Soliant

NedRN · Feb 16, 2013

Actually, I asked first if anyone had worked with them before. Then, I asked for the good, bad and ugly. Lastly, I asked for pay. Most importantly, asked for people who worked from the first hand. I didn't ask for any other suggestions or opinions. Tell me that I shouldn't be concerned about money was unnecessary and unprofessional to me, particularly since I didn't ask or need that "friendly advice". As notes, neither of the first 2 responses were relevant to what I asked so I'm unsure about their reasons for posting.

Mine was the first reply. You asked:

Has anyone used Soliant as an agency? They have a lot of jobs in Georgia, particularly in Atlanta, where I'm interested in traveling. Anyone know about them? The good, bad, ugly? Is pay competitive? Thanks!

I answered succinctly the only one of your questions I knew the answer to:

Call a few other agencies to find out competitiveness.

You may disagree with the answer, but it is still highly relevant. You may get really lucky and a traveler responds here that has worked for Soliant (I haven't) as well as another agency for some sort of comparison that you seek. Even if you get so lucky, will that traveler be in your specialty, work for them recently, worked for them in Georgia, got paid similarly to what you will get (hospital needs change from week to week, and so can pay), and liked the assignment and the housing and the recruiter? The chances of that happening are close to zero. Worth asking, but better is to know how to find out answers more directly. Yes, it does take more work.

We are here to support other travelers. This is an open forum, and anyone is free to post. Even when you don't like the answers, you should be thankful that you get any answers at all. Sometimes threads take strange turns as do any conversations, but this time it is largely due to you. Asking for help, and then jumping on the responders does not make for a friendly forum. I get snippy myself so I do understand your frustration when the answers are not what you expect.

I'm going to go further out on a limb here and provide additional "generic" information. There are over 400 travel nurse agencies in this country, and every single one of them have fans who say they are better than any other agency. Every single one of them also has huge detractors that say they suck big time. Each agency to traveler, and recruiter to traveler relationship is different. The only way to really find out if they work well for you is to work for them.

That said, you can raise your chances dramatically. Call other agencies and see how well you communicate with them. Find out specific pay and benefits (if you get really lucky, at the same hospital of interest). Compare and contrast and make a decision on what works best for you.

Finally, getting individual response on a travel forum can be quite helpful. Just recognize that positive or negative that your experience WILL be different. Filter accordingly and make your own judgement.

On an agency note, Soliant is based in Atlanta and probably knows the situation on the ground better than most agencies. I tend to favor such agencies myself as they should have a better working relationship with the hospitals than larger remote agencies. But those large agencies such as Cross Country and American Mobile will have plenty of contracts in Georgia. It is the rare hospital that can fill all assignments with one (local) agency. Chances can run both ways on whether a local agency pays more than a larger agency (I could write a book on the various supply and demand issues here affecting bill rates). The same goes with how you are treated by different agencies.

By the way, I know of 15 Georgia based travel companies (I collect a lot of information). Of note is Cirrus, a well known midsize agency with a good reputation among travelers. I have no idea if they have a lot of Georgia jobs or not, but they are perhaps worth a call. Another popular agency is Millenia based nearby in South Carolina. While I also don't know about their Georgia contracts, they do focus on getting contracts in their region.

PHP is based in Atlanta as well, and that one I can personally recommend as I have worked with them (although a long time ago, they still have some of the same folks working there). Very good service, pay is on the lower side though.

Good luck! You can get crazy doing research and it might not affect the outcome anyway. So try to limit how much you do. At some point, you have to make some money.

Lovelymo79 · Feb 17, 2013

I would have to disagree. While I would be lucky to get a response, any response is better than no response at all. Whether they worked in my same specialty wouldn't matter. I was simple asking if anyone had worked with them, and if so, a few more answers. I would rather have first hand knowledge from someone who has experienced them, or any one, than going to an agency directly. Because any information from an agency will be slanted. Of course they would say they have the best housing. Of course they would say they have the best recruiters. Of course they will make themselves look good. But are they really? The actual employees will tell me that better, not the agency.

Yes, anyone is free to post but people post on here asking for specific answers. So I AM thankful for when people answer questions specifically for what I asked, not inserting their personal opinions of what they assume or think I need to be concerned about. That type of posting, I believe, is irrelevant and not needed. For those, I am not thankful for. Sorry. I expect real answers, not answers just to fill space.

I definitely appreciate your response. That answer, I am thankful for.

Editorial Team / Admin · Feb 17, 2013

Good gracious mercy sakes alive.

Why are ya'll bickering back and forth on this thread?

Come on, let's back off each other, try and have a civil discussion, don't make it personal, etc.

I'm gonna have to go get the Tums bottle out if ya'll keep on like you've been doing.

Sound like a solid plan to civilly talk/debate??

(fair warning as future posts like the ones above will be deleted and points assigned against accounts - please do not make us do this, k??)

Jess.RN87 · Apr 16, 2013

AH! Monique! I tried to PM you, but I haven't posted 15 times, so, anyway... Here is my reply...

Hey Monique,

I'm currently on my second assignment w/ Soliant. I really have nothing to compare Soliant to, as they're my first company.

My recruiter is OK, usually pleasant. He was very involved at the beginning, calling every few days to make sure that I was doing ok and now he has backed way, way off (which is nice).

I was under the impression that they would be providing housing, but like two weeks before I was supposed to move my recruiter just asked me if I had my housing sorted out. So, I was thrown off by that. I ended up finding a corporate apartment on my own about one mile from my hospital, which was really really nice.

I've had some money issues with them. Apparently I was overpaid on Christmas Eve (holiday pay + overtime) and I didn't realize it. Well, when the company finally realized what was going on they just started taking money out of my checks (actually they took out basically all of the money I made from an overtime shift) without telling me. When I brought it up to my recruiter he didn't know why they had taken it out either and had to go digging for an answer. So, apparently their accounting department & recruiting department do not keep in touch very well. I had to have some taken out of three checks to pay back the company. And, just two weeks ago, I had some money taken out of my account for no reason. Recruiter is still working on that. He says he's never had an issue with money and now I've had all of these problems...idk...just seems a little weird and unnecessary to me.

I'm not sure if they do 8 week contracts. That's how I wanted to start out, too... but honestly the 13 weeks goes by so fast. I'm working at Northside Hospital Atlanta now and literally 90% of the people have been SO amazing there. I think the other nurses who aren't friendly toward me just don't have friendly personalities to begin with. The ancillary departments kind of suck too, which I'm not used to at all. I float anywhere from 1-3 shifts/month, and didn't float at all on my first assignment until the last week of it. I'm working on the Blood & Marrow Transplant unit (4 North) and float to Medical Oncology & GYN Surgery (3 North). Everyone is very nice and helpful when I'm pulled to 3N.

I had a hard time getting in touch with Soliant, too. After a few emails and info requests, I finally called and had to trust fate to give me a good recruiter! It worked out pretty well and I'd be happy to give you his info if you're interested!

What did I leave out?!

Jess

Lovelymo79 · Apr 16, 2013

Hey Jess! I got your message..twice. So, I'll respond there! Thanks for the info!

snellison8 · Mar 10, 2014

Did you ever received any answers to the question? because I would like to know more about Soliant since they have many jobs in Florida.

snellison8 · Mar 10, 2014

How about any local travel agency in Florida?

Julius Seizure · Mar 15, 2014

I am on a contract with Soliant right now. This is my first travel job, and my recruiter is very nice and professional, but the experience hasn't been without its frustrations and being my first assignment, I dont know if that is because they arent doing what they should, or just because I am new and didnt know what to expect.

I do PICU, and my recruiter suggested several jobs to me, but I knew specifically where I wanted to go and had seen a job with that hospital advertised elsewhere and asked her about it - she got me that job. But along the way there was a lot of problems, like that I already had a Florida license, and she still thought that I needed to get fingerprinted but wasn't sure.....then turns out that I DID need to....but then she wasn't sure if I was able to do it in Michigan and mail it to them or not.....anyway, it ended up pushing my start date back by a week, which was frustrating and has messed up my housing because I found my own place and signed a lease for my original contract dates.

All my paperwork was a pain because although my recruiter was good, this other guy, ********, was involved for some reason and he kept emailing me asking for forms and documents and was messing things up. I don't even know why he was involved. Now that I am halfway through my assignment, my recruiter calls me every couple of weeks maybe just to check and see if I am ok. I dunno, I feel like shes like "ok shes in a contract, I dont have to deal with her for a couple months". Just personal preference, some people like the distance I guess, but this being my first assignment, I would have liked a little more contact.

Another thing for me is that she has urged me to extend my contract at the current facility and says that the benefit to me would be a $250 bonus. I feel like that is a low-ball offer, since my package included a $500 travel reimbursement to originally come here....but only $250 to stay. They haven't been BAD to me, but I am not totally sold on staying with them for my next contract.

snellison8 · Mar 15, 2014

Thanks for the information.

snellison8 · Mar 15, 2014

I received one from a first time traveler, it was kind of neutral.. uncertain if they would accept another assignment from Soliant.

Only Soliant advertised for the area I'm looking for (PACU) in Florida. I was told by a couple of agencies, that agencies does not accepting much contracts in Florida, because the state does not pay well.

NedRN · Mar 15, 2014

To Janey496:

As agencies get bigger and hospitals and vendor managers require more documentation, they often have a QA specialist. That is probably who ******* is. Recruiters are basically sales, and have an incentive to take shortcuts on documentation. Incomplete profiles reflect badly on an agency and does nothing to improve client relations.

That said, it does seem like a number of QA people are bad at it - I've met my share of them.

I'm getting a very interesting picture of Soliant here. They seem to be attracting a large number of new travelers which says two things to me, they probably are not good enough to get experienced travelers, and they have a large marketing budget which impacts traveler pay and some of the decisions they are making about how to run an agency.

I'm always stunned when an agency that has spent a lot of money to recruit a traveler, and has paid for marketing and onboarding with the first assignment, now offers them a pay cut to renew. Instead of effectively cutting your pay 50 cents an hour, they should be building good will and hoping to retain you by offering you a dollar or two an hour more and perhaps have you long term.

Great post by the way, exactly what people are hoping for with a description of your working relationship with an agency. One other thing that it points out is not to trust agencies about almost anything, especially not with good license information. Always try to get the final word on a license issue from the board directly. Preliminary information from a trusted site like PanTravelers is good as far as it goes, but make sure by talking to the board if you can get to an assignment on time before you commit. Florida may not be there yet, but I believe their goal is to fingerprint every renewal to cut out identity fraud.

NedRN · Mar 15, 2014

I received one from a first time traveler, it was kind of neutral.. uncertain if they would accept another assignment from Soliant.
Only Soliant advertised for the area I'm looking for (PACU) in Florida. I was told by a couple of agencies, that agencies does not accepting much contracts in Florida, because the state does not pay well.

I don't know where you saw assignment advertising, but be aware that most such advertisements or job board postings are phony. Things happen too fast to post real jobs, so most postings are "representative". Literally hundreds of agencies will have PACU assignments in Florida, but only a few have systems in place to post real assignments on their own site, not to mention a dozen or two job boards. If real jobs are posted, generally by the time an interested traveler gets onboarded, that job is gone. The marketers count on something else being available by that time.

Agencies saying they don't do contracts in Florida is just sour grapes. True enough it is a commoditized region and they may not be able to differentiate themselves from other agencies and so don't try to compete. And just like travelers, agencies hate to work for HCA, the dominant hospital chain in Florida.