Health care staffing agency operations and management

Health Staff

the Allied health care staffing agency is a staffing agency that focuses on the niche of the nursing jobs within the healthcare industry in Chicago

The Allied healthcare staffing agency works to recruit registered nurses belonging to all medical Specialties, Practical Nurses that are licensed also called LPNs, Nursing Assistants that are certified also called CNAs and Specialists from the allied health sciences. These professionals would be hired both from the area of the metro city as well as the suburbs and placed within the hospitals, the neighborhood medical centers, Adult care facilities, clinics, and rehabilitation centers.

The mission of the Allied Healthcare Staffing Agency is to provide the best opportunities of employment both to its collaborators which are the local healthcare organizations as well as serving the entire nursing community to provide amply amount of job opportunities to choose from in a time when the turnover of medical professionals is high and the healthcare industry is at the most competitive. The ultimate mission of AHSA would be to attract and retain its valued customer, a goal which when adhered to with utmost passion and commitment would yield the maximum beneficial results.

The allied health care staffing agency has very specialized knowledge of the emerging market of health care industry. This knowledge will lead AHSA to expand the network of contacts which are considered as a key concern when referring to a hiring agency. Such experience and knowledge of market would bring this company in the frontline of healthcare recruitment.

Allied will reach profitability by the eighth month and the revenues by the third year would be almost 68,000.

ANNUAL SALES FORECAST

III. Situation Analysis

The Allied Health care staffing agency would be starting its first functioning year. At the moment the healthcare industry of Chicago, Illinois has a need for a recruitment agency that specializes particularly in healthcare professionals as well as provides an efficient and professional service at doing so. The high competition within the industry has created a market need that requires an efficient and quick method for recruitment of only the most skilled workers within the field of healthcare with particular focus on nursing staff.

Company Analysis

Goals

• Fulfill a respectable number of mandates by the end of this year

• To manage the recruitment from the suburban as well as the metro areas and improve homogenization

• an expected and considerate volume of sales by the end of the first year

• a satisfaction of atleast 85% provided and attained from the customer by the help of feedback surveys.

Focus

Efficient and highly professional level of services provided.

Gaining trust -- by increasing the customers reliability and always being available through efficient workforce and communication networks

Maintaining a patent network of contacts within the healthcare industry including the healthcare centers as well as the medical professional's community.

Culture

This is a new recruitment agency which focuses on a multicultural approach towards achieving a better business objectives and bringing the right the individual to the right job in the health care sector

Strengths

Having offices in both the metro as well as the suburban areas

Handling staffing issues from the top most levels to the lower most hence catering to every tear

Handling a more diverse network of healthcare centers would provide greater opportunities to meet the right people for the right job

Weaknesses

Only caters to the medical field dealing in hospitals, home care services

Increasing the scope of the services to the suburban as well as the metro areas will decrease market penetration.

Market share

AHSA has considerable large knowledge of the healthcare market where the common attributes required by the healthcare centers is known and the professional's community is offered the best opportunities according to their level of skill sets. The ground knowledge of the tough competition within the healthcare industry and years of experience and contact within it would allow the market share of AHSA to flourish and provide a stronger hold within the healthcare industry as the need for such recruitment agencies rises.

Target market

The demographics of the healthcare centers from the previous years indicate that the majority of the target market is the high tech firms which are the big healthcare centers like hospitals and the larger adult care centers which would require the hiring of the most skilled nursing staff pertaining to a wide variety of specialties.

Target market forecast

Potential Customers growth

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Market Share

High-tech Firms

67.77%

Non-High-tech Firms

32.28%

Total

Market demographics

The profile for AHSA's customers consists of the following, demographic, geographic and behavior factors.

Geographic

The target city of AHSA would geographically be the Chicago city having a population of 2,695,598 (Bureau, 2000)

The area requiring the services of healthcare recruitment agencies lies in a radius of 75 miles.

Demographics

The total number of hospitals and health care centers in Chicago is 75 (directory, 2010)

The typical hospital has 100 -- 150 nurses

In the metropolitan area there are 50 hospitals and medical centers

In the suburban area there are 25 hospitals and medical centers

Behavior factors

Pertaining to the ongoing competition, the hospitals and medical centers have learned the fact that firms specializing in the recruitment services can do a better job of bringing the best individual for the job compared to their own HR departments. There is a recognition that every company has its own specialty and the healthcare centre cannot specialize itself in such services.

54% of the healthcare centers are rapidly growing this has increased the workload to much higher levels incapable of being handled by the human resources departments within their own centers hence arising a need for outsourcing the HR searches. (Mattoon, 2007)

Desire to hire the best possible person, the most professional and skilled; recognizing that investment into human resource is a valuable asset that pays off well in the logger run.

Market needs

AHSA is providing the Chicago city with a sophisticated, effective, health care staffing agency with a vast network in the metropolitan as well as the suburban area. Allied Health care staffing agency would provide for the following needs of the customers:

Efficient pace of service: often hospitals and medical centers cannot recognize their hiring need s until it is quite late. Hence an efficient hiring agency that immediately provides the right wanted candidate is highly appreciated.

Precision: the capability to precisely local the right person with the right skills and requirements as provided by the healthcare centers.

Customer Service: regular feedbacks to check satisfaction level and availability to the customer always from any sort of query.

Customer Analysis

Number

According to the recent analysis by the government a total of 89,890 registered nurses in Chicago (bureau of labor statistics, may2010) (statistics U. b., 2010)

Type

The customer of the AHSA would primarily be the hospitals, the neighborhood medical centers, Adult care facilities, clinics, and rehabilitation centers in the metro as well as suburban areas seeking individuals to hire in their centers. And secondarily would be the registered nurses belonging to all medical Specialties, Practical Nurses that are licensed also called LPNs, Nursing Assistants that are certified also called CNAs and Specialists from the allied health sciences. These professionals would be hired both from the area of the metro city as well as the suburbs.

Value drivers

AHSA specializes in providing a qualified and experienced service of recruiting to not just medical institutes in the suburban area of the city but also to the metro area hence providing a broader horizon of cliental.

Decision process

In June 2011, KPMG survey's reported that the healthcare centers and recruitment agencies affiliated with them posted more than 121,000 jobs ads for Registered Nurses in the month of May, 2011 which has risen to 46% from the requirement in the same month last year. (RApheal, june 8,2011)This means that there is an increase demand on the part of the employers namely the healthcare centers for professional nurses. This increase in demand on the side of the employers has eased the recruitment agencies in providing the job seekers with the right qualifications a variety of job options to choose from. This competition within the employers leaves them with fewer options and hence the employer side of customers of AHSA would be willing to invest more into the company so as to yield best set of professionals from the competitive market.

Concentration of customer base

It was found that 10% of the rise in the jobs in the last year or 12,700 job ads placed for nurses were for vacant positions in surgical and general hospitals, hence they would be the major market (RApheal, june 8,2011)

The yearly rate of job turnovers for registered nurses is almost 15% as mentioned in a recent survey by KPMG in the general and surgical hospitals.

In 2009 December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics analyzed the workforce and estimated an almost 22% increase in the volume of nursing jobs by the year 2018 which would mean almost 582,000 new vacancies in the nursing division of healthcare. This growth within the field of nursing has led to be the fastest growing profession compared to other professions. (statistics b. o., 2010)

Market position

AHSA works in the marketing the niche of the healthcare industry hence catering mostly to nurses alone. This creates a much stronger and well penetrated infra structure into the nursing industry, and while this would be a safe move for a new company like AHSA the turnover is even higher in the physician employment rates and a similar need also exists for physicians.

Strengths

well focused on a small segment of healthcare much deeper penetration of the market good contacts within the industry vast network of advertising sophisticated, predictive screening mechanisms

Weaknesses

weak initial cash flow fresh company hence the process of gaining trust of the customer would be difficult

The brand still lags in its equity which is a given for new organizations.

the lack of ability to size up at a much faster rate

Opportunities

Healthcare is a very fast growing, competitive industry

An operation of such kind requires minimum amount of overheads

The fixed cost for one sale can be reduced later on as the business gains pace.

Threats

An industries low would not provide this company any invulnerability

The pace, growth and competition of this industry has invited a lot of new companies to enter this field of healthcare recruiting which would mean more competition.

Climate

PEST analysis

Political and legal environment

Two most recent governors convicted of political felonies after they left office. (Lindberg, 1991)

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted of attempted extortion and soliciting bribes from a children's hospital executive. The year before, a former fundraiser for Blagojevich and then-Sen. (Press, 2010)

Barack Obama was convicted of using operatives to solicit massive bribes from a suburban hospital seeking certificate-of-need approval. (Oddis, august,2008)

The Illinois Legislature has since overhauled the CON process with the intention of preventing future extortion.

Economic environment

The per capita income of Chicago is $20,175, slightly lower than the national per capita income which is $21,587 (Bureau, 2000)

In 2010, Illinois current-dollar GDP was $651.5 billion and ranked 5th in the United States. In 2000, Illinois GDP was $474.4 billion and ranked 5th in the United States. (commerce, 2010)High costs of capital

The cost of labor has been increasing

Many new technologies have been introduced available at lower rates

New research has paved way for more expensive therapeutics and drugs

Filing law suits has become easier

Social and cultural environment

Since Chicago is a big market for the healthcare business the for profit organization are a hot buy in today's industry

Yet the city has managed to maintain its long standing not for profit catholic hospitals

The proportion of individuals getting older has been ever increasing

The percentage of older population and in the percentage of such adults living alone has increased, hence requiring home care or adult care services rendered by nurses and allied medical specialists.

Rural areas have now been laying increasing demands for services provided within their access.

The latest technologies and the overall development of the country have led general people to have high expectations with healthcare.

Difficulty in finding the right individuals for the right jobs due to increase competition within the employers.

Technological environment

Advances and intricacy of the modern healthcare system

High level of specialization within the second tear of healthcare workers

A shift towards a more efficient clinical practice enabling for the patient to stay for lesser time in the hospital and recover sooner.

More division and allocation of work to the secondary health care workers more accessible to the communities.

Recent advances in medicine allowing for a more preventive approach rather than a therapeutic one.

Advancement and compactness of diagnostic equipment allowing easy access and quick results.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

well focused on a small segment of healthcare much deeper penetration of the market good contacts within the industry vast network of advertising sophisticated, predictive screening mechanisms

Weaknesses

weak initial cash flow fresh company hence the process of gaining trust of the customer would be difficult

The brand still lags in its equity which is a given for new organizations.

the lack of ability to size up at a much faster rate

Opportunities

Healthcare is a very fast growing, competitive industry

An operation of such kind requires minimum amount of overheads

The fixed cost for one sale can be reduced later on as the business gains pace.

Threats

An industries low would not provide this company any invulnerability

The pace, growth and competition of this industry has invited a lot of new companies to enter this field of healthcare recruiting which would mean more competition.

VI. Marketing Strategy

The AHSA's marketing strategy will encompass marketing through modes of networking and advertising.

The advertisement would be published mostly in the local journals easily accessible to our target market like the healthcare journal of Chicago. The advertisement would pose to attract clients to contact the company in order to get their recruitment needs fulfilled.

AHSA and its founders bear good experience within the healthcare industry and have a vast network of contacts within the industry that would augment the process of acquiring business. The target of the company initially would be to attract big clients or high tech firms into the AHSA team. Once businesses with such big clients have been established more companies would want to acquire the services from AHSA as the showcase of our current business consisting of prominent names in the healthcare would be impressive enough to attract others.

Such a strategy would curb further interest into the company, while the sales team will strive to turn their major leads into company customers. The focus of the sales team would be on excellent interpersonal communication skills. The sales would be acquired by putting in time and calling up the leads and convincing them to trust and put their business in AHSA which yields a high reputation based on its connection and competitive advantage.

last but not least, the AHSA will also have a striking presence in the internet world by hosting an informative yet extraordinary website that would not just inform the potential customers of the services offered by AHSA but also attract them towards applying online for any of their recruitment needs which would be later followed up by the sales team.

MISSION

The Allied healthcare staffing agency's mission is to service the vast field of healthcare by recruiting suitable professionals where needed. Our goal is to attract and maintain as many potential and valued customers as possible and always keeping the customer's needs ahead of everything else, only then would the satisfaction of customer suffice to our performance.

MARKETING MIX

Product

The AHSA would be offering the job seekers an opportunity to find the right job through the company and the employers, meaning the healthcare centers, to find the right professionals for their openings.

The quality of the services provided to their customers would focus on the intense network of connections that the company holds within the healthcare industry and provide their customers, may they be job seekers or job providers, with the best opportunities of employment available. The services provided would be extended from providing the health care workers including registered nurses, certified nurse assistants, allied health specialists and licensed practical nurses employment options within their job provider clientele including hospitals both in suburban and metropolitan areas, nearby medical clinics, centers for rehabilitation, adult long-term care facilities and the neighborhood medical centers, who on the other hand would be provided employees for their vacant positions possessing the specifications provided by them.

Price the pricing scheme will be competitive relative to other healthcare staffing agencies. The pricing would only be applied to the health care centers who would be seeking potential employees from AHSA. Since the company focuses mostly on nurses, the turnover of jobs for nurses is as high as 14% and the available workforce is deficient, hence the company, in exchange for a nominal fee from the healthcare centers would provide them with the bulk of nurses that they require according to their needs. Our pricing strategy would include a discounted price for the permanent customers approaching the company for the second or more times. This strategy focuses on attracting all the potential employers towards this agency and capturing the business from the competition by offering a lower price.