When working with a candidate who has little experience reviewing a comp package, it’s to your advantage to point out some other areas that carry significant monetary or personal gain. Here are some tips for helping your candidates develop more holistic views.

Cost of living

The salary figure may initially steal the limelight, but in the end, the highest number doesn’t always come out the winner. The cost of living for the region can significantly impact how far that salary will go. Share regional data and statistics—taxes, home prices, food and transportation costs—and refer your candidate to a cost of living calculation to obtain a clear financial perspective.

Learning and enrichment

Continued education is costly but required for any physician, so anything you contribute toward education and/or professional memberships is money in a candidate’s pocket. Point out the typical society fees and conferences your candidate might attend in a year. In addition to the professional enrichment, mention all benefits to be gained from the enrichment opportunities the job will provide: a change of routine, refreshed outlook and collaborating with others in the field.

Time for R&R

Paid time off carries monetary value, but even more important is its impact on promoting a healthy work/life balance. Review all paid time off included in the package, emphasizing both monetary and personal gains. Highlight any longer-term perks, such as the opportunity to work toward a sabbatical.

Salary models

Be sure your candidate is familiar with the common compensation models and the model currently being offered, especially if they’re new to practice. For a variable model, review the factors that will be taken into account to derive compensation or to obtain bonuses or incentives. If there is an opportunity to change models down the road— such as from straight salary to equity shares—discuss the benefits of reaching that point.

Market trends

National issues can affect costs such as malpractice premiums, cost of tail coverage or physician supply and demand. Be ready to point out trends in your favor, supporting your points with links to current news or studies.

Retirement

For new physicians, retirement might be the furthest thing on their mind. But this type of benefit is a valuable contribution to a comfortable future, so make sure your candidate understands what’s being offered.

Find their motivations

To help your candidate create a more complete view of their comp package, it helps to know what’s important to them. Are they concerned about student loan debt? Planning to start a family? Are they seeking a partnership track, or moving into leadership? Strengthen their commitment by pointing out any benefits that support their priorities.

Create a summary

Candidates are busy and often overwhelmed with new decisions; anything you do to ease their understanding and save time can help convince them to sign on.

It comes down to clear communication and educating your candidate, suggests consulting firm SullivanCotter, which recommends creating a total compensation statement for candidates. This is a one-page summary that highlights individual benefits and their cost, helping your candidate to quickly zero in on the real value of their overall package.

Screening and recruiting top talent can be challenging, but with a strong comp package on your side, it all comes down to building up the candidate’s ability to tally up the positives.