HealthCare Voice

Recruiting by Videoconference Saves Money, But at What Cost?

Editor's Note:  As of Friday, HealthCare Voice will end publication with Typepad and move exclusively to JohnGSelf.Com.  To continue to subscribe, you must go to the web site, click the BLOG link in the navigation bar and resubmit your email or RSS subscription. My speaker's blog, JohnGSelf, will remain a featured blog with Typepad.

______________________

As anyone who has lost data in a hard drive crash can attest, technology can be our friend as well as our enemy. Healthcare has been accused of playing catch-up to the technology bandwagon, and losing out on a lot of efficiencies as a result. But for some processes, the old-fashioned way is still the best way. Hiring is one of those processes.

I’m not saying that technology in recruiting is all bad. My smartphone is my constant companion, and the ability to research organizations, locate potential candidates, build networks, and receive a resume or reference list in an instant makes the process infinitely faster than  in the past. That’s a win for everyone involved. But when we start to rely on technologies such as videoconferencing to replace face-to-face interaction, we as recruiters have gone astray.

At first glance, recruiters’ clients may like the idea of videoconferencing because it’s much cheaper than flying in a recruiter to meet with candidates or clients. But what’s gained in money is lost in quality.

For example, while it may be acceptable to use videoconferencing for some business meetings, the technology just isn’t good enough for those “getting to know you” meetings in which recruiters meet with boards of directors and the executive team to find out what they need in a new leader. The clients can run through their list of operational and financial targets on camera, but the recruiter won’t experience the interpersonal interaction in the halls or the tension around the coffeemaker in the break room. These are the things that make up an organization’s culture, and a new hire’s cultural fit is just as important as his or her ability to improve patient care or boost the bottom line.

A good recruiter’s position prospectus runs 25 pages or more for C-level positions. To ensure that the right person lands the job, that document should reveal both the face the client shows the public and the not-so-positive things going on behind the scenes. It’s impossible for a recruiter to draw out an honest assessment of a job’s potential negatives with a group of strangers through a wi-fi connection.

For the same reasons, videoconferencing is a weak way to interview candidates. Those who conduct interviews this way are missing out on the subtle cues that human beings naturally rely on to evaluate another person. They don’t connect with the candidate in a real way. It’s like trying to view someone through a layer of gauze: You get a general impression, but it’s frustratingly difficult to get the complete picture of who they really are.

Some executive search firms never actually meet their candidates in person until they present them to the client, and by then, it’s too late. Some firms’ early screening interviews consist of a videotape of a candidate reading his or her answers to a list of questions. That’s the epitome of lazy recruiting, and it’s unfair to both the client and the candidates, who aren’t given an opportunity to put their best face forward.

The typical videoconference delay of just seconds is enough to create awkwardness that can cast an otherwise confident candidate in a bad light, and the short length of a typical videoconferencing session doesn’t allow for the in-depth conversations needed to make a good judgment call about a person. There is just no substitute for shaking hands and sitting down to really talk with someone to learn about their passions, emotions and values, and to see how they respond under pressure.

Sure, videoconferencing can save the client some money. But is it really worth the price of misunderstanding the job, the candidate or both, and hiring the wrong person? When you compare the cost of a few plane tickets to that of replacing a senior-level executive with a six-figure salary, it seems pretty simple. In the end, cutting this particular corner is just not worth it.

© 2012 John Gregory Self

Candidates, Ask About the Salary, Don't Waste Your Time

Editor's Note:  HealthCare Voice, John Self's healthcare blog, is now available on our new website www.JohnGSelf.Com. The blog will run on the web and here  for a couple of weeks and then the content will be exclusively on www.JohnGSelf.Com.  Original plans to launch the site on Friday were delayed until some last minute glitches could be resolved.

John G Self is a frequent speaker and lecturer.  He has a new blog,  John G Self.  It features stories of hope, redemption, and humor of every day life.  His latest blog, TRAVELER'S DIARY:  The Valued Exit Row Seat, is currently available.

________________

It just keeps happening - over and over.  A recruiter's mistake with an unprofessional effort, wastes a candidate's time and costs the client -- or the employer -- money.

In a nutshell, here is the problem:  A recruiter calls a candidate, entices them with a new career opportunity, but never inquires about their current salary, a key part of the candidate qualification process.  The candidate, who is not a recruiting professional, does not think to ask or they demur because he/she did not want to seem impolite.  After all, the recruiter said a colleague referred them.  The candidate assumes the recruiter knew.  The real question is, who knew? 

Then the so-called hiring authority compounds the amateur-hour error by conducting a two-hour interview without ever asking the candidate about their current compensation, or volunteering the salary range of the proposed position.  It was assumed that the recruiter had appropriately qualified the candidate.

In reality there was a sizeable deficit between the candidate's current base compensation and that which the new employer was willing to pay.  What makes this real-life example so incredible is that it is a common occurrence.  Really common.

Thousands of times each week, inept recruiters attempt to qualify candidates without verifying one of the most important elements of the "match" characteristics:  compensation.  Thousands of times each week candidates are presented to employers for jobs that they will not accept because the recruiter did not ask one simple question:  Please describe your current compensation plan.

Remarkably, this problem is not isolated to the lower level management positions. 

Candidates, stop wasting your time.  Ask the recruiter how much the new position pays.  If they do not know or will not say, stop the process.  More than likely, you are wasting your time.

© 2012 John Gregory Self

New Website Launch, Blog Site

Editor's Note:  HealthCare Voice, John Self's healthcare blog, is moving this week to the website www.JohnGSelf.Com. The blog will run on the web and here  for a couple of weeks and then the content will be exclusively on www.JohnGSelf.Com.  Original plans to launch the site on Friday were delayed until some last minute glitches could be resolved.

John G Self is a frequent speaker and lecturer.  He has a new blog,  John G Self.  It features stories of hope, redemption, and humor of every day life.  His latest blog,  A Love Of My Life Is Dying is currently available.

_____________

Most of the time I enjoy change.  Today we are rolling out our revamped web site and unveiling the transition of my healthcare blog, HealthCare Voice, to JohnGSelf.com . Making this change is something I have enjoyed a great deal.

As we launch this new site, I promise to make JohnGSelf.com more than an online brochure. We will provide daily healthcare news updates as well as an archive of stories on topics covering a wide array of subjects including healthcare reform, the country’s debt crisis, business model innovation, and career management.

My blog will continue on a twice-weekly basis – Tuesdays and Fridays. We will post special editions as events or ideas warrant.

New Offerings

Here is what the new site offers:

• Daily news briefings
• More in-depth analysis of important stories such as healthcare reform or the impact of inevitable debt reductions
• Career management resources, such as the highly regarded JGSA resume guide, as well as blogs on such topics such as managing references, strategies for personal brand management, and the ins and outs of background investigations and credit history

This is a work in progrtess and content will be added on an ongoing basis so check back from time to time. 

In addition to news updates with links to source documents, JohnGSelf.com will integrate video interviews and news stories. Beginning with a video display on the home page, the video content will be expanded over time. The emphasis of this programming will be on career management and talent acquisition.  Other topics such as healthcare reform and the various legal issues related to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will also be featured on the site as video is made available.

The Blog

The blog will continue to be published at its old site during the transition. We are sticking with a twice weekly schedule even though I will admit to missing a couple of Fridays here and there with my busy project and travel schedule. The blog is one of the most enjoyable things I do, after candidate interviews. Most of you know, I am a recovering newspaper writer/reporter. The blog is part of my ongoing rehabilitation that began in 1977 when I left The Houston Post for greener pastures of hospital public relations and, over the years, many other interesting and challenging jobs, including helping implement the first fourteen hospital-based emergency helicopter systems. That was exhilarating, but nothing I did provided me the joy and reward of the news business until I began my recruiting career. I was back in my element. My interviewing skills, I am convinced, are one of the things that separates me from my able competitors. In more than 16 years of search work, I have had only six candidates who did not remain with the client organization through the 36-month C-suite guarantee.

Let me know what subjects you would like for me to cover and I will be happy to tackle the subject in one of my upcoming posts.

Your Input Is Invited

There will undoubtedly be some glitches for the first few weeks. If you identify issues, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected]. 

Finally, please let us know what you think of our expanding sections and content. We want to produce a site that not only promotes the value of retaining JohnGSelf Associates to lead your search, but provides useful information that will help you advance your career.

Thank you.

© 2011 John Gregory Self

Executive Search: It Is Time for Change

As the business climate experiences dramatic changes in our new normal economy, one industry will face dramatic upheaval:  executive search.

The record of the executive search industry is mediocre even under the best of economic conditions. The time has come for fundamental change and those firms who understand this trend will thrive.  Those who do not, like the vast majority of Fortune 50 companies over the past 50 years, will disappear.

Here is the problem: the search firm business model is more than 50 years old and, unlike most other industries, little has changed from its inception. There are few other business sectors in the world today that have not undergone at least several transformations over their lifetime, but executive search has not changed because there has been no reason: their business grew and recruiters prospered.  Yes, technology like computerized databases, the fax machine, internet connectivity, and video conferencing have facilitated the timeliness of the process, but overall the model is the same: you hire a firm, pay them a retainer and a professional fee based on the successful candidate’s first year base salary or the first year total cash compensation.  When it came to accountability for the quality of a firm’s work, there was either no guarantee that the candidate would be successful and remain with the client, or the recruiter offered a limited one-year guarantee.

There are today some star performers both in the large and regional search firms, but the real creative work that is transforming how the executive search process works, and how you should hold a recruiter accountable for tenure and performance, is occurring in smaller companies  that have greater flexibility to innovate.

Today, the search industry is beginning to see some long overdue transformation. Some of the more introspective firms, including global giant Heidrick & Struggles, realized the changing business climate was upsetting the industry’s long-held and highly profitable business model.  Heidrick & Struggles examined 20,000 of their searches and found that 40 percent of the candidates they placed across all sectors on a global basis quit, were forced out or were fired within 18 months.  Other studies show that 50 percent of the candidates recruited from outside an organization are gone within 24 months. Anecdotally, a large east coast health system which had paid a major global traditional search firm nearly $1 million in professional fees plus expenses in less than 18 months, saw their new executives, save one, leave the organization because of performance or poor match within three years.

Businesses, particularly health systems and hospitals, cannot afford this level of value. 

 There are strategies and processes to dramatically improve the rate of success in recruiting from outside the organization.  Friday, I will share with you how to improve the process and enhance the value -- from search firms and your internal recruiters.

© 2011 John Gregory Self

Seed Newsvine

Leadership and Executive Search

I have always believed that a good leader is a work of art, and that a bad leader is a tragedy -- for the organization and for the people with whom they interact. 

There are far too many leaders who cannot see beyond their own office. They do not engage employees in a consistent and meaningful way.  They offer any number of excuses for their lack of visibility and engagement, including that they do not feel "comfortable" communicating in that setting.

How senior executives interract with their teams -- their visibility and their ability to communicate the mission, vision and values of the organization in every-day conversation -- is an essential element in employee engagement.

At JohnGSelf Associates, we have an entire 45-minute block of questions in our comprehensive 3.5 hour face-to-face screening interview that zeroes in on this critical leadership issue. We believe that this competency is absolutely critical to the success of any organization.

When I tell people that our firm offers a three-year placement guarantee, my capable competitors ask how we can possibly make such an offer. They feel it is too risky. Actually, if you dig deep enough in the face-to-face candidate interview, there is virtually no risk. But it takes time and a great deal of research into relevant issues. 

In 15 years, we have had only a small handful of candidates who did not work out in our C-suite and executive practice. Luck? Perhaps. Too risky? No. From my point of view, offering your clients a long placement guarantee is about taking ownership of what we do, recognizing the impact we can have on an organization and its employees if we do not get it right.  Relying on video conference interviews to select which candidates to recommend to the client may save on the expense budget and make it easier for the recruiter, but it diminshes the quality of the screening and substantially elevates the risk of a miss-hire.  I do not know one search firm that will offer their clients an extended placement guarantee when they cut corners.

I share this to encourage my colleagues in the search industry to look at what they are doing with their candidate screening process and seek meaningful ways to offer clients greater value. 

As hospitals and physician practices experience significant reductions in funding and other disruptions that will surely occur as we navigate healthcare reform, executive recruiters and other consultants who work in this sector need to step up and own the the quality of the service we offer -- and the outcome.  

© 2011 John Gregory Self

Seed Newsvine

Why Do We Forgo Transparency In Recruiting?

Executive candidates continue to write about their frustrations with healthcare organizations that are unwilling or unable to disclose material issues regarding executive or management positions for which they are recruiting.

This is not a random, occasional occurrence.  These continued comments from frustrated executives come at a time when healthcare organizations need to find and retain the best people, not drive them away because the job was not appropriately represented by internal or external recruiters. This is a common reason why executives fail to stay in a position beyond 18 to 24 months.  In fact there are documented cases where the newly employed executive did not stay in the position beyond 180 days.  That is an extremely costly miss-hire.  Other times, the candidate may stay but there is a certain sadness emphasized with a resigned shrug of the shoulders when asked if they were satisfied with the recruiting process.  “Well, I am here now.  I never should have left, but the door has closed on that part of my life.”

Somehow there is this misguided belief that it is perfectly acceptable for organizations to mask negative factors about a job, thinking that their omissions of important information is really OK, and that everything will work out in the end.  An executive begins a new job filled with hope that they can make a positive contribution.  They are attracted to the organization usually because they are painted an attractive picture, and they are wooed mightily in one-on-one meetings with key leaders and at dinners with the CEO or board members.  They want to believe the best about their new employer. They are excited that they are beginning a new career with an honorable organization that is committed to doing the right thing.

It is devastating for the new executive to learn that the part about doing the right thing did not include being transparent about the pros and cons of the organization, the challenges the position would pose, the true scope of responsibility or even the compensation package.

In my conversations with candidates, I have found that this has been and continues to be an across-the-board problem:  both internal and external recruiters engage in these practices.

By way of example, in a recent interview, a Chief Operating Officer complained that a potential employer’s best offer was $45,000 less than what they were told by the recruiter, a partner with one of the largest firms in the executive search industry. That is no insignificant amount. The candidate walked away and the frustrated client was forced to restart the search while the expenses once again began to mount.  “If I had known the truth, I would have never gone through the process,” the former candidate lamented.  In many lower level searches – for managers or directors -- this is a very common problem because most candidates, eager to advance in their career, do not know that it is OK to ask for the salary range up front.  Hint:  If the recruiter does not know, tell them to find out and call you back.

On the other side, Chief Executive Officers and Chief Human Resource Officers must demand better of their internal search team or their hired headhunters.

I cannot control what candidates are told by prospective employers, but as a partner in an executive search firm, I can insist that clients be transparent, so I can deliver appropriately qualified candidates a detailed Position Prospectus that outlines the critical information the candidates need to know, such as:

     1.    Selection criteria

    2.    Compensation package with a specific range for the base salary

    3.    Profile of the corporate culture

    4.    Performance expectations

    5.    Hurdles to success

    6.    Project schedule

Making assumptions is never a good idea, and what I am finding is that it is a fool’s errand to believe that all candidates understand how the executive search process works. 

Let me know what you think.  If you would like to learn about a candidate’s recruiting rights, or questions candidates have the right to ask, let me know.  I would be happy to extend this conversation.

© 2011 John Gregory Self

Seed Newsvine

Curiosity Killed the Cat But Saved the Recruiter

What makes a good recruiter? How do you define a good recruitment program?

As increasing numbers of healthcare systems, hospitals and other providers focus on reducing costs by bringing the executive search function internally, there are important factors to consider in identifying the person to handle your director-level and executive recruitment projects as well as for developing a process that will yield results that are better than the average recruiting agency.

Consider these points in developing your interview process:

1. Employment of hourly or supervisory personnel, given the numbers of people hired in most organizations each year, emphasizes the process. Successful executive search also relies on process and judgment, but requires more in-depth analysis and research.

2. Focusing only on a candidate's experience is a mistake. The high turnover of candidates recruited from outside an organization – estimated at 50 percent in 24 months in several studies – is typically not due to organizations hiring inexperienced managers and executives.

3. Personality of the candidate matters. Personality is not a component of the resume.

4. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it also has saved more than a few recruiters from making costly mistakes. Ask the questions that are begging to be asked.

5. Don’t rely on just the traditional or base questions. Look for details or events in the candidate’s earlier life that helped shape who they are today.

6. Explore their failures. Everyone has had their flops, career disappointments or performance flameouts. Investigate what happened and why but the main point is understand what the candidate learned from the situation.

7. Know what the hiring authority wants. Develop a deep understanding of their personality and style, performance expectations, problems in the division or department and hurdles that must be overcome to achieve success (what will success look like?). 

8. Candidates should be told the salary range before organizations invest time – the candidate’s and the recruiter’s –in going through the interviewing routine. (I am amazed at how many stories I hear of candidates, primarily at the management and director level, who currently earn more than the top end of the employer’s range and no one bothered to address that important issue until the end of the recruitment cycle.)

9. Be prepared. Once the primary screening interview is over, it is too late, or too embarrassing, to re-interview and follow-up on all those issues that jumped off the paper like a flashing strobe light once the telephone call has ended.

10. Be sure your references include secondary sources – those recruiters develop in the candidate interviews, especially for those candidate employment tenures where there may be issues that should be resolved. Remember, smart candidates – which may or may not be the best candidates – will provide references that are usually positive. No one is perfect. Address all the issues.

 

© 2011 John Gregory Self

Seed Newsvine

Tis The Season: Thank You

This has been an extraordinary year. From being named the Senior Healthcare Leader of the Year for North Texas by the American College of Healthcare Executives to the very successful roll out of my new executive search and advisory firm, I have much to be thankful for.

As Christmas approaches, I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank some important people who have made this year so special.

First, let me begin with you, my loyal readers.  Thank you for your support, your kind words of encouragement and, most especially, your thoughts and ideas that help make this blog better than I ever could by myself.  

For those loyal clients who have supported JohnGSelf Associates, please know that your business means so much to me.  By selecting JGSA you allow me to continue a job that I love. Your support has propelled the Firm to a level of first-year success beyond my most optimistic expectations.  From Alaska, Indiana and Louisiana to Texas, we have worked on some challenging and rewarding senior level search and advisory assignments.

To the team that has helped make this first year so enjoyable  -- from Ellen Nassberg, FACHE, in Philadelphia to Dennis Bridges, March Wiertz and Randy Guttenberger, CBA, in Texas and my video editor, Nathaniel Campbell in Florida, thank you for your patience, your support and, most of all, thank you for a job well done. 

Melanie Hoffman, founder of Brand Nu Marketing, who guided the design of our logo, web page and whose counsel was invaluable in our startup, you have my sincere appreciation and my confidence that your continued work on our behalf will move the Firm to greater success. It is great to work with a firm who shares your values on service and accountability.

To Bethany Williams of PriceWaterHouseCoopers, thank you for your constant encouragement and your support as well as your savvy advice.  You and Melanie tell me things I need to know, and sometimes do not want to hear.  Thank you for your honesty.

To former ACHE Regent, Britt Berrett, PhD, FACHE, Executive Vice President of THR and CEO of Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, who was instrumental in my selection for the ACHE award, know that this incredible honor is one of the greatest thrills in a healthcare career that has taken me around the world and allowed me to meet some of the most talented and interesting people.  Very few people will ever have the chance to do what I have done, but your Regent's award will be one of the most memorable highlights.

I look forward to 2011 with anticipation and great hope.  We pledge to provide you the same quality, service and value innovation in executive search that you have come to expect. 

Merry Christmas and Thank You.

© 2010 John Gregory Self

Seed Newsvine

What Am I Doing Wrong With Career Management? Nothing and Everything

An up and coming executive expressed angry frustration with the whole recruitment process.  Called twice for attractive positions that apparently represented career advancement, each opportunity ended with the job being awarded to internal candidates who were less qualified and lower paid.

“What am I doing wrong?”  Nothing and everything.

Nothing in the sense that his resume was an excellent reflection of his career progression, his performance, and the value creation for each prior employer.  In each case, the recruiters expressed great interest and assured the candidate that he would be a perfect fit – just what the client was looking for.  He interviewed exceedingly well – no apparent mistakes.  He received assurances from several of the interviewers that, in fact, he was just what they were looking for, but in the end, the jobs were awarded to internal candidates who were less skilled, less experienced but with a lower salary target.  This leads me to the “everything” part of my answer.

The young executive had no career plan, no targeted industry on which to focus, no concept of career brand management, a narrow list of networking contacts, and a lack of understanding of how the talent acquisition process really works.  Ten years ago, his list of “have nots” would have been largely inconsequential.  Today, those deficiencies are huge.

Here are some important career management points to consider:

1.   Recruiters are focused on building a credible panel of candidates for their client – whether as a search consultant working for an external firm or as an internal headhunter.  That is how they are compensated or evaluated.  They may, or may not, have your best interests at heart.  They certainly do not work for the candidate, regardless of how friendly the relationship.  They are probably unaware, or do not care, how not being selected for a position can subtly impact your personal brand.  Candidates who look at numbers of positions are naïve if they do not believe that the “always the bridesmaid, never the bride” image will ultimately affect their career brand.
2.  Always ask if there is an internal candidate.  Recruiters do not always like to divulge that information, but you are entitled to know.  Push the envelope and try to find out if that candidate is credible or if their involvement in the search is more “political” or “for show.”  If the candidate is a strong contender, or if the recruiter is evasive, it is time to hit the brakes.  In this troubled economy, employers are less likely to take a risk with a more expensive outside hire for non C-suite positions.  Candidates can always tell the recruiter to call them back if something cannot be worked out with the internal person.  Or better yet, just decline consideration.  This can be a smart, brand-enhancing move but timing and style are everything.  However, be forewarned that it is not a good idea to treat a recruiter badly.  They have memories like elephants, and they share information internally with notes to the candidate database.
3.  Develop a career plan – the sooner the better – focusing on a specific job or a type of work that brings joy and satisfaction.  Focus on a sector or an industry segment, if possible, and begin building your networking of contacts across this spectrum.  Do not focus building relationships only with external recruiters since they handle less than 35 percent of all management and executive recruiting projects.  Keep an open mind given there is a good chance you will not end your career doing the job you thought you would always have.  Finally, allocate time every week to focus on career networking and industry research.  This is as important as staying relevant with new ideas and technological developments in your current field. This is not “your parents” job market and it is only going to become more challenging. 

© 2010 John Gregory Self

Seed Newsvine

Results or Reasons

"In life we can have results or reasons.  If you are not getting the results you want, your reasons are the lies you keep telling yourself."    

                          Harald Anders, "Be Realistic: Create a Miracle"

This applies to our careers, our performance, and our relationships.  

You can argue with this statement, Mr. Anderson wrote, "But it will be like wrestling with the wind, it will keep you busy, but you will not get anywhere."

A great friend, a genuinely nice man who I admire enormously, was frustrated by a sudden change of events. After a successful and principled tenure at a public hospital, he resigned over what he felt were troubling ethical governance issues. He went on to interview for other jobs, all without result. He was smart, intelligent and experienced. He had impressive recommendations --some of the best I have seen in my 16-plus year in executive search -- and a 25-plus year record of accomplishment in a branch of the armed forces medical service corps, however he recently decided to retire rather than endure any more unsuccessful executive searches.

When it was suggested that he hire a career coach to improve his interviewing skills my friend responded with pent up frustration, that he had been successfully advancing his career for all his professional life and did not see a need to change his style or approach at this stage of his career.  In other words, what worked in the past should apply today.

What a shame. What a loss for the hospital management industry. What my friend apparently did not consider was that his military career DID NOT prepare him for the rigors of the civilian market search process, including competitive interviewing.  

In dozens of interviews with former Army, Air Force and Navy healthcare professionals I learned that advancement in the military is based almost solely on past performance and relationships, not the actual interview with a new commanding officer. Former military officers say, almost without exception, that their success in advancing in the civilian market was due to two things: performance, and improving their interviewing skills.  

This rule also applies to executives who have risen in their careers through the civilian ranks. The rules of career management, including networking and interviewing skills, have changed dramatically over the past five to seven years. What worked for career advancement earlier in your career, probably will not be effective today. New interviewing techniques, web-based networking tools, search engines that collect and store information regarding your accomplishments or failures, and performance expectations come together to make this an entirely different game.   

In an increasingly difficult employment environment, with fewer jobs due to market consolidation and reductions in the number of leadership positions in anticipation of the impending cuts in Medicare funding, career/ personal brand management  -- exceptional performance, great presence, solid communication/interviewing skills and laser-like honesty regarding areas for self improvement -- will become indispensable qualities.  

Pushing back on this reality will only lead to early retirement or a new career. 

My friend did not see the need to make the change, but if he had, there is no doubt in my mind that he would have become an accomplished physician CEO. Do not let your ego or a stubborn streak allow others to shape your career.

That is a rule that applies to us all, not just to my friend.

"At the end of each day, you should play back the tapes of your performance. The results should either applaud you or prod you."         

                                                        -- Jim Rohn

© 2010 John Gregory Self

Seed Newsvine

Healthcare Reform, Deficit Reduction Will Transform Executive Search

I frequently write about the change that the healthcare industry will undergo over the next 15 years.  I have consistently argued that organizations that embrace change, and work to capitalize on market disruption, will thrive.  

It now appears that the tides of significant change are beginning to arrive at my front door. It is a bit disconcerting, but after 40 years of using the same business model -- a record very few other businesses can claim -- the executive search industry, especially in healthcare, will undergo what many argue is a long overdue transformation.

For healthcare, the drivers of change are legislative and economic. Legislatively, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with cuts in Medicare reimbursement and new structures designed to streamline patient care processes, improve accountability and quality, notably the much discussed Accountable Care Organization, have spooked some executives at free-standing community-focus hospitals.  In short, more industry consolidation.   There is increased talk of new strategic alliances, mergers and asset sales.   Then there is the looming U.S. deficit crisis of which Medicare will play a prominent role.  Our current annual deficits are not sustainable.  Our long-term national debt, which has grown to a shameful $13.8 trillion, must be reduced to more manageable levels. Long-term unfunded liabilities -- promises that the U.S. Government has made but for which it has no cash reserves to fund -- are more than $53 trillion over the next 60 plus years.

So the healthcare industry we have all known and loved is going to be very different in the future. And that leads me back to my front door.

These transformational changes are driving consolidation of small health systems and independent community hospitals.  This consolidation means that more and more of executive and management recruiting will be handled internally.  Currently only 30 to 35 percent of all healthcare recruitment is handled by external recruiters.  That number will shrink significantly over the next five to 10 years. 

When healthcare organizations do turn to outside recruiting resources, they will expect something markedly different from what they have gotten in the past. In short, they will want lower fees, more aggressive expense budget management and increased value -- more for less.  High overhead firms with multiple offices are at greatest risk.  Already many of those firms are reporting year over year reductions in revenue and lower profits. Some long-standing partners in larger search firm are retiring or are being pushed out as their organizations grapple with how to reduce costs and maintain the existing business model as long as possible. Unfortunately, their national footprint that is secured with those multiple offices and related high overhead -- will soon become a liability.

Change is uncomfortable. You feel for the support staff members in those larger firms who are beginning to wonder about their job security.  It is never pleasant to see colleagues pushed aside.  But it is happening, and this change will only accelerate.  

Specialized boutique firms like JohnGSelf Associates will face our own set of challenges - expanding market share into geographic areas where we have no physical presence while sustaining existing relationships.  The secret to our success will be centered on a formula of lower costs, shared risks and more accountability for our performance and the performance of the candidates we recommend.

Luckily for my firm, we are ahead of the curve. Lower fees and extended placement guarantees with financial penalties tied to client service and satisfaction, are already central to how we relate with our clients.  

For the healthcare executive search industry to think that it can continue with business as usual, operating with an industry model that is 40 years old while all of our customers experience yet another in a series of transformations is just not realistic.

© 2010 John Gregory Self

Seed Newsvine

HEALTHCARE VOICE: New Publication Schedule Announced

There are millions of blogs.  Everyone is competing for attention. 

I am no different.  

Over the past year, I have experimented with a multiple formulas in terms of what to post, when to post and how often to post. I have monitored my readership metrics by day of week and subject matter.

With that information, I have decided to change my publication schedule.  Effective immediately HealthCare Voice will now publish on Tuesday and Thursdays at 1 AM Eastern Time.  Google will serve as my distribution channel via Email or RSS feed. 

HealthCare Voice will focus on recruiting, career management and innovative ways organizations can improve talent acquisition.  Finding and retaining top talent is critical to the success of businesses. Yet, most organizations continue to rely on a 50-year-old model -- transactional recruiting -- that is outdated given the dynamics of our new economy.  HealthCare Voice will provide valuable insight regarding strategies you can use to improve talent acquisition through the use of Transformational Recruiting.

I hope you will continue to subscribe, and share my thoughts with friends and colleagues.  I hope you will feel free to contact me with your comments and suggestions. 

© 2010 John Gregory Self

Seed Newsvine

VALUE INNOVATION: More for Less in Executive Search

Times are tough.

Healthcare organizations, like other industries, are taking a hard look at their expenses. 

Executive search is one of the many service providers under the expense reduction microscope.  Search firms reported significant declines in revenue in 2009 due in part to a reduction in executive hiring and a shift by some systems to rely on internal recruiting.

Historically, search firms won new business based solely on relationships and the reputation of the company.  Today, hospital CEOs are asking questions: At what price the relationship?  At what price the accountability?  At what price the quality? At what price the value? These are fair questions regardless of the economic climate, and clients deserve clear answers.

Discounting fees is the scourge of professional service firms.  If your fee is below the industry standard, the conventional wisdom says, you must not be as good as the larger, name brand recruiting companies.  Right?  Wrong, there is a new breed of search firms exploring ways to change the approach.

Most of the larger search firms operate with a business model that is more than 50-years- old.  It is a transactional model.  Their marketing pitch reads something like this:  Hire us.  We are big.  We do a lot of searches.  We know everyone.  We can do a better job.  We have access to the best candidates.  Then, when they present the recommended candidates, the accountability shifts to the client.

In this new economy, with hospital CEOs facing pressures to improve performance and demands more increased accountability perhaps clients should consider asking their search consultants to back up their claims regarding quality with a 36-month placement guarantee. "If you are really that good, a three-year placement guarantee for C-suite engagements should not be much of a risk at all," seems to be a reasonable observation.  But the major firms shy away from this level of accountability.  In the transactional model, they see their role as identifying a client’s needs and requirements and filling the order with a panel of qualified candidates.  It is up to the client to select the candidate and most of the responsibility shifts from the firm to the client in the process.  Most major search firms will provide a 12-month guarantee, a fairly safe bet when you consider that most of the risk of candidate failure does not emerge until the second year.

Forty percent of all candidates recruited from outside the organization leave, are forced out, or quit within 18 months.  Heidrick & Struggles, the world’s second largest search firm, disclosed that rather embarrassing “stick” rate following a review of 20,000 of their senior level searches.  Major job boards and human capital organizations who monitor executive turnover have confirmed this rate of failure.  “It is the dirty little secret of our industry,” said a prominent search firm partner who specializes in healthcare.

The rate of failure is embarrassing.  But it does not have to be that way.

Transformational Recruitment, a true partnership with the client where financial risks are shared, is the way forward.  Through value innovation, search firms are embracing the risk-model and incorporating proven onboarding strategies into their performance model and in the process are challenging the seemingly wrong-headed conventional wisdom of the outdated transactional model.

Value innovation is NOT about discounting fees and cutting corners.  It is about search consultants, with a passion for their client's success, identifying and recommending candidates and then standing behind their performance.  It is about innovation that allows them to offer more services for lower costs.

Some agencies are cutting corners to reduce costs and preserve profits. 

The value innovation search firms are offering more for less.

©  2010 John Gregory. Self

Seed Newsvine

Defining Success at Each Stage of Interview Process

What is the definition of success in recruitment?

Hiring the right candidate.  That is a non-starter.  But the question is how do you measure success in each step of your recruitment process that will produce that right candidate?

Before diving into the process metrics, I want to, again, reiterate a strongly held view: that candidates be provided a position description or position prospectus with sufficient detail for them to understand the job, the criteria, experience requirements, performance deliverables and the salary range.  Given that the recruitment process has been described as the equivalent of getting married after four or five dates, I firmly believe that the best way to mitigate the risks that are inherent in this time sensitive process is to provide more, not less, information.  Weaker candidates tend to “de-select” if they know the position is above their pay grade – their experience and current skills.  Moreover, a great deal of time is wasted in the search process, by both internal and external recruiters, because the process is advanced with candidates who frequently are not aware of the salary range.

Virtually every executive or management recruitment process is comprised of two or more interviews. At JohnGSelf Associates, here is how we define success in each phase.

    1. Resume Review -- You finish the round with a panel of candidates with the credentials, skills, and relevant experience who have submitted their resumes and reviewed a position description or a position description outlining the key elements of the opportunity.  Hopefully the resumes will be of sufficient quality that the researcher or recruiter can easily track past accomplishments.  Each resume should be graded and only the top candidates should advance to the next round.  The researcher or recruiter who evaluates the resumes should complete a brief written analysis, preferably online as part of an integrated recruiting information system, highlighting areas of concern or those that will need clarification if the candidate advances.

    2. Telephone Interview – When you have completed the telephone interview round of the search, you should have a group of candidates, any of whom you could invite for a face-to-face interview.  They know the salary range; they understand the scope of responsibility and the performance expectations.  Most importantly, they have been told about the culture of the organization, how decisions are made, and what challenges they must overcome in order to achieve success.  You will know that these candidates have the relevant experience and a record of success in a similar situation.  From this group, subject to background checks, you will select the highest rated candidates for site interviews.  Some organizations will check three or four references prior to the face-to-face interview, but in a “high volume” internal recruiting environment, this may not be practical.  If you use a behavior and values tool like DiSC^© we recommend that you have the candidates who will be invited for site interviews to complete this  so that it can be available for that phase. Recruiters who lack the experience in using one of these tools should seek counsel from someone who understands the tool to ensure that it is used appropriately in framing questions to be asked during the site interview. Success at this stage is having seven to 10 candidates from which you can select three or four for a site interview. Time is now of the essence.  The best candidates are in demand.  You do not want to have a search in which you have only one remaining candidate because the other candidates have withdrawn for whatever reason.  Competition among the candidates is important.

    3. Face-to-Face/Site Interview – This interview should explore, clarify and confirm key elements of the candidates prior accomplishments, their style and how their “presence/chemistry will fit with the organization’s existing culture.  Measuring a candidate’s commitment and passion for success is a very important component of this interview.  The interviewer(s) must fully engage in what is known as “active listening” – suspending other tasks, focusing on the candidate, listening not merely to the words, but the feeling content, and asking for clarification of candidate comments. 

At this stage, success is defined as having two or three candidates, any of whom could successfully do the job and deliver long-term value for the organization.

^© 2010 John Gregory Self

  Seed Newsvine

Face-To-Face Interviews: Hints for Being More Effective

The face-to-face interview with a prospective candidate is the most important component of the employment process. 

Explore, clarify, and confirm are three important objectives that drive my preparation for the face-to-face interview. 

In the Topgrading^© system that I have adapted for retained search, the face-to-face interview lasts about 3.5 to 4 hours and covers the entire range of Topgrading^© competencies:  intellectual, personal, interpersonal,  management,  leadership, and motivational.  This interview includes 30 minutes in which we video tape the candidate answering select questions that are particularly relevant to the position for which we are recruiting.  This video will be edited down to about a 15-minute summary that will be shown to the client as part of the candidate analysis presentation.

You may not be interviewing the next CEO of a health system or the Senior Vice President of Operations and three to four hours may not be practical. However, if you are planning to make a mission-critical hiring decision based on a 30-minute interview, you are playing the employment equivalent of Russian roulette.

Regardless of who is conducting the primary face-to-face interview, the CEO or the department hiring authority, the most important aspect of the recruitment, aside from having a panel of qualified candidates, is to be prepared.  Effective interviews do not happen by accident.  Do your homework.

In addition to doing your homework – a characteristic of a best-in-class recruiting system at each step of the process – you should develop an interviewing strategy.  Whether it is a team or panel interview, or whether three or four people spend an hour or so with the candidate one-on-one, your strategy should focus on identifying the critical questions covering the aforementioned competencies, especially as they relate to relevant experience, style, presence, personality, chemistry, etc.  You should be trying to confirm that what you have learned, or has been learned by others, from the resume review, the telephone interview and any personal or behavior and values assessments.  At JohnGSelf Associates, we use DiSC^© and employ a Certified Behavioral Analyst who has also talked with the candidate and filed comments and suggestions for the face-to-face interview. 

Here are some suggestions to consider.  Remember, this critical session with the candidate is an interview for exploration, confirmation, clarification.

There Is A Reason Good Candidates Are Good.  At this stage of the interview process you should be talking to the best of the best.  Most are adept at anticipating and communicating.  Good candidates sense a pattern in the interview questions and they can anticipate what you are looking for and how you will react to a question.  A wise client once remarked: “Be sure the person we interview is going to be the same person who shows up for work!”  Good candidates are competitive, not dishonest.  If they want the job, they will work hard in the interview.  You have to work equally hard to be sure that the candidate you are interviewing can deliver the value and results you require.

HINT:

  Always insert a pattern-breaking question to disrupt the flow.  An example: What could you stop doing in your daily routine that would help you become a more productive and effective leader?

Most, after recovering, will talk about not being a slave to email, or being more careful with the administration of their “open door policy.”  However, for an important moment or two, you have broken the rhythm of the interview and forced to the candidate to get back on their toes.

Admitting the Bad Things.  Candidates, just like the organizations that are recruiting them, are loathe to reveal their negatives.  Candidates, exactly like the organizations that are recruiting them, have weaknesses and quirks.  Far too often both sides go to great lengths to enhance their favorables and downplay their negatives.

HINT:

  I like to offset this with a series of what are called truth serum questions. For example:  When we talk to your references, what will they tell us about your strengths? Or, if I talked to several of your former assistants and direct reports, how would they respond if we share with them what you list as your strengths?  There is always a moment when the candidate, who is aware of our detailed background checks -- something that we remind them of throughout the process -- is not sure who we will talk to. 

Consistency Is Important.  Consistency is a key attribute in leadership.  Inconsistent executives and managers can wreak havoc on an organization. 

HINT:

 To measure a candidate’s consistency, I will “revisit” a candidate’s earlier comments with the same questions reframed.  Very few interviewers can wing this.  You must give careful thought to developing a sequence of questions on various issues.  For example, one of the questions that seems to throw otherwise good candidates into a spin and prompt a less than a stellar answer is:Tell me what your weaknesses?  Candidates just cannot seem to help themselves.  Frankly, the “I work too much”  common response just does not work for me.  I usually resist the temptation to editorialize and wait for an opportune time to raise the issue again with a reframed question: When I talk with your supervisors and subordinates, how will they describe your weaknesses?  Or, Earlier  we discussed your approach to communicating with your team and key stakeholders.  When we talk to the people you worked with in the past, what will they tell us about your style and your effectiveness as a good communicator?

I have seen search consultants and clients interview candidates and take not one note.  I am not sure how they plan to remember what the candidate said and how they said it when reconstructing the interview, but I suspect if there is an interview feedback form – and there most assuredly should be – I am not sure it will be that beneficial.

Most recruiters, especially those working in an internal recruiting department, say they do not have the time for such in-depth interviews, or such a thorough process.  Perhaps their management and executive turnover rate is much better than the national average -- 40 percent of all externally recruited candidates leave or are forced out or quit within 18 months, according to several studies.

Remember, effective interviews do not happen.  Given the astronomical cost of a mis-hire, preparation seems like a small price to pay. 

©  2010 John Gregory. Self

Seed Newsvine

Onboarding Leverage

Most recruiters do not involve themselves in the Onboarding process.  The absence of Onboarding principles in a search firm's system is a characteristic of the "Transactional" search model that has been in use for more than 50 years and is still widely practiced today.

Transactional search is an "order filling" process.  Clients tell the recruiter what they want and the firm's junior recruiters fill that order with a panel of candidates. Transactional search is already showing signs that it is out of date as businesses adjust to the "new normal" economy.  Studies show it is a hit-or-miss approach with costly consequences.

"Transformational Search" is a search model built on Onboarding principles and, if properly designed and implemented, will produce far better results. More cost effective results.

I encourage you to learn more about Onboarding and the benefits of incorporating this critically important practice into your search process.  

George Bradt, a leader in this field, outlines some important points for the Onboarding process in his recent blog. 

Onboarding Leverage.

Seed Newsvine 

Interview Skills for a Technologically Advancing World

Technology is changing our world, especially the world of career management.

When I formed JohnMarch Partners, Inc in 1994, the wily world of the world wide web and the information super highway were still relatively new concepts for most small and medium-sized businesses.  I remember that my firm was the only corporation in Tyler, TX that was using Miscrosoft’s Outlook and the local internet provider did not know how to support it. They knew Outlook Express but not the more complex Outlook.   We became a technical support resource for the ISP.

 Videoconferencing was available at many KINKO locations, and some enterprising recruiters like my team were experimenting with its use.  Facsimile transmissions were still an important tool for recruiters since dial-up connections, which the vast majority of people relied on, were not conducive to the transmission of large document files.  Recruiters regularly received piles of snail mail letters from outplacement consultants touting the strengths of one of their newest out-of-work executives (far too many of these letters looked identical in terms of paper and content).

How times have changed.  Faxing a resume is now ancient history. Sending a resume via the postal service is all but unheard of.  Video conference interviewing is here to stay even though its value as a primary screening tool is highly questionable.   Skype is a new addition, and it will reshape how firms and internal recruiters screen candidates.  At my firm, we are beginning to use this computer video interview program for our chronological interview.  In the past, we conducted this interview on the telephone, which has its own challenges for candidates, but none as daunting as appearing on video. 

Here is the most important takeaway: Candidates who lack the computer capacity for Skype, or those who simply do not know about this emerging internet video pathway, run the risk of being eliminated from a search.  More importantly, candidates must master these video interview formats. Having a good resume and credible experience may not be enough if the candidate comes across on camera as looking nervous, awkward, or confused.  

Technological advances in recruiting will require candidates to adapt and to learn new skills, including how to master the time delay that is common in virtually all video conference connections.  These delays are similar to news satellite transmissions – a delay of several seconds from the time the interviewer asks the question to when the candidate hears its completion  .

Here is a hint for those who are scheduled for a video interview:  as you sense that the question is drawing to a close, smile and nod your head as if you are confidently anticipating the question. This will keep you from looking like a deer in the headlights.

One more thing:  when you use Skype for an interview, do not forget to put on a coat and tie (the pants are optional since you want to use a head-shoulders shot).  It is always a good idea to tidy up the room. Check the background.  You wouldn’t want the recruiter to see your laundry hanging behind you..

Don't laugh. It has happened. 

© John G. Self, 2010

Seed Newsvine 

A NEW FOCUS: Executive Recruiting, Talent Acquisition & Career Management

When I began this blog some 149 posts ago, I wrote about recruiting, leadership, healthcare reform, career management, politics of healthcare, quality and patient safety, etc.  Virtually everything that touched healthcare and captured my attention made it into this blog. As a former newspaper writer, I have thoroughly enjoyed getting back into the routine of writing, and in learning about how to blog.  It has certainly helped me sharpen my focus on a range of issues.

While I enjoy the writing, and the critical process it takes to produce a blog, I am not doing this to perfect my writing skills.  I am looking for engagement.  Over time I noticed that the posts drawing the most attention and comment were not on the politics of healthcare reform, or even the substance of the legislation. Nor did readers seem too interested in thinking about what the healthcare delivery system of the future would look like.   Rather, people responded to things that mattered to them personally -- career management, how to develop and sustain networking relationships to enhance their job search, and how to be more effective in telephone and face-to-face interviews.  Hospital Chief Executives and their human relations executives were more interested in how they could reduce the costs of acquiring the talent and be more effective. 

This makes sense.  We have entered a new economy, one that will be characterized not by big growth bubbles that generate heady financial times with low unemployment and accelerating consumption that seem to bring out the worst in us, but a resetting or our economy with new expectations regarding pay, benefits and time/life balance.  We are in the midst of a resizing.  Given our national debt and the war on terror, all things economic may not return to the “old” normal for another 10 years or so.  With Medicare moving to become the big driver of our national debt, hospitals must develop a laser focus on costs.  

Human capital, the biggest portion of a hospital's expense budget and the single most important contributor to an organization's net worth, is now more important than technology. This will profoundly change the way we approach recruitment and how we manage our talent.  For healthcare workers, career management and job searching skills will be more important as health systems resize to reduce costs.

As I thought about those issues over the weekend, I realized that while I had written numerous blogs on executive recruiting, talent acquisition and management as well as career management, there is much more to cover and there is a great interest in these subjects.

I encourage you to submit your suggestions for blogs as well as your questions on everything from recruiting strategies to resume construction, how to prepare for interviews and how to make each new hire a valued and productive asset sooner rather than later.  

If you want to email me, write to: [email protected].  Or you can post a comment or question at this site. 

 © John G. Self, 2010

Seed Newsvine 

Anger, Fear and Hopelessness in the Job Search

As an executive recruiter I receive dozens of calls each week -- executives who have lost their job are scouting for a new opportunity.  They want help.

My practice model is client retained.  This means that I work for clients, not candidates. To put it bluntly, candidates are, in essence, the inventory in a profoundly unfriendly process where most executive recruiters serve as the client's advisor/broker.  The way traditional search is practiced, it is more like a real estate transaction than anything else is.

I try to find the time to talk with these callers.  Frequently, it is late in the day, often on Friday afternoons when my work/telephone call volume is lower, and occasionally at night or weekends.  Over the years, I have noticed that their reactions fall into predictable patterns of conversation:  

Some are angry.

Others are scared.

The vast majority are confused by the "new normal" in the recruitment/employment process.

While I generally cannot help them with a specific search, I do try to provide some moral support, advice on resume development, interviewing hints and direction for career/brand management.  Yes, this takes time away from my business development and search practice activities, but one of the reasons I entered this business was to help people.  Therefore, this commitment is not immediately financially based.  Besides, I find that I get an enormous amount of emotional good out of these telephone conversations..

When you think about an executive's fear, it is typically grounded on two compelling issues: anxiety on how they will continue to meet their monthly financial obligations, and, the fact that there are literally dozens, sometimes hundreds, of job applicants for each job.  Executives are overwhelmed by these seemingly insurmountable odds.  They are fighting against a sense of hopelessness. 

This is where I have to take control and tell them to stop.  They cannot look at each job opportunity from the macro level.  That will be self-defeating.  There are just too many candidates for too few jobs.   Instead, I argue, they must focus on telling their story as effectively as possible.  They must be compelling in outlining their strengths and their successes.  They must be clear how those will generate value for their new employer.

Going forward, executives must become exceptionally perceptive career brand managers.  Being a good executive is simply not enough.

Onboarding expert George Bradt provides some excellent advice.  Read this blog, and review others he has written.  They will provide a measure of insight and comfort that will create a foundation for future success.  

Reboarding with Confidence.

Reboarding with Confidence

Mr. Self is the President and Founder of JohnGSelf Associates, Inc., a healthcare executive search and human capital advisory services firm in Dallas.  He has represented clients recruiting from Asia, Africa, Australia, the Middle East and North America

A highly rated speaker, Mr. Self has more than 30 years of healthcare experience, 16 years in executive search, and his record of talent selection is one of the best in the industry.

He is the 2010 Regent Award winner as the senior healthcare leader of the year in North Texas, an honor bestowed by the American College of Healthcare Executives.

© John G. Self, 2010

Seed Newsvine

TRANSFORMATIONAL RECRUITING: Better Results, Lower Costs

The failings of the current transactional recruiting model used by the vast majority of internal and external recruiters are well documented.  The most recent studies show that, on average, executives and managers recruited from outside an organization are pushed out, fail, or quit within 18 months.  Given the high cost of mis-hires and turnover, this is a rate of success that corporations, particularly health systems, hospitals and other medical providers simply cannot afford.

If “people are our most important asset,” as so many healthcare annual reports proclaim, then why would a company, especially a healthcare organization, want to use a recruiting business model and process that has remained essentially unchanged for more than 50 years and produces such haphazard results?

Transformational recruiting will produce better results and value.  For clients this translates into significantly lower talent acquisition and retention costs over the long term.

What is Transformational Recruiting? 

 It is an approach that is, first and foremost, based on the principles of a Total Onboarding Program (TOP) as outlined by industry thought leader George Bradt and his talented colleagues at 
 PrimeGenesis ,  Stamford, CT. 

 The following statements characterize important elements of the transformational recruiting model that I have developed over 16 years in the search industry with wonderful insights from the aforementioned Mr. Bradt.

1.  Onboarding begins before the start of the search process.  This is when you define the job – the scope of responsibility, reporting relationships, and performance deliverables.  You identify the appropriate academic and professional credentials and the competencies necessary to achieve success.  Obtaining buy-in from the position stakeholders before the recruitment process begins is essential.
2. Transparency is critical.  Organizations must learn to be honest with themselves about themselves.  Being honest on the front end is the least embarrassing and least expensive time to make relevant disclosures to candidates.  Under the transactional model, failure to be transparent is one of the most common candidate complaints.
3. Challenge the conventional wisdom. Transformational recruiters are not “yes” consultants.  They have the experience and the courage to challenge their bosses or their clients.
4. Document the issues.  In transformational recruiting, the position description is more like a position prospectus, a detailed offering statement that covers all the essential transparency issues.  Transparency and full disclosure are absolutely necessary in a best-in-class onboarding program.  If the candidate has to wait until a site visit to find this level of detail, the search process is defective and the chances of success are greatly jeopardized.  In transactional recruiting, the average position description from external firms is eight to 12 pages.  Internal recruiters usually provide less, if anything at all.  
5. Accountability is required.  Recruiters, whether internal or from an outside firm, must be held accountable for their performance – meeting deadlines, producing a panel of acceptable recommended candidates, etc.  In transformational recruiting this is done with performance penalties and extended placement guarantees.  Documentation (#4 above) is part of the accountability process.
6. Sharing the risk is mandatory.  Consultants frequently use the terms “partnership” or “a partnering approach” to emphasize value.  However, there can be no partnership without shared risks – shared financial risks.  Transformational recruiters use best-in-class detailed candidate screening programs like Topgrading.^©  
    
7. Value innovation is a core pillar. In transformational recruiting, expense management is essential.  Transformational recruiters will manage costs to a project cap.  However, transformational recruiting never shortchanges quality for convenience, the cost of a mis-hire can be too staggeringly expensive.  If you are using a comprehensive screening/interviewing system like the highly regarded, but time consuming Topgrading^©methodology, then offering an extended placement guarantee is more about enhancing value for your client.  Transactional recruiting is more about process and saving time than drilling down to a level of certainty.  Providing clients a video summary of the final face-to-face interviews with the recruiter will ensure that they are selecting the best two or three candidates for site interviews.
8. Detailed background checks are now part of the standard operating procedure. For the C-suite, senior level executives, vice presidents, etc., transformational recruiters are reviewing public records, including criminal, civil and municipal court documents in every jurisdiction where the candidate lived or worked.  Investigators check CMS OIG records, and credit reviews are necessary to verify patterns of behavior.  For former military officers, the DD 214 is an important part of this process.  While fewer candidates are fabricating credentials, resume enhancement regarding accomplishments is still a significant issue. Transformational recruiters vet these accomplishments through follow up interviews with references or by using investigators to test the record in face-to-face interviews with former supervisors.
9. Commit to regular communications with the clients and the candidates.  While most recruiters stay close to their clients, another common candidate complaint regarding transactional recruiting is  poor to beyond horrible communications from recruiters.  Transformational recruiters respect candidates, even those who are clearly unqualified.  Ongoing and consistent communication with candidates is a sign of respect.  The search process never moves as fast as the candidates would like, but there is no excuse for poor communication, even if it is an email message.

There are many excellent recruiters in the search industry. The vast majority are transactional.   Our new economy, healthcare reform and ongoing reductions in reimbursement will produce new economic realities and performance expectations.    The time to overhaul our business and recruiting process model is long overdue. 

 My approach to transformational recruiting model has produced results that are 5 times better than the national average. 

So what will be the argument for maintaining  the status quo?

_________________________________________________

Mr. Self is the founder of JohnGSelf Associates, Inc., an executive search and advisory services firm in Dallas.  He has extensive experience in recruiting in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and North America. 

A highly rated speaker, Mr. Self has more than 30 years of healthcare experience, 16 years in executive search, and his record of talent selection is one of the best in the industry.

He is the 2010 Regent Award winner as the senior healthcare leader of the year in North Texas, an honor bestowed by the American College of Healthcare Executives.

  Seed Newsvine

Making Hard Decisions

"I can make the hard decisions."  

So many candidates make that claim in this hyper-competitive job market.  Yet once employed and comfortable in the corner office, far too many of  these  leaders base their decisions on the defensive posture that is more about how to keep the job versus how to be successful in doing the job.

Later today I will post an article on a new approach to talent acquisition called  transformational recruiting, detailing how this approach will produce better results and value for clients by reducing long-term recruiting and retention costs. 

How does recruiting concept fit with Onboarding?

Transformational recruiting, unlike the hit-and-miss results that we see in transactional recruiting,  
 is based on the principles of Total Onboarding that George Bradt and his colleague Mary Vonnegut set out in their wonderful book Onboarding.

Making the hard decisions -- and then executing well -- is so important in defining what makes a leader successful.  In order to do these things, you must have the best people and invest in making them better.  A recruiting program that is not based on Onboarding is transactional and outdated in this new normal economy.

Read More on George's blog.

Onboarding Decisions.

Onboarding Decisions

Seed Newsvine

It Is Time To Dump The Transactional Recruiting Model

 We face three challenges in the healthcare talent management equation: 

1. A series of changes related to healthcare reform 
2. Waves of new balanced budget act-styled cuts in reimbursement that will test the ability of hospitals and physician practices to survive
3. An outdated recruiting process model that is not up to the task to find the quality of leaders necessary to successfully confront these changes

If we only had to deal with the recently passed healthcare (payment) reform legislation, that would be like a walk in the park.  We are, after all, an industry whose leadership is among the most adept adapters in any business sector.  But there will be more.  With skyrocketing budget deficits fueled in large part by high healthcare costs that stretch the Medicare program, it would be unrealistic for hospital CEOs and physicians not to expect a series of balanced budget act cuts that will squeeze out additional savings. 

 Medicare is not sustainable in its current form.  Everyone in Congress knows it, but that was conveniently not part of the healthcare reform debate.  Things are getting so bad that the US government will not have the money to pay the bills in about 10 years, according to David Walker, President of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former Comptroller General of the United States, unless it makes dramatic changes in the portfolio of benefits and the amount of money it pays to healthcare providers.  Absent that, the treasury department must borrow 100 percent of every dollar that is paid to hospitals and physicians, piling on the already  out-of-control national debt.  Ironically, some industry analysts believe these types of reimbursement cuts will probably lead to more structural reform than anything Congress might have the courage to attempt.  If you cut enough money out of the system, these analysts posit, hospitals and physicians will be forced to make dramatic and cost-saving changes in delivery systems in order to survive.

Only the best leaders and managers will be able to clearly anticipate the dramatic changes before they arrive at the front door of our U.S. hospitals and physician practices.  Only the best will be able to create new strategies and new solutions on the fly.  So, there is an important connection between the financial mayhem that is certain to occur over the next seven to 10 years and the strategies we use to recruit and retain the best people

 Unfortunately, the current recruiting business model used by the majority of search firms, outsourcing companies, placement agencies, and internal recruiting departments is on its last legs and cannot deliver the desired results. 

 Transactional recruiting that is in use today by the majority of search firms and internal recruiters has been around for more than 50 years.  There have been some marginal improvements in terms of technology – the introduction of web-based psychological or behavioral profiling, facsimile transmissions, computerized searchable databases, email, videoconferencing, and Skype, for example, but the basic candidate recruiting process and business model remain the same.  Recruiting is one of only two or three industries that have not experienced a business transformation.  And if clients and their  recruiters need any proof that change is needed, look at the various studies that show that the "stick rate" -- the average tenure of someone recruited from outside an organization -- is  unacceptable:  40 percent of senior level candidates leave, are pushed out, or are fired within 18 months, according to a Heidrick & Struggles internal review of 20,000 of their searches (Financial Times, March, 2009). This is not an anomaly at Heidrick.   Other surveys show similar results at all levels, in all industries.

 The time has come for the recruiting industry to seriously look at its weaknesses.  Transactional recruiting models must be replaced with more accountable, outcome-oriented processes with consequences for those who provide the service. 

 The following statements characterize the transactional model:

• Order taking orientation
• Lack of understanding of the costs of failure
• Divided responsibility (identification and selection)
• Lack of transparency
• Poor communication with candidates
• Don’t rock the boat mentality
• Marginal accountability
• No financial fear of failure
• In summary:  NO PARTNERSHIP

 There can be no partnership without shared risks, which includes financial responsibility.  This is one key element that distinguishes transactional from transformational recruiting.   While transactional recruiting is not an ideal process for the challenges we face, there will be no rush to change.  Why change?  There is currently no economic incentive to do so. 

But the storm clouds of change are forming.

On Wednesday I will introduce you to a new approach, transformational recruiting, that will produce superior results in these challenging times.

Next:  Transformational Recruiting

---

Seed Newsvine

Hospital CEO Turnover Costs Company Millions in Profits

As healthcare begins its long journey of reform, it is clear that the human capital component will become more important than ever. Healthcare providers who do not place human capital as their number one priority cannot succeed in improving care, reducing costs, and enhancing service.

One can focus on the patient and the bottom line all day long, but without exceptional people who are passionately motivated to deliver on those goals every hour of every day, healthcare providers cannot sustain the type of tough change that will be required to survive in a new operating climate where reimbursement will certainly decline even as consumers demand more.  With thinner margins, bad practices that result in higher costs must be changed.

Today, one of the biggest problems in healthcare is the cost of talent acquisition -- from recruiting to turnover.  This is one of a healthcare organization's biggest costs and is almost never reported in a consolidated manner in a hospital financial statement. 

One large investor-owned hospital management company has such a high annual rate of CEO and CFO turnover at the local hospital level that it costs their investors more than $20 million a year in profit potential using even the most conservative calculations.

At the corporate office, they hardly worry.  Their margins are healthy and investors, for the most part, seem pleased.  So why do they tolerate this very expensive train wreck year after year? Their corporate reasoning seems to be why invest in enhancing the quality of the talent acquisition process and reducing CEO turnover when things are fine and dandy just the way they are?  

Comprehensive Onboarding, which could save this company millions and millions of dollars in potential profits, is not part of the organization's corporate culture or business model.  What is true is that its hospital CEOs are more often than not the excuse -- the sacrificial lamb -- when a corporate or regional management decision goes bad, and the senior executives are looking for someone to blame. After a while, one has to wonder why any good hospital CEO or CFO would want to work for an organization that makes so many hiring mistakes or chews up so many leaders.

It is remarkable irony that so many investor-owned hospital executives, especially in this company, look with disdain on their not-for-profit counterparts as being woefully lacking in business acumen when in fact these particular titans of the healthcare industry seem to epitomize the definition of bad leadership:  A Tragedy.   

It is hard to succeed in that type of environment.  

Here is some important career advice for current or future hospital CEOs.  When a recruiter calls, a candidate's first consideration must be  the organization's culture and its track record with human capital, not the size or location of the hospital or even the compensation package.   If what you see is a high rate of turnover, then ask yourself, Why am I any different -- any better -- than the hundreds of hospital CEOs before me who arrived with high hopes and got canned or quit in frustration, frequently in less than two years.  If what you are being told sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  

If you can get by that rather large stumbling block, then consider Onboarding expert George Bradt's thoughts on other key considerations for job selection.

Read more:

Competence, Confidence, and Caring in Onboarding.

Competence, Confidence, and Caring in Onboarding

Seed Newsvine

Hints for Job Interviewing: How To Maximize Your Performance

While the economy is showing some signs of improvement, there are still millions of people who are out of work.   For executives who need the fulfillment of daily accomplishment, the job of finding a job can be enormously frustrating.

When you add in the fact that the best qualified candidate is selected only 35 to 40 percent of the time, according to our observations, that can make the job hunting process all the more defeating. 

When you consider that the odds are against the typical out-of-work executive -- hundreds of applicants for each position -- it is a wonder so many keep looking.  Rejection is a bitter pill that can corrupt the spirit.   Therefore, executives in the job market need to be at their best at each stage of the interview process.  

Question: If the best qualified person is not being hired most of the time, which executives are getting the jobs and how does a candidate work their way into that group?  

Answer:  Qualified candidates who do the best job of interviewing.  

If you are tired of rejection, here are some hints that will help you compete in the crowded, noisy marketplace of job hunting. 

1.  The resume is the first interview.  If the resume does not present a compelling story of the candidate's experience, skills, and accomplishments that are supported by metrics, that is a weakness that must be overcome.  There is no limit on the length of a candidate's resume; it should be proportional to years of experience and relevant accomplishments. 

2.  Perfect the elevator speech.  When asked to describe themselves, or worse, when asked to share information about growing up, far too many candidates stumble, mumble and frequently fumble, to borrow a phrase from ESPN's Chris Berman.   This is the answer that a candidate should nail.  Surprisingly, however, it does not occur to many candidates to rehearse several answers to these or similar types of questions.   

3.  Be prepared.  It is not uncommon for recruiters to zero in on resume gaps and short tenures, especially if there appears to be pattern of multiple jobs in a relatively short time frame.   The candidate must realize that these events cannot be hidden or ignored.  Develop a response for all or each event and then practice the response.  Stand in front of a mirror and learn the answer(s).  Tweak the response if you feel it can be improved.  However, be honest and be authentic.  These events are not necessarily a ticket to rejection.  This "practice principle" applies to the entire interview.  The book Topgrading provides a list of challenging questions that were used by successful corporations like GE.  It is worth the price of the book get those questions.  Stand in front of a mirror and practice .  

4.  Be authentic.  One question that many candidates seem to hate -- and flub -- is: Tell me about your weaknesses? Or, "What will your references say are your weaknesses?"  The worst response is, "I work too much."  Or, you see the candidate flinch and then the stumbling answer begins.  Stop.  There is a better way.  Talk to your references and ask them about your weaknesses.  Then incorporate their feedback into an answer that shows you are aware of these issues and that you have a system to monitor yourself.  Your answer will be more authentic.

Upcoming Speech Appearance:  On Wednesday I will be speaking on this very subject at the American College of Healthcare Executives Congress in Chicago with my colleague, outplacement consultant Craig Honaman, FACHE, CRC.

I will share some other ideas next week.

© John G. Self

Seed Newsvine

QUEST FOR THE BEST: Key Questions For Your Internal Recruiters

As increasing numbers of health systems and hospitals move to bring their executive and management recruiting functions in house in an effort to reduce costs and improve quality, CEOs -- and their Chief Human Resource Officers -- should be asking questions to ensure that the outcomes will be better and the costs lower.  Given that the human capital component is an organization's most important asset, the CEO cannot afford to delegate this function without understanding the system that will be used and the benchmarks for measuring success.

Bringing executive and management recruiting inside the organization is, by itself, no guarantee that the process will be improved.  

The key questions that a CEO or CHRO should ask include:

1.  Has your organization focused on management succession -- how will you respond if a key executive or department director leaves the organization?  Has your human capital team completed a comprehensive, enterprise-wide talent mapping plan with a strategy for developing future leaders?

2.   Is your internal recruiting process built on the principles of onboarding?  When does the process begin -- before you start the search, or after the employee is selected? A total, integrated onboarding program will help an organization ensure the quality and success of its recruiting program.  However, onboarding is NOT another name for new employee orientation.  Onboarding begins before the recruitment process begins.    

3.  How will you measure success for candidate selection?  The national "stick" rate for all candidates recruited from outside a given organization is not overly impressive:  40 percent leave within 18 months.  What is your organization's current rate of success?  What benchmarks will you establish to measure future performance?

4.  Will your organization be transparent?  One of the biggest reasons that new employees leave is too many surprises.  While most companies and their recruiters do not lie, they just do not always tell the whole truth -- fully disclose information regarding the work culture, the real problems that must be addressed and the real performance deliverables.  Are your prepared to insist on complete transparency even when some of the pre-employment disclosures might be a little uncomfortable or embarrassing?   Studies show that disclosing this type of information on the front end of the search is the least costly approach.

5.  How will your internal recruiters source management and executive personnel?  Few internal recruiters make telephone sourcing calls looking for the best talent within the market.  The vast majority use a strategy called post and pray -- they take a job order, post the selection criteria on a variety of job boards and pray that good candidates respond.  That approach will not guarantee that your organization attracts the best candidates. 

6.  Does your internal recruiting have a specific, formalized candidate screening process, or does each recruiter do their own thing?   A process like Topgrading,^©  which is based on behavioral and values questions with specific skills, experience and situational questions, is a proven system.  But there are others.  The important thing for the CEO and CHRO to understand is how the candidates are being screened.  No process, or bad process, leads to ineffective screening which will produce bad hires.

7.  Do your recruiters mine for secondary references or are they content to just check the references provided by the candidate?  Of course everyone knows that candidates, as a general rule, only provide references that they know are complimentary.  How will your team achieve a 360-degree performance review?

There are a host of other questions you can use to ensure that your organization's acquisition process for your most critical asset -- the people -- will be the best. 

Recruiting is not overly complicated but it does require talented people who are passionately committed to finding the best candidates.  It takes experience, judgment and and a proven process to ensure success.  

For more information on how your organization can improve its internal recruiting process, contact JohnGSelf Associates. We have the experience to help you succeed.

© John G. Self, 2010

 John G. Self is President of JohnGSelf Associates,Incorporated, a Dallas executive search and talent acquisition advisory firm.  The Firm’s client base currently extends from Hawaii across North America and Canada.  Mr. Self is highly regarded for his keen insight and for his record of identifying and recruiting exceptional leaders.  His success among executive recruiters is four times better than the national average.

He is a highly rated speaker on leadership, career management and executive search. 

You can contact Mr. Self at 214.573.5095 or via email.

Seed Newsvine