01 · The cost of the vacancy
The seat sitting empty$0
Direct cost of a hire that fails$0
Running the search a second time$0
versus
Our fee, paid in three installments$0
Inputs and assumptions used
Role—
Organization type—
Level—
First-year base salary—
Months seat is / will be open—
Cost of a hire that fails—
Monthly cost of the empty seat—
Probability the hire doesn't hold—
Every value above was set by the requester. Change any of them and the figures change accordingly. Figures are estimates from a published model, not a valuation, and not financial advice.
02 · Recommendation
One search, run once, backed by a guarantee.
RETAIN HEALTH is a healthcare executive search firm built around a single question: will this leader still be here years from now? Every candidate is assessed against the seat itself on the Retention Index™ before anyone is introduced.
The ask
Authorize an engagement of
$0
At signing$0
On delivery of the shortlist · ~week 6$0
On the candidate's accepted offer$0
Nothing is owed until an agreement is signed. Fees are calculated on first-year base salary; the final installment reconciles to the actual figure.
Prepared by
Kimberly Cook, MPH
Healthcare Executive Search Consultant · Founder, RETAIN HEALTH · Experience across health systems and hospitals, ambulatory care and physician-led practices, and community health
03 · What approval sets in motion
Weeks 0–6
We run the search
Kickoff assessment of the seat, targeted outreach across the full candidate market, and assessment of every finalist against this specific role.
End of week 6
You get a shortlist
Three to five names, each with the reasoning attached. This is the decision point.
Weeks 7–10
You choose and we close
Interviews, references, and the offer conversation handled through to signature.
Through the guarantee
We stay accountable
Check-ins with the placement and with the hiring leader. If it doesn't hold, we run it again at no additional fee.
Eight to twelve weeks from kickoff to a signed offer. The first six are ours; the rest moves at the pace your panel can convene. The plan accounts for notice periods and credentialing before your leader starts. Have a date the seat must be filled by? We plan the search backward from it.
04 · FAQs
"Why not use our internal team?"Internal teams are built for volume and are good at it. This is a single seat where the cost of getting it wrong is the figure above — and the last search likely moved at the pace volume demands, without the capacity to assess whether the person and the seat would hold.
"What if the person leaves anyway?"
"How is this different from any other search firm?"In addition to your search consultant’s real-world healthcare experience, every finalist is assessed against this specific seat on five dimensions of staying power — by a person, from documented evidence, with the reasoning written down and delivered with the shortlist. You see why each candidate is there, not just that they are.
"What do you need from us?"An accurate picture of the role, including what happened before; access to the people whose expectations shape it; a confirmed compensation band before sourcing begins; and interview feedback within five business days. Those four things decide the timeline more than anything we do.
"Can we wait?"
The Retention Index™
Our proprietary methodology for assessing how well a healthcare leader fits a specific role — applied before anyone is introduced.
01
Qualified is the baselineEvery candidate clears it before the Index is applied at all.
02
Five dimensions of staying powerAssessed against this seat, not against other candidates.
03
Advisory, and humanEvery assessment made by a person from documented, job-related evidence.
04
You decideProtected characteristics are never recorded or assessed. Every hiring decision is yours.
Why this firm
Most generalist executive search firms have never worked inside a healthcare organization. RETAIN HEALTH was built by a healthcare insider — we've worked alongside these leaders, coached them, and lived with the cost when a placement didn't hold.
Your search starts from real knowledge of the roles and the settings, not a keyword filter in a recycled database.
Who we partner with
Health systems and hospitals, ambulatory care and physician services, and community health — where operational, clinical, quality, and transformation leadership intersect.
We're an especially strong fit for organizations that want a wider field than a recycled database produces. We source beyond the usual networks and assess every candidate against the same written criteria.
retainhealth.co