Handling difficult conversations when a traveler is terminated
Difficult conversations will inevitably come up, whether it be internally with a fellow Atlas team member, or a traveler out in the field. It is vital that we not let these tougher interactions control our days. It may be tempting to postpone rather than facing them head-on, but getting a difficult conversation over with and moving forward to other prospects is almost always the correct course of action.
Remember to always stay respectful and address the issue(s), not the person.
Questions to consider with a recently terminated traveler:
- Was the issue with their clinical knowledge not being up to par?
- These issues are not necessarily coachable and oftentimes an indication that the assignment was not a great fit for the traveler's existing skillset.
- Was there a reported personality conflict between the traveler and staff at the client facility?
- Personality conflicts are much more coachable if the traveler is open to making adaptations to their workplace demeanor.
- Sometimes our travelers are simply having a hard time and need to vent.
- We can always lend an empathetic ear to hear them out, but we don't want to necessarily excuse or justify behavior that led to their termination.
- Are there aspects of the client facility that the traveler wants to avoid on future assignments with us?
- This is a good opportunity to take notes so that we can better match the traveler with their next assignment and avoid the same outcome ongoing.
If a traveler is unwilling to accept any accountability with regard to a termination, it's ok to recognize they may not be a good fit for Atlas and to let them go.What are the costs of continuing to work with travelers that are unwilling to learn from their experiences?
- The greatest cost of an unsuccessful job match is loss of trust and respect between us and our travelers.
- We spend a lot of time and resources building these relationships and potentially face losing the traveler for future staffing needs.
- Even worse, with social media word travels very quickly and can be difficult to recover from.
- Studies have shown people are as much as 10x more likely to write a negative review than they are a positive one.
- Atlas's reputation with our client hospitals are also damaged if a termination or traveler backing out of a contract is the result of us poorly matching them.
- Clients may choose not to use Atlas for their staffing needs ongoing as it costs thousands of dollars to onboard a new traveler when you account for background checks, orientation costs, etc.
Sometimes the best course of action to protect Atlas's reputation in the industry is to respectfully let a traveler move on to other opportunities.
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