When it comes to managing locum tenens candidates from intake to placement, recruiters often find themselves dealing with multiple systems.
Applicant tracking systems (ATS) can handle the basics—storing CVs and personal details—but the real challenge begins once a provider is selected. That’s when credentialing, licensing, scheduling, and travel coordination enter the mix, each often on a separate platform with no real integration. It’s a fragmented setup that bogs down recruiters and delays providers and facilities alike.
Developed by The Nuage Group under the guidance of Nuage president Jason Bodie, Assist is a unified platform designed specifically for the locum industry. After years of hearing staffing agencies vent about juggling Google or Microsoft spreadsheets, Bodie—a Salesforce expert—decided it was time to tackle the problem head-on.
“What we noticed was that they would all use the applicant tracking system they had until making a placement and then would just find a way to manage it independently after that,” Bodie explained. “It’s hard to grow and gain efficiently if you don’t have one team using one system.”
Assist was launched in January 2023 to address the unique challenges locum tenens agencies face. Its goal is to help agencies stay competitive without needing the high-cost tech setups of industry giants that have dozens of developers on staff. Bodie’s vision was refreshingly simple: create a one-stop platform to eliminate the chaos of multiple, disjointed systems.
"Locum staffing is a different beast compared to other staffing, like travel nursing or allied health."
The Genesis of Assist
Bodie’s journey in the locum tenens industry began in 2000 as a vice president at Whitaker Companies, where he saw how inefficiently recruiters tracked candidates. By the time he moved on to Cerulean Solutions, he’d begun honing his expertise in Salesforce, a skill set he deepened in his next role at Imperastaff in 2008, selling Salesforce solutions.
The Nuage Group, which he joined in 2009, initially focused on general healthcare staffing but quickly shifted to the locum tenens niche. When Bodie and a team of investors acquired the company in 2020, they heard familiar complaints from staffing firms—they were still using spreadsheets or manually managing candidate information.
“It amazed us that not much had changed since we first started working in locums ourselves,” Bodie said. “Some agencies still ran their entire back-end operations on different spreadsheets.”
Then, the team says they had a breakthrough—rather than continuously tailoring Salesforce for each client, they could build a unique, seamless experience for managing locum providers from the first call to the final contract.
The brainstorming, coding, and testing led to the product launch in January 2023, where Assist proved itself in a beta trial with a locum tenens agency client. The feedback was immediate and enthusiastic.
“I asked our first client why they chose us, a virtual unknown, and she said, ‘I’ve been in the business for 20-plus years, and I’ve never found a tech partner focused on our business who understands our business,’” Bodie said. That endorsement was all the encouragement they needed to take Assist to market.
“Bullhorn and TargetRecruit do a great job as generalist solutions. But we’re focused solely on locums, which lets us constantly update and create efficiencies for this niche market.”
While most ATS platforms, like Bullhorn and TargetRecruit, offer generalized solutions, Assist was purpose-built to handle the unique challenges of locum tenens. From complex credentialing requirements to short-term placements, Assist is designed to keep things moving.
“Locum staffing is a different beast compared to other staffing, like travel nursing or allied health,” Bodie said. “Credentialing alone can be a huge hurdle, and most agencies were tracking it on Smartsheets or Excel, with no reliable way to estimate timelines.”
Assist provides a centralized system for agencies to track credentialing, licensing, scheduling, and more. Instead of being scattered across multiple platforms, everything is right where agencies need it.
Beyond Credentialing
Credentialing is just one piece of the puzzle. Assist has become an essential tool that simplifies several other complex processes locum agencies face, including:
- Provider Scheduling: Manage shifts, overtime, on-call, and last-minute changes seamlessly.
- Reporting and Dashboards: Real-time, customizable insights let agencies monitor departmental efficiencies.
- Timesheet Entry and Approval: Providers can submit timesheets with direct client notifications for approvals or denials.
- Travel and Expense Management: Streamline reimbursements and travel costs without manual spreadsheet tracking.
- Billing and Invoicing: Smooth invoice processing and timely payroll with consolidated data.
- Job Orders: Organize job openings by specialty, efficiently matching candidates to positions.
This full-service platform also helps agencies spot inefficiencies. Assist’s data tools can reveal credentialing bottlenecks or show where scheduling overlaps, allowing agencies to make immediate improvements and speed up placements.
“We’re just as much a part of the locum tenens community as you are, and we want to be your tech partner, not just another vendor."
Standing Out in a Crowded ATS Market
In a market where more prominent players dominate, Assist is focused on locum tenens staffing. “Bullhorn and TargetRecruit do a great job as generalist solutions,” Bodie stated. “But we’re focused solely on locums, which lets us constantly update and create efficiencies for this niche market.”
Since its launch, Assist has won over 20 agencies and facilities with hundreds of active users. After a successful showcase at the 2024 NALTO Fall Fly-In, interest in Assist has surged.
Yet Bodie’s goal for Assist goes beyond merely existing as an ATS platform. He envisions Assist as the ultimate tech partner for the locum tenens industry, a role the team takes seriously.
“We’re just as much a part of the locum tenens community as you are, and we want to be your tech partner, not just another vendor,” Bodie said. “We’re always improving, and by partnering with us, you’re benefiting from that continuous innovation.”
