side"?
    • Does this company exhibit a high level of integrity? - Not just by saying "we are high integrity" but by doing things right - keeping promises, following through, solving problems fairly, carefully checking my background as well as the facility's, following IRS guidelines for housing and meals reimbursement, responsibly providing insurance and paying taxes?  Not all of these are questions you can just ask, but you can check references - and keep your eyes open as you work with each company to see if they "walk the walk".

The bottom line is this - While therapy staffing companies may look alike, we don't all act alike.  Take the time to get to know us, because the intangibles can't be measured by a spreadsheet or delivered via a glossy brochure.  And most importantly, your recruiter IS the company for you.  He or she will be your lifeline as you embark on this adventure.  Just like you should completely trust your airline pilot as well as the airplane, you should have the same comfort level with your recruiter and the company's supporting system.