Background
Physician recruitment firms first came on the scene in the mid-1970s to assist medical organizations in placing physicians. Medical organizations were looking for expert recruitment specialists because many of their in-house human resource departments lacked the efficiency and experience required to find and place the right candidates. Since then, these independent search firms have grown significantly and now number in the hundreds.
Physician search firms help a wide range of medical organizations such as hospitals, medical groups, QHRs, and managed care companies. At the same time, they also assist physicians in locating permanent job opportunities. By connecting medical organizations with doctors, physician recruitment firms act as intermediaries and provide indispensable consulting services. They can concentrate on one particular region or specialty or take in the entire United States and all specialties. Search firms ultimately work for the client. Therefore, a physician should never be charged a fee for using their services.
Medical facilities will often call on the expertise of a physician recruitment firm because they do not want to lose an existing patient base due to unexpected vacancies. In addition, they will often turn to recruitment firms in order to find in-demand specialists. Other advantages for using recruitment firms are the effective and timesaving benefits of advanced marketing and advertising campaigns, extensive screening and research work, and one-on-one personal selling techniques that many hospitals and medical groups are just not capable of executing.
Types of Physician Recruitment Firms
Physician recruitment firms come in all shapes and sizes. So, what types are there and how does each operate? Though there are many variations and combinations, these firms are generally divided into two major categories:
- Contingency Search Firms
- Retained Search Firms
Whether contingency or retained, each recruitment company will vary depending on its level of professionalism and experience. A great place to start when seriously considering a search agency would be with the National Association of Physician Recruiters (NAPR), which has a list of more than 200 physician recruitment members who must abide by stringent industry standards. What exactly are the differences between contingency and retained search firms? Read on.
Contingency Firms Explained
Contingency firms are physician recruitment firms that do not get paid by the client until they successfully place a physician. Since they are only paid when they make a successful placement, very few visit the client and thoroughly understand the opportunity. Most contingency firms rely on their clients to handle these details. Being more candidate-concentric, contingency firms excel in presenting candidates. There is little or no risk involved in hiring their services, and candidates will get their CVs presented to many medical facilities.
When health care organizations decide to use more than one contingency firm, they may be inundated with curricula vitae from competing contingency firms who want their own physicians to be placed. This means that clients must sort and evaluate dozens of CVs. Some contingency firms will always prescreen and prequalify the physicians, but this depends on the relationship that the contingency firm has with the client since some work more closely with their clients than others.
Retained Firms Explained
The client pays a retained search firm either an up-front fee or monthly installments of the fee before placing a physician. However, these firms will offer all types of payment variations depending on the company. If a suitable physician is not found, the firm may keep the money that has already been invested in the search. This presents a greater risk to clients.
Retained firms are in direct competition with contingency firms but are client-concentric. This means that they will work with one particular medical organization until a suitable candidate is found for that institution. Because they are getting paid to understand the client’s needs, they are under a greater obligation to fulfill their contract and promote continued business by finding the best physician. This will increase the chances of making the best placement.
Retained firms will invest more of their time on a client by sending representatives to visit the medical facility and work with them on a one-on-one basis in order to produce quality results. Therefore, medical organizations that go this route should expect more personalized attention and service.
In addition, retained firms will do most of the sorting and evaluating of curricula vitae, so the medical organization can spend less time reviewing CVs. This may be good if your time and resources are limited and/or you do not have the adequate staff to handle these responsibilities. The bottom line is that clients who want a search firm to focus on their opportunity will hire a retained firm.
From the candidate’s perspective, the retained firm will be able to pass on more detailed information to the physician about the compensation, contract, local competition, community and facility demographics than a contingency firm would. This may save the candidate time and gives him/her more important details about the position.
Recruitment Fees
Normally, costs range from $18,000 to $28,000 for placing a physician. Though this may seem like a great deal of money, recruitment firms incur a great deal of expenses during the search process. Expenses may include advertising, direct mail campaigns, extensive research and background checks, travelling, interviewing, and much more. Clients pay the expenses of most retained search firms. In contrast, the expenses for contingency firms may not be covered. This is why contingency search firms are not apt to visit the client and invest more time and money than is necessary.
Conclusion
Simply put, the retained approach is more thorough and quality focused; however, the contingency approach is more volume. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Understanding how physician recruitment firms work and what types are available sets the foundation for making an informed decision. However, you may still have questions as to which type of firm is best for your particular organization. Be sure to read Part II of this article in next month’s newsletter, which will go into further detail by explaining how the differences between contingency and retained firms can work to your advantage or disadvantage. Next month’s article will be geared toward giving you the tools you will need to make the right choice.
References
Schmiege, David P. (2003). The Resident and the Recruiter. Retrieved December 12, 2003, from MedStrategies Management Group web site:
New Physician. How to Work With Recruiting Firms. Retrieved December 12, 2003, from http://www.newphysician.com/articles/howto_1.html.
Bruce, Calvin (March-April 2001). Evaluating Physician Search Firms. Retrieved December 12, 2003, from The New England Journal of Medicine CareerCenter web site:
Cornell, Rich (July-August 1999). Retained vs. Contingency: Selecting the Right Search Firm. Retrieved December 12, 2003, from The New England Journal of Medicine CareerCenter web site: