By Heath Ponder, Search Consultant PHG; and Terry Lane, Staff Writer PHG
You’re almost there! When you finish reading Part 3 of our three-part series on compensation negotiation – you’ll be ready to negotiate like an expert. In this part, we’re going to look at how your recruiter can help you with valuable information that affects your negotiation strategy. It’s only fair of us to remind you that your recruiter is representing the client, so keep that in mind. However, your recruiter knows the market, and competition in a given area – so take advantage of their knowledge!
We’re also going to give you lots of great tips – things you may not have thought about before. And finally, it’s important to know what you really bring to the table. It’s time to take a good hard look at your unique gifts and talents, such as a phenomenal bedside manner, or an above-average ability to handle a crisis. So read on, and get ready to negotiate for the salary you deserve!
Advantages of Utilizing a Recruiter in Negotiation
We understand that not every client chooses to use a recruiting firm in their hiring practices. But for those who do, it provides both the physician and the client with a valuable resource throughout the hiring process. Salary negotiations can become tense, and you don’t want to have negative feelings about your future co-workers. Your recruiter will tell you what will and will not work. Think of your recruiter as an intermediary-helping to move negotiations along amiably. Also, your recruiter will be able to tell you what would be considered “good compensation” for a given opportunity. Here are some of the advantages to utilizing a recruiter during negotiation:
Advantages for using a recruiter to negotiate compensation:
Your recruiter is your best bet for successful salary negotiation – why? Here are a few of the reasons:
- Recruiters have access to current salary surveys.
- Recruiters have marketplace experience – they know how much a physician with comparable abilities and credentials in a similar setting is earning.
- They know if demand is high in a specific geographic region.
- They know what the client is able to pay.
- They know all of the often confusing and sometimes overwhelming variables that can go into compensation, and can help you to understand and consider all of these variables during negotiation.
And here are some helpful tips to keep in mind when you are working with a recruiter:
- Find someone you can trust – as in any negotiation you have to trust who you are working with.
- Select a recruiter who belongs to the National Association of Physician Recruiters (NAPR). Members-in-good-standing practice the highest ethical standards in the business. Ask your recruiter/firm if they are a member-in-good-standing of the NAPR.
- Be flexible – sometimes the client can only do so much. Take all of the aspects of the opportunity into consideration. For example, potential for income over the years. You can discuss these issues with your recruiter.
- Understand that there are time considerations – the client has other physicians they could potentially sign. Be sensitive to time considerations and respond to your client/recruiter as promised.
Do your Homework
In considering all of the variables that go into compensation negotiation, do you feel you are in a quagmire and you just want it to all be over? As confusing as compensation negotiation can seem, it is important to know and understand all of the variables that could be part of your compensation negotiation. The more you know about the opportunity, the market, and the geographic area you will be working in, the better prepared you will be to conduct a successful negotiation. Make sure you have the facts before entering into negotiation. Your recruiter can help you go over each of these variables, but its important to do your homework! Use the list below and discuss each issue with your recruiter before negotiating for salary.
- What are other doctors in the area making?
- What is the payor mix? (How much managed care?) A good payor mix means you can earn more. You have to know what the potential is for good compensation. A bad payor mix is when no matter how hard and long you work, you will still only make “x” number of dollars. Bad payor mix is generally attributed to high managed care. What percentage of the community is managed care?
- What is the potential? (You can feel comfortable about taking a lesser amount if the potential is high.)
- Is the practice already set-up administratively? If not, who is responsible for this? (Advertising, Office Set-Up, Hiring of Nurses and Staff – this takes time and costs money, but helps to assure the physician’s success.)
- Is the hospital going to help promote the new physician’s business and provide patients, or is the physician to responsible for this? If the latter is true, the physician should be paid more.
- Make sure the issue of overhead is negotiated up front. Overhead includes office, machines, nurses, administrative staff, everything that it takes to run your practice. The overhead is subtracted from what your practice earns. Sometimes, when a physician is getting started, the hospital will help pay for the overhead and give a net or gross collections guarantee. A net collections guarantee means they will pay the overhead in addition to a guaranteed salary, and a gross collections guarantee means they will pay you an amount to include overhead and salary, and then depending on how efficiently you run the office, you have to pay overhead out of that.
- Is the client offering a production bonus at the end of the year, and if so, what is the average?
- What is the competition in the area?
- What is the patient volume?
- Is the client offering a signing bonus and/or student loan payment?
Last Minute Tip:
- Try not to tell the client what you made at your last job. You want the client to look at what you bring to the table, not what you are currently making. Like the Limbo, the client wants to see how low you will go. When you are asked what you made previously, reply that you want to be considered for your qualifications, not your salary history. Just say that salary requirements are negotiable.
Your recruiter can help you gather this type of information discreetly and professionally, can help you understand what it means in terms of compensation, and can advise you regarding negotiation of salary.
Temet Nosce
This is Latin for know thyself. It is important to be aware of unique strengths and talents that your client may appreciate, such as:
- Do you possess a specialty or experience that no one else in the area can offer, specifically, that which will attract new customers?
- Is your area of specialty in great demand? Is there a shortage of doctors in the area with your specialty?
- Are you a great fit for the community? Clients are more willing to hire physicians who they feel will fit-in with the community. They want physicians who will be happy in the community and stay a long time. If you are a good fit for that community, that is going to help you get the offer you want.
Your recruiter can help to identify those traits and will present you to the client professionally, highlighting your strengths and unique abilities.
In summary, its important to understand all of the variables that help to determine salary. The client will want to hire the candidate that is the best qualified and the overall best fit. Client’s select the candidate they wish to hire before salary negotiation takes place, so by the time you reach salary negotiation, you are already winning the race. Cross the finish line by negotiating your salary with the help of your recruiter, and you are sure to be completely satisfied with your compensation offer.