Boutique Physician Search Firm vs. Big Box Search Firm

Heidi Johnson and Sheila Bixler, Healthcare Recruitment Link Founders
For your next physician or advanced practitioner recruitment project, have you considered the benefits of engaging a boutique healthcare search firm? When you hear the term “boutique healthcare search firm,” you may think of a small specialty firm offering unique, and often high-priced, services to a specialized clientele. Some even believe the larger the recruitment firm, the better their resources and access to candidates. In fact, bigger is not always better when it comes to healthcare search firms. With advanced technology, boutique search firms have the extensive candidate databases and resources utilized primarily by large search firms.

The advantages of utilizing a boutique search firm are many.  Fundamental benefits include quality of service, teamwork, and flexibility.

Quality vs. Quantity

  • Most boutique search firms commit only to search projects that their principals can directly and personally manage. This means the firm’s consultants work with a select number of clients/projects with the steadfast objectives of giving every client’s search project the time it deserves, focusing on successful outcomes, and providing the highest level of professionalism and service.
  • Boutique search firms have fewer management layers, lower overhead, direct internal and streamlined client communications, and manageable search portfolios. This ultimately allows for enhanced service as well as significant cost savings passed on to the client.

Teamwork vs. Unacquainted Indifference

  • Relationships are the cornerstone of boutique firms. Rather than a hyper-focus on high revenue and mass client generation, boutique search firms focus on building and preserving relationships, leading to greater customer satisfaction and retention.
  • In a boutique search firm, the functions of business development and recruiting go hand-in-hand. The person who establishes a rapport and fosters a relationship with an organization through the business development process includes the recruitment team assigned to the client, creating a partnership and true team approach.  Search projects are not “handed off” to junior recruiters, frequently with limited experience and understanding of the client organization.
  • Working directly with the principals of a boutique firm allows for continuity of service. It is not uncommon for large search firms to experience high recruiter turnover.
  • Principals and recruitment team members are invested in the relationship and search project in a boutique search firm.
  • When partnering with a boutique search firm, whose principals have a track record of excellent client service and successful outcomes, you know you will be working with the people who were directly responsible for that success.

Flexibility vs. Restriction

  • Flexibility is a quintessential benefit of working with boutique search firms.
  • Boutique search firms have the ability to be more adaptive to their clients’ recruitment needs. Recognizing budgets and having the ability to customize search models and payment structure for each individual client is a key boutique firm benefit.

It boils down to the fact that boutique search firms gauge success by client fulfillment and retention; big box search firms track success by revenue generation.

 

Healthcare Recruitment Link (H-R-L) is not a traditional “big box” healthcare recruitment firm. We are a women-owned boutique firm with experienced founders who think beyond the boundaries of a box to provide customized and cost-effective search solutions based on your organization’s needs and budget.

If you would like information about our innovative search services, please visit www.healthrecruitlink.com or call H-R-L Founders Heidi Johnson - 360.930.8668 or Sheila Bixler - 314.412.8372.

 

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