For starters, I have the utmost respect for the front line team members I worked with at FlexCare Medical Staffing. Despite constant challenges, they always rose to the occasion, stepping up when asked, often with minimal guidance or support from leadership, specifically in NC. Their dedication and resilience were admirable, especially considering the lack of clear communication from executive and senior management.
It often felt unfair how crucial information was only shared with select members of leadership, leaving the rest of the “leads” or “directors” to run an office and build a culture without knowing the full picture. The disconnect between senior leadership and the reality on the ground created a heavy emotional toll. Individuals (HR and leads) were regularly tasked with justifying and covering for difficult firing decisions, while other employees were given more opportunities to succeed when they had a higher on contract number or perhaps had a little more in common with with leadership. The inconsistency was exhausting and left many constantly questioning what was right for the business.
One thing that really stood out was the lack of transparency from leadership. If my job were in jeopardy, I would much prefer the decency of being informed so employees could make plans for themselves and their family. Instead, leadership seemed to think they were doing employees a favor with a severance package when what we really needed was honesty and time to prepare. Clear and transparent communication should be the minimum expectation, not a luxury reserved for certain people.
There was also a clear sense of distrust within the HR department. There was one HR professional who genuinely cared about the team in North Carolina and worked tirelessly to support them. Unfortunately, they were often forced to simply carry out senior leadership’s directives, with no emotional or physical support and this ultimately led to their departure. Their exit caused significant disruption among the staff and further widened the divide between leadership and the rest of the team.
Recruitment was another area of frustration. The talent acquisition team often sold an unrealistic vision of success, promising a “gold at the end of the rainbow” that simply didn’t exist. New hires were set up with inflated expectations, leading to disappointment and disengagement. The poor hires also left leadership to have to wait on enough strikes to perform someone out of the business, forcing them to take a financial impact for carrying dead weight. Investigations into issues were handled selectively, often influenced by personal biases from executives about close friendships when there was a clear divide in professional and personal lives, which felt hypocritical and undermined trust in the process.
It’s disheartening to see how much talent has walked away from this organization. Rather than addressing concerns and finding ways to retain employees, leadership frequently took the stance of “If you don’t want to be here, leave.” While that might make sense on the surface, I believe a stronger approach would be to inspire people to stay by fostering genuine growth, promoting realistic career paths, and building a culture of transparency and support.
The team here deserves much better, and I hope leadership takes a hard look at its practices before more great people decide to leave.
