By: Morgan Clark

You recently saw a familiar face on your shift. It is one of your coworkers who has been gone for what seems like three months. You go ask them what happened and if everything is okay. They chuckle at your tone and reassure you there was nothing wrong. “In fact,” they say with a Cheshire Cat smile, “I was working for ‘Daddy K!’” Taken aback, you stay to listen about their time away and learn they were working for a travel medical agency, and how they were able to pay off some debt while helping hospitals in need of medical professionals during the pandemic. Listening, it seems as though they were speaking about a good ex-boyfriend instead of a staffing company. Intrigued by this you ask them for the name of the company. They reply with a wide grin, “Krucial Rapid Response.” With that information, you decide to find out who this mysterious Krucial Rapid Response is!

The Stalking/Vetting Krucial Rapid Response Stage

Before you reach out to us, you first must do your research (which we get). As any seasoned researcher (cough stalker cough) knows, you must check out our social media to scrutinize our most recent posts. You click through our highlights, read our comments, and look at posts circa 2019 without accidentally hitting the like button. You also see the big following we have on social media, which can intimidate many but not you. In fact, you see it as a good thing that many want to join or are already a part of, the Krucial Krew. After doing a bit more research through our tagged post and seeing other Reservists enjoying their deployment, you decide to slide into our DMs. Asking a simple question, “How can I become a Reservist?” In turn, we send a short, sweet message with a link to point you in the right direction. You take note of our quick reply, which makes you feel special.

The Talking Stage

With that DM, we have now entered the talking stage. You ask us a couple more questions which we answer with promptness and helpfulness. We take the relationship a step further and slide over our digits. We tell you to call if you need more answers, letting you know our phone line is always open 24/7 (wink). A couple of days later, another question arises for you, and this time you call us. You are chatting with one of our representatives, and they tell you more about our company. Hearing our voice makes you feel more confident about where it’s going and comfortable enough to pursue us.

The Dating Stage

1st Date – After weeks of waiting and communicating with Krucial, you get a text from our Alert Media system asking if you can deploy with us the next day. You press “1”, letting us know you can make it, and Alert Media replies instantly with a phone number for you to call. You call within seconds. Waiting anxiously, hoping someone will answer the call. No one answers the first time, so you try again (and again). This time, someone answers. You are excited, and so are we. We ask you a few questions regarding your dating history (work history). You share that information happily because you know you have been a great partner (employees) in the past. The conversation is flowing; you get to know us as we are getting to know you. There is a connection, and you start to see a future with Krucial. By the end of the conversation, your profile is up to date. The staffing coordinator completes your roster and tells you we will see you tomorrow at 10 pm.

Dating

You are now long-distance dating Krucial, which is why you are buying plane tickets to be with us. Because it’s your first time traveling with us, we are giving you some spending money (travel bonus) to help build the relationship. You wake up to a “Good Morning” text explaining which hotel you will stay in. We introduce you to your KOR (Krucial Onsite Representative), the person informing you about your shift rotations. We provide a transportation service to and from your job each shift because we want you to get there safely. Each week we will treat you to dinner (meal per diem). Sometimes we see you during the day and sometimes late at night, depending on your work schedule. We understand how busy you can get, but our KORs (Krucial Onsite Representatives) will always be available to you.

The Breakup Stage

We hate to be cliché but…it’s not you, it’s us.

It has been a few months together, we have gotten to know and care for you, but the distance has been hard on you. We know being away from your family and loved ones have an emotional toll on you and we do not want that for you. It’s been great… it really has been, but we think it’s best for us to go our separate ways. There is something special about you, but we do not want to keep you from your loved ones. But there have been some good things to come from this. We were able to see you almost every day, introduce you to people in your field, and build a relationship. And you… you were able to help those in their greatest time of need, gain so many experiences, and make enough money to take yourself out of debt. But we still must end this because it seems like we cannot commit to you any longer. We communicated this with you prior so there is no surprise. We are sorry because you did nothing wrong; you were terrific, and we are just moving on.

It has been weeks since you heard from us. You see us posting on our social media but none of our posts are useful for you and your career. Until! We post on our social asking for your specialty with a phone number to call. You call and luckily got in with a staffing coordinator. It looks like you have joined the cycle of dating Krucial again. Is it toxic? Maybe by definition but is it worth it…YES.

Interested in contributing to the Krucial Kollective? Send us an e-mail at marketing@krucialrr.org and let us know what you would like to write!