Like any industry, healthcare is constantly changing and evolving. At the heart of this evolution is technology, which can assist with patient and physician relationships as well as provider recruitment practices. A vendor management system (VMS) is a type of software that medical facilities can utilize to aid with provider recruitment.

In general, a VMS helps organizations streamline the management of their vendor relationships. Across different industries, a vendor can be any type of person or business selling a product or service to another person or organization. Most businesses rely on multiple vendors for a range of services.

Is a VMS related to an MSP?

A vendor management system and a managed service provider (MSP) are both technology-related but have different functions. A VMS is a cloud-based software platform. An MSP is a company that often uses a VMS to complete tasks.

What is a VMS for healthcare?

In the healthcare industry, vendors are used to provide IT support, medical supplies, administrative tasks, recruitment and staffing, and more. A VMS helps manage multiple vendors. 

For healthcare staffing, a VMS can organize staffing vendors, manage temporary and contingent workers, and track recruitment spending.

Using a healthcare VMS can:

• Increase an organization’s hiring speed
• Streamline the hiring processes
• Assist with employee onboarding and offboarding

VMS for healthcare staffing vs. staffing agency direct

If you are weighing the options of using a VMS for healthcare staffing vs. a staffing agency direct, there are many factors to consider. While a VMS can provide time savings by automating processes, a traditional staffing agency’s critical thinking and personal touch produce higher-quality candidates at a better rate.

With streamlined processes, a VMS can be effective when there is a hiring time crunch or for reducing some of the administrative burden.

VMS technology is also an asset when making data-driven decisions. The software can look at the entire candidate lifecycle and break it down to a very granular level of data.

While a VMS for healthcare can be additive to a hospital’s recruitment process, the software solution does not provide the full benefits of a staffing agency. Even with these benefits, optimal staffing results come when healthcare facilities use traditional staffing agencies in combination with a VMS for maximum operational efficiency.

Staffing agencies are your strongest recruitment asset

New technologies are reshaping staffing practices in the healthcare industry. Yet, traditional staffing agencies continue to prove themselves as the tried-and-true resource for hospital and medical practice recruiting.

Prioritize your staffing agency to recruit top healthcare candidates in addition to or instead of using a VMS. Here are the reasons why:

Personal connection: As hiring becomes more competitive, data will certainly have a role in filtering candidates and managing teams. However, interpersonal communication is critical. While a VMS can match a candidate quickly based on analytics, a VMS eliminates personal contact with hiring managers. To put it simply, personal connection matters in finding the best candidate.

Candidate accuracy: A VMS lacks critical thinking capability; it cannot understand nuances related to the hiring manager’s needs. When the communication between a hiring manager and a staffing agency is removed, agencies may be in the dark about a facility’s goals, a team’s workplace culture, a hiring manager’s past experience, and more. Without a professional staffing agency, candidates are often misplaced in positions based on criteria outside of job experience and hiring dates.

Increased efficiency: Hiring the wrong candidate can cost a hospital dearly. To prevent having to start the expensive hiring process all over again, a staffing agency can ensure accuracy beyond the data. Experienced recruiters understand the ins and outs of a facility’s business model, human resources team and the hiring manager’s team.

Customized support: According to Staffing Industry Analysts, “a typical VMS listing has 30 to 40 vendors competing.” Meanwhile, a staffing agency works directly for an organization, meaning an agency can increase its support based on hiring cycles, and a facility will not have to worry as much about candidate competition.

There is no doubt that growing technology like vendor management software can be a useful tool in a staffing search. However, it is important to balance industry trends with conventional hiring practices. At the crux, staffing is about people, so interpersonal communication and relationship building are essential elements for success. They cannot be replicated by a machine.

Utilize a staffing agency with VMS experience

As a top medical staffing agency, TinkBird Healthcare Staffing is here to help medical facilities stay competitive. We combine our supportive recruiting team and national network of talented medical professionals with the best aspects of VMS platforms to augment and verify candidates.

For a high-quality staffing experience, contact TinkBird today to bring skilled providers to your medical facility.