Why Contract-to-Hire Works in Today’s Market: A Conversation with Medix Specialists

Would you buy a car without test driving it or get new shoes without trying them on? Sure, you could, but you might end up with a vehicle that rides rough or shoes that squeeze your toes. In staffing, we have the same concept. It’s contract-to-hire staffing — try it before you buy it, we like to call it.

The Medix contract-to-hire staffing model offers healthcare, life sciences, and healthcare technology leaders a host of benefits, from low-risk hires to budget-friendly costs and so much more. Organizations are increasingly discovering that contract-to-hire staffing is the right model for them. Why?

For the answers, we talked to a quartet of Medix specialists.

• Luke McGinn, Practice Leader, Epic
• Jack McNelis, Business Development Director, Care Management
• Sarah Pratt, Account Executive, Revenue Cycle
• Kala Guettler, Account Executive, Medical Device

Here’s the enlightening conversation, covering everything from the benefits of contract-to-hire staffing to the myths of the model, in an easily digestible Q&A format.

First, Get to Know Our Contract-to-Hire Staffing Specialists

Q: Share a little about yourself and your role at Medix.

Sarah: I’ve been with Medix a little over four years. I sit out of our Seattle office, and I sell revenue cycle. I started off recruiting in revenue cycle, and for the last three-and-a-half years I’ve been in sales in revenue cycle — I love it.

Kala: I’ve been with Medix just over two years. I sell medical device but started recruiting healthcare and made the switch to science.

Jack: I’ve been with Medix a little over six years, and I oversee our national care management partnerships. I’m based out of New York, where I sold local to New York for a while then sold across the Northeast. About two and a half years ago, I moved to the national team to help sell care management across the country.

Luke: I’ve been here since 2011. I’ve got three primary roles now. I’m one of the chief liaisons between Medix Technology and Epic in Wisconsin. I sit out of our Oak Brook, Illinois, office, so I’m just two hours away from Epic’s campus in Verona, Wisconsin. I also lead business development in the international space for Epic. In my third area, I’m reapproaching a lot of domestic markets with the rest of our team.

Contract-to-Hire In Today’s Labor Market

Q: Why do you think contract-to-hire is working so well in the current hiring market?

Kala: In the science space, we use it a few ways. One, it works well for us because in manufacturing you do some direct labor, which can be volatile. The try-before-you-buy model works in those scenarios. Furthermore, a lot of the startups I work with rely on funding, whether it’s from the FDA or the private sector, and that funding isn’t guaranteed. Contract-to-hire provides insurance if they lose funding or can’t retain these people. If their funding runs dry, they have options to keep the company afloat without full terminations.

Jack: Flexibility. Clients need flexibility to try new models without taking a big risk. You are able to evaluate and check if your model works or check if this is the volume of people you need to do the best work for your team and your patients.

Sarah: A lot of our projects stem from third-party revenue cycle management. Hospitals and health systems outsource these functions because it’s cost-effective. We help those third parties scale up and scale down as they bring on new clients and new projects.

Luke: Our competitors cannot spend the amount of time screening people the way we do — going through vetting methodologies associated with determining who’s the best talent, the best fit, and all the things that we know so well. Those are huge things. That comes with a price but you’re going to undeniably get people that are more productive.

Q: What’s a common myth or misunderstanding about contract-to-hire you often have to clear up?

Sarah: We’re not a placement agency. We source, recruit, and identify talent unique to our clients, and we’re specialized in each of these sectors. A lot of new partners that we’re working with think, ‘OK, healthcare staffing, you work on X through Z.’ But in reality, we have specialized recruiters who find unique skill sets specific to the client.

Q: Have you noticed changes in client attitudes toward flexible hiring in the last few years?

Jack: In the insurance space, because it’s getting harder and their dollars are being pushed further, clients like the flexibility and the agility of contract-to-hire. They’re able to evaluate what their best model is or what their best tool is to make that dollar go as far as it needs to in order to provide quality care.

Kala: Customers in the med device space either receive a component from outside the United States or manufacture some subcomponent outside the United States. Naturally, there’s a big question about what that will cost moving forward, and with that comes uncertainty. Companies prefer the contract-to-hire route for that agility — to quickly pivot if their financial circumstances change.

Sarah: During times when it’s difficult to get approval for a full-time position, it’s usually easier to get approval for a contract or contact-to-hire position. That’s where we can come in and bring value and keep those candidates on staff for as long as needed.

Real-World Benefits of Contract-to-Hire Staffing

Q: Share a success story where contract-to-hire led to a perfect long-term fit?

Sarah: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services changed the guidelines for dialysis and phosphate binders for 2025. A client needed to hire prior authorization specialists to help with an influx of patients. We had to hire 30 guest teammates — what they call contractors for this project. We find the right contractors with the right skill sets and help clients scale. We have those flexible contracts, then we set expectations with contractors that there was no guarantee for conversions to full-time team members. The goal was to convert the best two to three, and we ended up converting around 10 to full-time employment.

Jack: Agility, flexibility. One of our clients was a Medicare Advantage plan experiencing rapid growth, adding 20,000 new members as they expanded. Federal requirements dictate the ratio of staff you must have to provide case management or clinical support to that volume of members. So they needed to hire 80 administrative staff. The next year, after getting some data, they added clinical staff. Then, for the third year in a row, their model changed to balance the two. We were able to respond, and we had an 80 plus positive place percentage, which is people either converting or finishing their contract with the ability to hire back.

Q: Are there certain roles or specific skill sets where you feel contract-to-hire works especially well?

Kala: In medical device manufacturing, it works really well with direct labor. If they’re providing manufacturing services, what’s really beneficial is the try-before-you-buy aspect as we see a high level of turnover in that area. The other is when we’re talking about short-term projects, like building out a clean room or validating equipment.

Jack: It makes sense as a model if there’s a patient-facing or member-facing role where quality matters as much as the skills they have and who they are. Contract-to-hire allows you to assess that individual in real time and see how they are performing while we absorb some of the risk.

Sarah: With revenue cycle, any and all roles — entry to mid-level — you can really test someone’s KPIs. Bringing talent in on a contract basis, you can identify how they’ll perform long term and what ROI they’ll bring. But soft skills are just as important. Especially for patient access and revenue cycle, you’re communicating with patients every day. You don’t know how someone will do until they’re in the role.

One More Thing About Contract-to-Hire Staffing

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to a company on the fence about contract-to-hire, what would it be?

Jack: There’s always the risk of things not working out the way you’d like with a placement, but that risk also is there internally because anytime you’re hiring somebody, you’re hiring a person — people are not machines. The perfect person on paper may not be the perfect person for your team. It’s worth trying because the risk is inherent on both sides, and it’s a solution you can use to help you in the future.

Luke: It’s scalable. Through MedixDirect® we can deploy 20, 30, 40 people a pop, but if you are on the fence, then consider trying 2. You’re going to have very little if no financial burden. Try 2 — try 1 if you want. What are you going to lose?

Sarah: Give us an opportunity to show you why we’re a trusted staffing partner. Medix does not benefit from placing talent that does not work out long term. Our goal is to find the best talent for your organization, whether that’s for their contract period or extending out to permanent.

Try Contract-to-Hire Staffing with Medix

Contract-to-hire staffing lowers the risk for healthcare, life sciences, and healthcare technology organizations. In the short term, this model is ideal for filling gaps and ramping up for seasonality or special projects. If it works out, you can always retain the talent on a full-time basis.

Medix makes it easy for organizations to add talent on a contract-to-hire basis. We identify candidates and help onboard them, leaving our clients free to evaluate their skills and their ability to mesh with the workplace culture. Want to learn more about how this would work with your team? Contact us today so we can discuss a partnership.