Solving the Turnover Challenge: A Strategic Staffing Partnership with a Multi-Location Specialty Practice

Situation

A growing specialty practice with multiple locations faced critical staffing challenges that threatened their operational stability and patient care quality. The practice struggled with exceptionally high turnover among Medical Assistants, with many new hires departing within their first few weeks or month of employment. This revolving door of clinical support staff created significant disruption to clinic operations and patient experience. The primary issues driving turnover were attendance and punctuality problems, suggesting a fundamental mismatch between candidate expectations and job requirements. Additionally, the practice was unable to identify quality Medical Assistants at a pace that kept up with their consistently high volume of needs created by the turnover cycle. Their existing recruitment process lacked proper candidate preparation regarding workplace expectations and attendance requirements.

Challenge

The specialty practice needed to break the cycle of high turnover and establish a sustainable staffing solution for their clinical support team. Their specific challenges included:

• Filling Medical Assistant positions with reliable candidates who would remain committed
• Addressing chronic attendance and punctuality issues that plagued their clinical operations
• Establishing more effective candidate screening to identify dependable, qualified staff
• Setting clear expectations with candidates pre-hire to ensure alignment with workplace requirements
• Creating a consistent talent pipeline capable of meeting their ongoing staffing needs across multiple locations

Solution

Networks Connect implemented a comprehensive staffing strategy designed to address the root causes of the practice’s turnover problem:

Rigorous Multi-Step Screening Process: We established a two-step interview process that thoroughly assessed not only technical qualifications but also reliability indicators, attendance history, and commitment level before candidates reached the client.

Strategic Candidate Evaluation Period: We instituted a 48-hour waiting period between initial candidate screening and client submission, allowing time to gauge genuine interest and commitment before advancing candidates to on-site interviews.

Reference Verification Protocol: We implemented detailed reference checks specifically addressing attendance, punctuality, and work ethic to identify candidates likely to meet the practice’s reliability requirements.

Expectation Setting: We developed clear, candid communication with candidates regarding workplace requirements, emphasizing the importance of attendance and punctuality in the practice environment.

Comprehensive Support System: We maintained regular contact with placed candidates throughout their initial employment period to reinforce expectations and address any emerging issues.

Results

The partnership with Networks Connect transformed the specialty practice’s approach to staffing and delivered remarkable results:

• We successfully placed over 75 Medical Assistants across a two-year period, establishing a consistent and reliable source of quality clinical support staff.
• Our screening process dramatically decreased “no-call, no-show” interviews, improving the efficiency of the hiring process and reducing administrative burden.
• Interview-to-offer ratios improved dramatically from approximately 25% (1 in 4) initially to nearly 100% currently, demonstrating the quality and preparation of presented candidates.
• We achieved “preferred vendor” status, becoming the practice’s primary staffing partner for clinical support roles.
• The partnership expanded beyond Medical Assistants to include Medical Receptionist positions that had previously been handled by another agency.
• We consistently maintain between 10-15 contractors working across the practice’s Greater Indianapolis locations at any given time, providing a stable workforce.

Why It Matters

In specialty healthcare settings, consistent staffing is essential for maintaining patient satisfaction, clinical workflows, and revenue stability. Networks Connect’s success with this specialty practice demonstrates how a strategic approach to recruitment can break the costly cycle of high turnover and transform an organization’s operational performance.

What sets Networks Connect apart is our recognition that simply filling positions isn’t enough—candidates must be properly screened, prepared, and committed to succeed in their roles. By implementing a more rigorous candidate evaluation process and setting clear expectations, we’ve helped the practice build a more stable, reliable clinical support team.

Is your healthcare organization struggling with high turnover and staffing reliability issues? Networks Connect specializes in identifying and securing dependable talent for even the most challenging clinical roles. Contact us today to learn how we can help you build your dream team and calculate your potential ROI using our Recruiting ROI Calculator.