Contingency CNO Search · Critical Access & Rural Hospitals
Hiring a CNO for a small hospital is hard. We'll find yours.
Why rural searches are different
Fewer local candidates
Your next hire probably doesn't live in your county yet. We find the ones who would move for the right hospital and the right town.
Relocation is the deal
We sell your community as much as the job, and we screen early for the things that make a move stick: family, schools, housing and pay.
One leader, many hats
A critical access CNO often oversees quality, staffing, survey readiness, ED and swing beds with a very small leadership team. We screen for leaders who thrive in that range.
Built for critical access and rural hospitals. We also run CNO searches for larger hospitals and health systems.
How it works
1
Intake call
A 30-minute call on the role, pay range, must-haves, timeline and what makes your community a good place to live. We review your job description and pay against your market.
2
Search
We go past job boards to nursing leaders ready for the top job at a community hospital: people with ties to your region, DONs ready to step up, and leaders from larger systems ready for a change.
3
Short list
You get 3 to 5 candidates, each interviewed with our structured interview loop, with a written scorecard and reference notes for every one.
4
Hire
We coordinate your interviews and the offer call. You pay only when your new CNO starts.
What's included
- Job description and pay review against your market
- Sourcing of active and passive candidates
- Structured screening interview and written scorecard for every finalist
- Reference checks that go past “she was great”
- Interview scheduling and offer-call support
- 90-day replacement guarantee
Pricing
20% of first-year base salary
Invoiced only when your new CNO starts. No retainer, no upfront cost.
90-day guarantee. If your new CNO leaves or is let go for performance within 90 days, we run the search again at no cost.
Prefer a retained search?
25% of first-year base salary
Paid in thirds: at kickoff, at short list, and when your new CNO starts.
For a priority or confidential search: an exclusive, dedicated search with a weekly progress report and a short list in about 30 days.
Already booked an On-Site Hiring Day? If you hire from our search within 12 months, we credit the day's fee against the placement fee.
Who runs your search
Big-tech hiring judgment, with a nurse's view from the floor.
David Ricke has spent more than 22 years in recruiting and has conducted more than 10,000 interviews. He recruited in-house in healthcare and retail, ran his own recruiting firms, and led talent teams at Atlassian, AWS, Facebook and Amazon. Today he also works shifts in a critical access emergency department in south central Kansas, so he knows what a rural CNO walks into on day one.
- Recruiting since 2003: in-house at Sierra Health Services and Oriental Trading Company, then founded Ricke Executive Search, built UX Recruiters (acquired) and consulted through Ricke and Associates
- Led talent teams at Atlassian, AWS, Facebook and Amazon
- Bar Raiser — 10,000+ interviews from every side of the table
- Critical Care Registered Nurse — ICU and critical access emergency department
Start a Search
Tell us about the role. David will reply within one business day to set up your intake call.