10 Common Mistakes Healthcare Facilities Make When Working With Staffing Agencies — And How to Avoid Them
Working With a Staffing Agency Should Be Easy. Here's What Gets in the Way.
Healthcare facilities partner with staffing agencies to stay fully staffed, maintain quality care, and avoid burnout during busy or unpredictable periods. When the partnership is strong, the process feels seamless and your team gets the support it needs without added stress. But even well-run facilities sometimes create unintentional obstacles that slow hiring or limit the results they get from their staffing partners.
The good news is that most of these issues are simple to identify and even easier to fix.
In this blog, we walk through the ten most common mistakes facilities make when working with staffing agencies and the practical steps you can take to avoid them. Whether you want faster fill rates, smoother onboarding, or a more reliable workforce strategy, these insights will help you get better outcomes from every placement.
Mistake 1: Not Defining Staffing Needs Clearly
One of the most common issues facilities face is unclear or incomplete job requirements. When details are missing, staffing agencies have to guess what you are looking for, which slows the process and often leads to candidates who do not fully match your needs.
Vague job descriptions, missing certifications, unclear shift expectations, or incomplete unit information all make it harder to identify the right talent. Even highly qualified candidates may decline a role if the expectations feel uncertain.
How to avoid it: Provide as much clarity as possible from the start. Share the required skills, preferred experience, unit type, patient ratios, scheduling needs, start date, EMR system, float expectations, and any must-have credentials. When agencies have a complete picture, they can move faster and send candidates who are the best fit for the assignment.
Mistake 2: Slow Response Times
Healthcare staffing moves fast. Top candidates often receive multiple offers within hours, not days. When a facility takes too long to review profiles, schedule interviews, or approve an offer, the candidate almost always accepts another assignment.
Delayed communication also creates uncertainty for the agency. They cannot accurately plan or submit additional candidates if they do not know where things stand. Over time, this slows your fill rates and makes it harder to secure high-quality talent.
How to avoid it: Assign a single point of contact who can review submissions quickly and make timely decisions. Establish clear internal expectations for response times. Even a simple acknowledgment such as "reviewing today" helps the agency keep the process moving.
Mistake 3: Not Offering Competitive Pay or Incentives
Even the best staffing agency cannot place candidates if the compensation is out of step with the market. Facilities that stick to outdated pay rates or fail to provide shift incentives often struggle to attract qualified professionals.
This problem shows up in multiple ways: offers get rejected, positions remain open longer than expected, and agencies have to spend more time sourcing alternatives. Ultimately, the facility experiences staffing gaps that impact patient care and team morale.
How to fix it: Regularly review salary and incentive benchmarks for your region and specialty. Consider offering shift differentials, sign-on bonuses, or housing stipends for travel or per diem staff. Competitive pay not only attracts more candidates but also improves retention and satisfaction on assignment.
Mistake 4: Poor Onboarding and First-Day Readiness
Imagine your new travel nurse arrives on their first day only to discover they don't have a badge, login credentials, or anyone to show them around. Frustrating for them, and disruptive for your team.
Even highly skilled professionals can feel unprepared or unwelcome if onboarding is incomplete. This can lead to early frustration, mistakes, or even the candidate leaving the assignment prematurely.
How to avoid it: Prepare a pre-start checklist that covers badges, logins, unit introductions, and any required orientation. Assign someone on the unit to greet new staff and answer questions. Small steps like these make a big difference in first impressions and long-term performance.
Mistake 5: Treating Contingent Staff Differently Than Full-Time Staff
Many facilities unintentionally create a divide between full-time employees and contingent staff such as travel nurses, per diem nurses, or temporary therapists. When temporary staff are excluded from team communications, left out of unit meetings, or given unclear instructions, it can lead to confusion, frustration, and decreased performance. Over time, this affects patient care and can even drive highly skilled staff to decline future assignments with your facility.
Temporary staff often bring fresh experience and flexibility that your team needs. Treating them as outsiders wastes that opportunity. Facilities that integrate contingent staff into the team see measurable benefits: smoother onboarding, faster adaptation to unit procedures, stronger teamwork, and higher overall satisfaction.
How to avoid it:
Include temporary staff in staff huddles, team meetings, and shift briefings.
Provide clear, written instructions on unit protocols and expectations.
Assign a mentor or "buddy" to help them navigate their first week.
Treat them with the same professionalism and respect as full-time staff.
By taking these steps, facilities can strengthen morale, improve performance, and build long-term relationships with both staff and staffing agencies.
Mistake 6: Not Sharing Feedback Early or Often
Imagine a travel nurse completes a week on your unit and no one gives them any feedback. Small issues, like charting differences or following specific protocols, go unnoticed. By the time someone addresses it, the problem may have grown, causing frustration for both staff and the unit team.
Delaying feedback also affects morale. Staff want to know how they are performing and where they can improve. Waiting until the end of an assignment can make corrective feedback feel sudden or unfair, while positive feedback may go unrecognized.
Tips for Fixing This: Make feedback a regular habit rather than a one-time conversation. Check in with staff weekly, even for a few minutes, to highlight successes and clarify expectations. Encourage open dialogue so staff can ask questions or raise concerns, and keep the staffing agency informed so they can assist with coaching or adjustments when necessary.
Mistake 7: Failing to Plan Ahead for Seasonal Surges
Flu season, holidays, or unexpected patient spikes can catch facilities off guard. When staffing needs aren't forecasted in advance, you may scramble to fill shifts at the last minute. This leads to higher costs, limited candidate options, and unnecessary stress for your current team.
Planning ahead is especially important for high-demand specialties where qualified staff are in short supply. Facilities that wait until the last minute often pay premiums or settle for less-than-ideal candidates.
Proactive Steps to Stay Ready:
Forecast staffing needs months in advance based on historical data and upcoming events.
Maintain a pipeline of trusted contingent staff ready to step in.
Pre-book travel or per diem staff when possible to secure coverage before peak periods hit.
By anticipating demand instead of reacting to it, facilities can reduce costs, prevent burnout, and maintain consistent patient care.
Mistake 8: Ignoring Cultural Fit
Focusing only on clinical skills can lead to mismatches in team dynamics. Even highly qualified staff may struggle if their work style or communication habits clash with your unit's culture. Misaligned hires can create tension, slow onboarding, and impact patient care.
Cultural fit is about more than personality. It's about how well staff can collaborate, adapt to your workflow, and meet your unit's expectations. Facilities that overlook this often see preventable turnover and lower morale, which ultimately affects patient outcomes.
How to improve cultural alignment: Clearly define your unit's culture and workflow expectations and communicate them to your staffing agency. Ask the agency to consider these factors when recommending candidates, and provide feedback on any mismatches to refine future placements. Integrating staff who fit both the skills and culture of your team ensures smoother onboarding, faster productivity, and a more cohesive work environment.
Mistake 9: Working With Too Many Agencies at Once
Some facilities try to maximize their options by using several staffing agencies at the same time. While it might seem like a good idea, this approach often backfires. Duplicate submissions, inconsistent candidate quality, and miscommunication can create confusion and slow down the hiring process. In some cases, compliance issues or billing errors may even arise.
Too many agencies competing for the same roles can also damage relationships. Agencies tend to prioritize clients who provide clear, consistent communication and realistic expectations over those who spread their needs across multiple vendors.
How to streamline agency partnerships: Focus on a few trusted agencies instead of working with many at once. Establish clear submission processes and expectations, and communicate regularly to avoid duplicated candidates or confusion. By consolidating your partnerships, you can strengthen relationships, receive higher-quality candidates, and simplify the staffing process overall.
Mistake 10: Not Leveraging the Agency as a Strategic Partner
Many facilities treat staffing agencies purely as a transactional vendor. They request candidates when needed but do not engage the agency beyond filling shifts. This approach misses out on the full value an agency can provide, such as market insights, workforce planning guidance, and strategies for retention.
When agencies are treated as partners rather than order-takers, facilities can gain a competitive advantage. Agencies can help anticipate staffing gaps, recommend process improvements, and even suggest creative solutions for hard-to-fill roles.
How to make the most of your partnership: Schedule regular strategy sessions with your agency to review upcoming needs and discuss trends in the talent market. Share your long-term staffing goals and allow the agency to provide insights and suggestions. By collaborating strategically, you not only improve current placements but also build a workforce plan that reduces gaps, improves retention, and strengthens your team overall.
Setting Your Facility Up for Staffing Success
Working effectively with staffing agencies takes more than just submitting requests and filling shifts. Facilities that avoid common pitfalls, such as unclear job requirements, slow responses, poor onboarding, or overlooking cultural fit, can dramatically improve hiring outcomes, reduce turnover, and maintain high-quality patient care.
By approaching your agency as a true partner and implementing proactive practices, you create a smoother experience for both your team and the staff you bring in. Small changes in communication, planning, and integration can have a big impact on morale, performance, and overall efficiency.
According to recent workforce data, the nationwide nursing shortage continues to intensify, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting more than 193,000 annual openings for registered nurses through 2032. At the same time, burnout rates among healthcare professionals remain critically high, making it more important than ever for facilities to partner strategically with staffing agencies that understand these challenges.
If your facility is ready to strengthen staffing partnerships and secure reliable, high-quality talent, 13 Weeks Staffing is here to help. Our team works closely with facilities to understand your unique needs and deliver the right professionals when and where you need them.
