Transforming Healthcare Recruitment: The Power of Working Interviews

Hiring permanent healthcare staff today feels like walking a tightrope. The stakes are high, the pressure is intense, and the margin for error is razor-thin. Healthcare facilities face a constant challenge: fill shifts quickly without sacrificing quality or team harmony. Yet, the traditional hiring process often leads to costly mistakes that ripple through the entire organization.

The cost of a bad hire in healthcare can reach 30% of that employee’s first-year salary. This includes recruitment fees, wasted training time, and the negative impact on team morale. What if there was a way to reduce this risk and make smarter hiring decisions? Enter the working interview model, a fresh approach that lets healthcare facilities audition talent before making a permanent commitment.

Nurse participating in a working interview in a hospital ward

The High Cost of Hiring Mistakes in Healthcare

Healthcare staffing is unique. The wrong hire doesn’t just affect productivity; it can jeopardize patient care and safety. When a new hire fails to fit the culture or meet performance expectations, the consequences are serious:

• Recruitment and onboarding costs drain budgets.

• Training time is lost, delaying the new hire’s full productivity.

• Team morale suffers as coworkers pick up the slack or deal with disruptions.

• Patient satisfaction drops when care quality declines.

  
  

These factors combine to make a single bad hire potentially cost tens of thousands of dollars. Facilities often rush to fill urgent vacancies, relying on short interviews and resumes that don’t reveal how a candidate performs in real situations.

Why Traditional Hiring Falls Short

Most healthcare hiring relies on brief interviews and reference checks. These methods have limits:

• Interviews are often 30 minutes or less, focusing on credentials and experience rather than real-world skills.

• References may be biased or incomplete.

• Candidates may present well but struggle under the pressures of a busy healthcare environment.

• Cultural fit is hard to assess without seeing how someone interacts with the team.

  
  

This leads to a cycle of hiring, onboarding, and sometimes firing, which wastes time and resources.

Introducing the Working Interview Model

Lacey Healthcare recognized this problem and developed a solution: the working interview. This approach blends the benefits of contract staffing with the goal of permanent hiring.

Here’s how it works:

• A healthcare facility hires a nurse or other staff member on a contract basis through Lacey Healthcare.

• The contract lasts up to 13 weeks, during which the facility observes the worker’s performance.

• The staff member works regular shifts, allowing the team and management to evaluate skills, reliability, and cultural fit.

• At the end of the contract, the facility decides whether to offer a permanent position.

  
  

This model turns staffing agencies from a temporary fix into a talent pipeline.

Benefits of Working Interviews for Healthcare Facilities

The working interview model offers several clear advantages:

• Risk reduction: Facilities avoid committing to a permanent hire without seeing actual performance.

• Cost savings: Avoids the high costs of bad hires, including rehiring and retraining.

• Better cultural fit: Teams can assess how well the candidate meshes with existing staff.

• Improved patient care: Staff who fit well and perform reliably contribute to better patient outcomes.

• Simplified HR process: Ending a contract is straightforward, with no need for termination procedures.

  
  

Real-World Example: How a Hospital Improved Hiring Outcomes

A mid-sized hospital in the Midwest struggled with high turnover among nursing staff. They tried traditional hiring but found many new hires left within months or caused team disruptions.

After switching to the working interview model with Lacey Healthcare, the hospital:

• Reduced turnover by 40% in one year.

• Saved an estimated $200,000 in rehiring and training costs.

• Reported higher patient satisfaction scores linked to better staff consistency.

• Noted improved team morale as new hires fit in more smoothly.

  
  

This example shows how working interviews can transform hiring from a gamble into a strategic process.

How to Implement Working Interviews in Your Facility

To adopt this model, healthcare facilities should:

1. Partner with a staffing agency that offers contract-to-hire options.

2. Set clear evaluation criteria for the working interview period, including punctuality, teamwork, clinical skills, and patient feedback.

3. Communicate openly with the contract staff about expectations and potential for permanent hire.

4. Gather feedback regularly from supervisors and team members.

5. Make timely decisions at the end of the contract to either hire permanently or end the contract without complications.

   
   

What to Look for During the Working Interview

During the trial period, focus on these key areas:

• Reliability: Does the candidate show up consistently and on time?

• Skill level: Can they handle the clinical demands of the role?

• Team interaction: Are they respectful and cooperative with colleagues?

• Patient care: Do patients respond positively to their care?

• Adaptability: Can they handle the fast pace and unexpected challenges?

  
  

Observing these factors in real time provides a much clearer picture than interviews alone.

Final Thoughts on Smarter Healthcare Hiring

The working interview model offers a practical way to reduce the risks and costs of hiring permanent healthcare staff. By turning contract staffing into a trial period, facilities gain valuable insight into a candidate’s true fit and performance.