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.
- The cost to recruit a single physician may approach $250,000 with direct and optional costs to sign your top choice. The actual cost will depend on specialty, geographic location, competition, and recruitment incentives offered by your organization. The Direct/Customary Costs listed below will form the base for your recruitment budget. The Recruitment Incentives are optional.
Direct/Customary Costs
♦ Search firm fee or cost for in-house staff
$18,000 – $35,000
♦ Sourcing/marketing costs
$6,000 – $12,000
♦ Site visit/interview expenses for 3 candidates
$ 9,000 – $15,000
♦ Relocation expense
$ 5,000 – $15,000+
Recruitment Incentives (Optional)
♦ Residency/Fellowship stipend
$12,000 – $36,000+
♦ Sign-on bonus
$20,000 – $100,000+
♦ Education loan repayment assistance
$25,000 – $100,000+
♦ Housing assistance
$50,000 – $100,000+
♦ Retention bonus (per year)
$10,000 – $50,000
- Recruitment incentives allow you to customize an offer that will fit the specific needs of your top choice candidate(s). For example, a Resident or Fellow may be seeking education loan repayment; an experienced physician moving to a new community may seek a generous sign-on bonus or housing assistance.
- To retain difficult-to-recruit specialties such as Internal Medicine or Family Medicine, you may wish to consider providing a retention bonus.
- Considering that the cost of physician turnover/physician vacancies can range from $1.8 million for an Internist to $2.8 million for an Orthopedic Surgeon, a well-thought-out medical manpower plan, a thorough understanding of costs and time involved with recruitment, evaluation of compensation and recruitment incentives, a defined position description, and preparing well in advance prior to entering the recruitment process will provide a significant competitive advantage.
- Allowing 6-12+ months to fill each physician vacancy, preparing offers to meet the specific needs of each candidate, and implementing a strong onboarding and retention process will ensure your organization meets community need.
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.
In addition to the obvious loss of revenue and costs for recruiting a replacement, a vacant physician position affects additional elements along the healthcare continuum. Overall, this has a significantly negative impact on an organization’s annual operating budget.
- Depending on the specialty, a vacant provider position can cost a healthcare organization $1.8 Million (Internal Medicine) to $2.8 Million (Orthopedic Surgeon) in lost revenue per year. Also depending on the specialty and geographic location, it can take more than a year to recruit the right provider who fits the organization’s culture and who will stay long-term.
- Other organizational elements affected by turnover or a vacant position (each of which has a significant financial impact but are less obvious and some are difficult to measure), include:
- patient access
- patient out-migration
- quality of care
- service experience
- productivity
- morale
- organizational reputation
- ancillary service revenue
- regulatory mandates
In addition to costs associated with a physician vacancy is the cost of recruitment to fill the position. These costs include recruitment firm professional fees, site visits, competitive recruitment incentives, and HR staff and physician recruitment team time. Please visit H-R-L Blog, “What Will it Cost to Recruit a Physician?” https://healthrecruitlink.com/blog/).
Implementing retention initiatives and seeking the assistance of an experienced physician recruitment firm that offers alternatives to traditional retained search, is key to avoiding excess costs involved with physician vacancies.
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.
Outlined below are a few points of interest including supply and demand forecast for this vital and growing specialty of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
- Hospice is a specific type of palliative care for people who likely have 6 months or less to live. In other words, hospice care is always palliative, but not all palliative care is hospice care. Hospice is a specific type of palliative care reserved for patients with terminal illness or within six months of death. Hospice is generally provided in the patient’s home.
- Palliative Care is whole-person care, provided at any stage of illness, that relieves symptoms of a disease or disorder, and whether or not the patient is terminal. The objective is pain and symptom relief. Palliative Care programs can be inpatient or community-based.
- According to the AMA, there are approximately 6,400 active Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM) physicians in the U.S. or 13.35 per 100,000 adults aged 65 years or older.
- AAHPM projects the need in 2040 will range from 10,640 to almost 24,000 HPM specialists. The supply will range from 8,100 to 19,000.
- In addition to the physician shortage, patient access to Palliative Care is inconsistent and based on insurance coverage. Those with traditional Medicare fee-for-service coverage would likely be able to access home-based palliative care only if they had the resources to pay for it out of pocket. Patients with Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage, and some types of commercial insurance are likely to have services covered but only in some states.
- Current median compensation for non-academic Hospice and Palliative Medicine Physicians, across all U.S. regions, ranges from $225,892 to $240,765.
The team at Healthcare Recruitment Link (H-R-L) has had the distinct pleasure of assisting Hospice and Palliative Care organizations with their physician and executive leadership recruitment needs. We hold this specialty near and dear to our hearts.
Complimentary Market Analysis & Compensation Report
If you would like a comprehensive copy of our Hospice and Palliative Medicine Market Analysis and Compensation Report, please contact us by clicking here. The report includes additional specialty statistics and compensation broken down by U.S. region, physician and advanced practitioner, and academic/non-academic practice.
