This will be a short post, because its point doesn’t require a lot of elaboration. So, let me quickly tell you this story and get to the point.
I’ve personally heard these types of comments from hiring mangers over the years, but since this story is based on something that occurred just the other day with one of our Account Executives, I thought I’d highlight this critical point here.
Last week, one of our Account Managers was talking with a Clinical Applications Director at a multi-hospital health system. The director has been with the organization for about five months. A few months ago, one of his managers resigned to take a position out of state. Since then, the director has been trying to fill this critical role and has no candidates whom he considers viable. During the conversation, he talked about the fact that he’s disappointed and concerned that he doesn’t have a pool of potential candidates from whom to select given that the position has been open for three months.
This director then says, and I’m paraphrasing, “You know, I would like to see if I can use your firm to assist us, but like I said, I’ve only been with the organization for five months. Since this is the first time I’m having this issue, I have to see if I’m able to use an outside firm.”
So, let’s first take a look at what he didn’t say. He didn’t say, “We normally don’t use firms, so let me see if I can.” He didn’t say, “I don’t have the budget to use an outside firm to help with this position, so let me see if I can free up some funds.” What he said was, “I have to see if I am authorized to use an outside firm.”
What surprises me about this comment is this: This is a person who’s leading a department. Part of his role is to have a team in place to accomplish the objectives that have been set out for him prior to his hire. I’ve heard this type of comment many times throughout my 20-year career in staffing and what’s surprising to me is this . . .
I think someone in this role would have to assume that there would be a certain amount of turnover year to year. So, knowing that positions will have to be filled, I’d only assume that someone at this level would inquire, during their interview process, about the resources that will be available to them to build the necessary team and retain the necessary staff in order to be successful in this role.
I’m not saying that a hiring manager has to have the ability to use outside firms when it comes to successful recruiting. The point I’m trying to make is that a hiring manager should, at the very least, know what resources will be available to him or her to build and retain a team before taking a new position that will have to rely on a strong team to get results.
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