Director Of Nursing Search

DON Recruiting Firms - 2026

The Best DON Recruiting Firms for Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living of 2026

We track 8 search firms, interim providers and hiring options that serve skilled nursing and assisted living operators. Here is how they rank against our published criteria.

Short answer: Cross Country Search, Kirby Bates Associates and HCR Network sit at the top of this ranking of 8.

Direct-hire and executive search firms that place Directors of Nursing and ADONs, compared on post-acute focus, fee model, guarantee terms and search process. Every option below is weighed against the same five criteria. See how we picked, or read our DON Recruiting Firms guides.

By Dorian Iyer Editorial reviewer

Updated

At a glance

Provider Our pick Type Best for
1 Cross Country Search Best overall DON Recruiting Firms multi-facility operators that want national candidate reach
2 Kirby Bates Associates Best nurse-leadership specialist DON Recruiting Firms a nurse-leadership specialist search
3 HCR Network Best for independent SNFs DON Recruiting Firms independent SNFs that want a focused direct-hire search
4 Direct Recruiters, Inc. Best for retained-style search DON Recruiting Firms retained-style search on a hard-to-fill DON seat
5 WittKieffer Best for regional clinical leaders DON Recruiting Firms regional or corporate VP of Clinical Services searches
6 Floodgate Medical Best for contingency search DON Recruiting Firms operators comparing contingency search options
7 1st Op Recruiting Best for single-site operators DON Recruiting Firms smaller single-site operators
8 Kaye/Bassman International Best for paired leadership hires DON Recruiting Firms pairing a DON search with administrator hiring

Our picks, ranked

  1. 1
    Best overall

    Cross Country Search

    DON Recruiting Firms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for multi-facility operators that want national candidate reach

    Get a quote link added after review Full review coming soon
  2. 2
    Best nurse-leadership specialist

    Kirby Bates Associates

    DON Recruiting Firms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for a nurse-leadership specialist search

    Get a quote link added after review Full review coming soon
  3. 3
    Best for independent SNFs

    HCR Network

    DON Recruiting Firms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for independent SNFs that want a focused direct-hire search

    Get a quote link added after review Full review coming soon
  4. 4
    Best for retained-style search

    Direct Recruiters, Inc.

    DON Recruiting Firms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for retained-style search on a hard-to-fill DON seat

    Get a quote link added after review Full review coming soon
  5. 5
    Best for regional clinical leaders

    WittKieffer

    DON Recruiting Firms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for regional or corporate VP of Clinical Services searches

    Get a quote link added after review Full review coming soon
  6. 6
    Best for contingency search

    Floodgate Medical

    DON Recruiting Firms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for operators comparing contingency search options

    Get a quote link added after review Full review coming soon
  7. 7
    Best for single-site operators

    1st Op Recruiting

    DON Recruiting Firms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for smaller single-site operators

    Get a quote link added after review Full review coming soon
  8. 8
    Best for paired leadership hires

    Kaye/Bassman International

    DON Recruiting Firms

    Trade-off Placeholder - the honest catch, added after review.

    Placeholder - our 2-3 sentence take on this provider is written by the editorial team after review.

    What works

    • Added after our review.

    Watch for

    • Added after our review.

    Best for pairing a DON search with administrator hiring

    Get a quote link added after review Full review coming soon

How we picked

Every option on this page is weighed against the same five criteria, in the same order. Rank follows the criteria; award labels say what each option does best.

  1. 1 Post-acute focus. Experience placing nursing leaders in skilled nursing and assisted living, not only acute care.
  2. 2 Fee and guarantee clarity. Whether the fee basis, replacement guarantee and terms are stated before you sign.
  3. 3 Search process. How candidates are sourced, screened and presented, and how long a typical search runs.
  4. 4 Candidate vetting. License verification, references and attention to a candidate's survey history.
  5. 5 Fit for independent operators. Whether a single-site SNF or small group gets the same attention as a large chain.
Read the full methodology

How to choose

Placeholder - a short guide to choosing among don recruiting firms options for an independent SNF or assisted living operator is written by the editorial team.

How much does it cost?

Placeholder - typical cost ranges are added from our DON salary and leadership benchmark and from published pricing.

Option How you pay
Contingency search A percentage of the hire's first-year base salary, owed only when you hire
Retained search A fee paid in stages during the search, whatever the outcome
Interim leader A daily or weekly rate for the length of the assignment, plus travel where it applies

Where to find a search partner

Placeholder - where operators find and engage search firms, interim providers and hiring options, and when each route makes sense, is written by the editorial team.

Frequently asked questions

Questions are being collected

Answers to the questions operators ask most about don recruiting firms will appear here.

References

Placeholder - the sources behind this ranking are listed here as the page is filled.

More rankings

Read next

Guides are on the way

Our first don recruiting firms guides and provider reviews are being written now. They will appear here as soon as they are published.

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