Why is it so important to pick a niche in the medical staffing industry? It is the difference between finding contracts and losing the opportunity to establish yourself as an expert and resource in this industry.
Far too many starting in this industry want to be everything to everybody. Hospitals and clinics do need a variety of professionals to help meet the staffing needs. They require a constant pool of staff to meet both the staffing requirements and in many cases the state or federal regulations that must be adhered to.
The hospitals/clinics need nursing, respiratory, radiology, physicial therapy, lvn, cna and just about all areas need constant coverage. It is easy how a new medical staffing agency may want to fulfill all aspects of a hospital, it sort of like casting a huge net and something will stick.
The problem with casting a huge net is you may not really know what you will get. The net may yield something you are not prepared to deal with. It takes a lot of work to assure you are complaint with your staffing recruiting actions.
If you focus on a nurse for example, you will need to make sure that nurse fills out your application, fills out your mandated topics, fills out the nursing checklist and has the proper licensing and you get primary resource verification. You must do background checks and assure that the nurse is constantly being monitored.
If you begin focusing on many different modalities at once and not focusing on only one niche, then it will require you to use your resources to the point that most of the time you will be fighting off monkeys on your back. Harnessing only one niche will allow you to zero in on your expertise and become an expert on that particular niche.
It does not mean you will never move into other areas and begin farming the hospitals or clinics in the hope to expanding your business, quite the opposite actually. The key to this idea is based solely on principles that allow you to become first known for one thing and then moving into something else once you establish yourself as a reliable resource.
many times the opportunity will come to you by sheer force, just by being in the hospital, being friendly, being on time with your staff, being a reliable resource and this is usually all you will need to get recommendations to move into other areas in the hospital.
Become an expert initially when starting your business to benefit from being recognized as a reliable resource. The likely hood that your agency will grow is very possible, besides, when you are starting out, growing slow is better and more manageable.
