What is Cultural Fit Worth?

Despite popular belief, compensation isn’t everything to today’s physicians. As more physicians move from private practice to an employed model, health care organizations will be challenged to integrate new physicians with different expectations related to cultural attributes such as accountability, autonomy, work environment and communication styles.

How important do you think culture is to the physicians in your organization? Do you think there are any gaps in how you and your physicians view the culture in your organization? Do you believe it is necessary to invest in assessing and developing cultural fit?

You might be surprised by what we learned in our recent survey conducted in partnership with Physician Wellness Services. The survey examined the influence of 14 cultural attributes on physicians’ overall satisfaction, and their perceptions about their organization’s performance related to those cultural attributes.

We discovered gaps between physician satisfaction and their organization’s performance. Many of the attributes that physicians ranked as most important to their overall satisfaction (rated 8 or above on a scale of 1 to 10) were ranked relatively low in terms of organizational performance with the attribute; the most substantial gaps occur with:   

•        Transparent communication
•        Collaborative leadership style
•        Organizational adaptation to change 

We were particularly concerned to learn that administrators underestimate the frequency with which physician respondents said that lack of cultural fit has prompted them to leave or decline a position. Since the cost of turnover and prolonged vacancy can cost a practice as much as $100,000 per month, it is vital to understand the influence of organizational culture and its impact on a physician’s decision to join - and stay - with your practice. This is especially critical in the first three years of joining a practice, when recruits are highly vulnerable to turnover. 

Physicians want to know that their organization is progressive, particularly in today’s evolving health care landscape. The survey makes it clear that a significant number of physicians are not satisfied with their organization’s ability to communicate effectively and transparently, provide collaborative leadership and adapt to changes.

Organizations can help fill these gaps by more objectively assessing cultural fit of physician candidates with these simple steps:

• Define the attributes that make physicians successful in your organization.
• Screen effectively for those traits and beware of red flags that might indicate a poor fit with your culture.
• Conduct behavioral interviewing to evaluate teamwork and team leadership qualities.
• Onboard effectively to educate new recruits on your organization’s day-to-day culture.
• Assign a mentor and create a formalized program.
• Offer flexibility and work/life balance.
• Identify your organization’s physician leaders to champion transformation and promote positive cultural changes.

For more information on workplace culture and its influence on physician recruitment and retention – or to request a full copy of the survey report – click here or contact Emily Velders at (800) 296-2698 ext. 64508 or evelders@cejkasearch.com. 

Who Should Pay for Medical Education?

It's no surprise that debt is one of the largest issues facing medical school grads after graduation. It's even less surprising that with an average debt of $162,000, these grads seek some sort of loan repayment program as part of their recruitment package.

World-renowned Princeton University economics professor Uwe Reinhart evaluates the subject in a recent post with the New York Times Economix blog and references a Cejka Search survey. In Dr. Reinhart's link to our website, http://nyti.ms/UhAY9K, he discusses the range of physician compensation and whether or not medical education should be government subsidized as a public good.

According to our annual Resident and Fellow Survey, recent graduates are looking for loan repayment in their starting compensation packages. In fact, 47.5 percent of respondents ranked educational loan repayment as important or very important when deciding upon a practice opportunity.

According to the 2011 Cejka Search and AMGA Physician Retention Survey, about 60 percent of medical groups offer loan repayment, a majority of whom believe this incentive acts as a differentiator.

But size matters. For many medical groups, this is not a practical incentive to offer. Midsize groups were much more likely to offer this incentive as a part of their compensation package. Half of respondents from both small groups and large groups reported that loan payment isn't even applicable within their organization.

This mirrors trends our search consultants are seeing in the field. We've found that small group clients often don't have the resources to offer loan repayment. Large groups, on the other hand, don't have to offer loan repayment because they are either in a desirable location or they are the primary employer in the area, so their job openings aren't as difficult to fill.

Medical education debt load can thus be seen as a contributing factor to the demise of the small, independent medical practice. It's apparent that the cost of medical education deters students and exacerbates the growing physician shortage.

Part of the current debate in the medical community revolves around the size of the role the government should play in subsidizing medical education. This debate will surely continue as the industry and government formulate solutions to offset the high cost of medical care.

Should America continue to let the private sector address the high cost of medical education in this way or follow the lead of other countries that make medical education affordable or free? In essence, who should pay for medical training?

Executive and Physician Recruitment Firm Cejka Search is Named One of the Nation’s Top Health Care Employers

Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work Recognizes Cejka Search

Modern Healthcare has named Cejka Search  to its annual list of Best Places to Work in 2012.  With more than 30 years of experience recruiting physicians and health care leaders for its clients, Cejka Search received acclaim for its own staff and work environment.

“As a provider of health care executive search and physician staffing services, we recognize and appreciate the value of an engaged workforce, whether we are attracting top talent for our clients or our own staff,” stated Lori Schutte, president of Cejka Search.

Now in its fifth year, Modern Healthcare’s recognition program celebrates outstanding employers in the health care industry on a national level.  The publication compiles the list from an assortment of data including analysis of business practices and detailed employee surveys on core areas such as culture and communications, training and development and role satisfaction.

“Having a consistent, high-performing team of experienced health care search consultants and physician recruiters directly translates to exceptional service for our clients and the candidates we recruit for them,” said Schutte.

About Cejka Search

Cejka Search is a nationally recognized physician, health care executive, advanced practice and allied health search firm providing services exclusively to the health care industry for more than 30 years. Cejka Search recruits top health care talent for organizations nationwide through our team of experienced professionals, award-winning recruitment technology and commitment to service excellence. Cejka Search is a Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. company, a leading provider of health care staffing services in the United States. For more information visit http://www.cejkasearch.com, contact Michelle Kuehler (Black Twig Communications), 314-536-8909, or Mary Barber (Cejka Search), 314-236-4410.

Avoid High Costs of Physician Stress and Burnout

After digesting the Mayo Clinic’s alarming data released on Monday, August 20, 2012, stating that nearly 1 in 2 (45.8%) of the nation’s doctors already suffer a symptom of burnout, it is now time to understand the implications of physician stress and burnout and what you can do about it.

Physician stress and burnout drives turnover, which is highly disruptive and expensive for a medical practice.  Besides increased turnover and retention challenges, healthcare organizations risk patient safety and quality issues.  Decreased productivity, disruptive behavior and lower morale also result from a lack of attention to the signs and symptoms of physician stress and burnout.

Recruiters need to recognize a stressed practice environment because it will only make recruitment more difficult and costly.  According to the 2011 Physician Stress and Burnout Survey from Physician Wellness Services and Cejka Search, nearly 14% of physicians left a practice due to stress and/or burnout.  Each of these vacancies translates to nearly $100,000 in accumulated costs each month from loss of downstream revenue, incurred recruiting costs and annual start-up costs.

The survey also revealed that most physicians (87%) are moderately to severely stressed and/or burned out.  Typically the physicians who have higher stress levels are mid-career physicians in their 40s and 50s because these doctors are at a point in their lives where family pressures from their children and aging parents may be mounting, while job demands that come with higher experience levels are increasing.

Healthcare organizations can “address the stress” and promote a more balanced, productive work environment for physicians by offering the following:

• Flexible work options, including four-day work week or part-time schedules
• Teamwork through job sharing, hospitalist programs and an increased use of advanced practitioners
• Technology, such as EMRs, allows for remote access and more cohesive communication

To learn more about the impact physician stress and burnout has on your organization’s recruitment and retention goals, and what organizations can do about it, visit http://www.cejkasearch.com/resources/trend-benders/physician-stress-and-burnout/.

Health Care Recruiters Receive Well-Deserved Recognition

This week Cejka Search and Cejka Executive Search recognized client and internal physician and health care executive recruiters in observance of congress' National Health Care Recruiter Recognition Day on Tuesday, June 5. Cejka Search understands first-hand the challenges associated with this profession, in an industry facing physician shortages and growing demand for leadership in the face of reform and a difficult economic environment. As a small token of appreciation for in-house recruiters, recruitment departments within health care organizations, physician search consultants and executive search associates, Cejka Search acknowledged both clients and employees with greeting cards and an afternoon reception.

For more than 30 years, Cejka Search has been a strong and active supporter of organizations dedicated to training, development, ethical conduct and thought-leadership in the health care recruiting industry, such as the Association of Staff Physician Recruiters (ASPR), the National Association of PhysicianRecruiters (NAPR), and The Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC). Additionally, Cejka Search contributes thought leadership on the topics of recruitment, retention and leadership development through frequent presentations, publications and benchmarking surveys, which include the Physician Executive Compensation Survey, published biennially in partnership with the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE); and the annual Physician Retention Survey, published in partnership with the American Medical Group Association (AMGA).

For an inspiring look at the how experienced search consultants make the difference in physician recruitment, watch our new video.

“Bend” Current Trends to Your Advantage

Your recruitment efforts pay dividends when retention is high. As you hire physicians, allied health practitioners, and therapy professionals, Cejka Search can help you stay ahead of emerging recruitment and retention trends and “bend” them to your advantage.

Key Trend: Turnover Ticked Up in Line with Economic Recovery
According to the Cejka Search and AMGA 2010 Physician Retention Survey, medical groups are becoming more active in hiring.

• Signaling that an already competitive physician market may become more so, the majority of medical groups (83 percent) will hire more or significantly more primary care physicians.
  


• Nearly as many said they will be hiring more or significantly more specialists (79 percent) and advanced practitioners (78 percent).

A helpful resource on key trends can be found in the presentation called Trend Benders: Hire and Keep Star Physicians.

Five Steps to Successfully Close the Deal

After spending a lot of time, energy and money, you are ready to make an offer and close the deal! Timing is crucial to the success of any step in the recruitment process but this is especially true when it comes to the offer/contract phase.

Consider the following pointers – they can mean the difference between making a successful hire and starting all over again.

1. Strike while the iron is hot!
Be ready to make a decision within 48 hours or less of a candidate’s interview. It is even better if the candidate can walk away from the interview with an offer in hand. A candidate’s level of interest and enthusiasm is always the highest during the interview. Making an offer quickly shows the candidate your level of interest. It is important you have an objective and timely manner to collect interview feedback from the panel. I recommend sending an interview evaluation form to the interview panel with the interview itinerary. The evaluation form should be easy to fill out and return to you.

2. Give the candidate a deadline for his decision
If you are prepared to make an offer in a timely manner, it is only fair to ask the candidate for a prompt reply too. It is best to place a two week deadline on your offer/contract. During this two week period the candidate is assured the offer is exclusive to him only. If the two week deadline passes, you are free to pursue other candidates and it’s a “first come, first serve” scenario. Enforce your deadlines. Often I see my clients extend deadlines over and over. Why use deadlines if you are just going to extend them!

3. Skip the offer letter and go with the contract
This one is tough! Many of my clients have a two step process. First an offer letter goes with all the details that will be included in the contract, start date, signing bonus, compensation, scheduled, etc. Once the signed offer letter is returned, the contract is sent.
I would strongly encourage you to skip the offer letter step and go straight to the contact phase. An offer letter is not legal binding and it just prolongs the process giving your candidate more time to consider other opportunities or to shop your offer around to see if he can get a better deal!

If your organization will not forgo the offer letter step, I strongly encourage you to have a contract ready to mail out as soon as the signed offer letter is returned. Many times, my clients wait until the signed offer letter is returned before the contract is even requested/prepared – again you are just prolonging the process. I have seen client take several weeks after the return of a signed offer letter to get a contract out. Trust me; this is not the best way to instill confidence in your candidate!!!

4. Keep the contract simple
If you have a contract that is more that 5-10 pages, it is time to go back to drawing board! Candidates are intimidated when they get lengthy contracts. The simpler your contract, the faster you will get it back.

5. Use overnight mailing services instead of regular mail
Now is not the time to save some money! When you are sending out offers/contract use overnight mail and be sure to include a return overnight envelope too. This makes the right impression with the candidate and reinforces the need for a prompt reply.


Time is your biggest enemy! I can’t stress this enough. Take a look at your current offer/contract process and see if you can apply any of the suggestions I just made. They can make a big difference.