1. Look to your current senior staff for potential candidates. Turnover is more common in hospital leadership than it was twenty years ago, Mr. DiPisa says. “The baby boomers tended to stay working for an organization for longer periods of time, and the generation after the boomers is probably less interested in sticking around,” he says. “If you throw Obamacare and other [industry] transitions on top of that, there’s turnover left and right.” Because of this increase in turnover, hospitals have to be ready to replace top talent when a job opens up at another organization. Because of this, experts recommend hospitals put into place a succession plan, in which high-performing managers are trained and prepared for promotions in the future.
But even if your organization does not have a robust succession plan, you should still look within the organization for potential candidates when a position opens up. Hiring from within has several benefits: Your organization will save money by not hiring a search firm; your new leader will already have in-depth knowledge of the organization; and your employees will see your commitment to your current staff and feel empowered. An outside search will surely yield impressive candidates, but Mr. DiPisa recommends starting with your current staff. Before you hire a search firm and publicize your opening to the world, look to your top tier and determine whether anyone is suited to move into the role.
2. Don’t publicize an application process. When you look within the organization for candidates, don’t publicize the vacancy and invite leaders to apply for the open position, Mr. DiPisa says. “You should know as the senior leaders in that organization where the stars are,” he says. “You’ve been managing this place, and there are certain people that rise to the top.” If you publicize the vacancy, you are only inviting unqualified staff members to apply and face inevitable rejection. When you experience an opening at the senior level, pull a few key leaders together and brainstorm candidates within the organization. Once you have come up with a few names, you can approach the candidates privately.
3. Don’t rule out a candidate who needs some minor development. Don’t dismiss a potential leader just because he or she needs a little polishing, Mr. DiPisa says. There is a difference between an unqualified candidate and one who simply needs some training. If you think a manager would be a great fit for the position but lacks certain skills, determine how long it would take the candidate to get up to speed. If you have time to find a replacement because the position will not become vacant for a year, put the candidate through training courses or assign a mentor who can teach leadership skills. “You can provide them with an executive coach or bring them into the role slowly, recognizing that they are going to grow into it in six months to a year,” he says. “You can compensate them at the lower end of the range while they take professional development courses.” Of course, “minor development” doesn’t mean several years of training and maturation. “It can’t be a big leap,” Mr. DiPisa says. “You can’t pick someone who might be [ready for the position] in five years and put them in that job. That’s crazy.”
4. Invite senior leadership to take part in the interview process. Even if you’re sure you will promote a new leader from within the organization, ask the candidate to go through the interview process just as you would with an external candidate. This is helpful for several reasons. First, it lends a sense of fairness and equality to the process: The candidate is given the same consideration and the same expectations as an outside hire, rather than preferential treatment because of a friendship with the administration. Second, it gives other leaders the opportunity to weigh in on your choice. “If senior management doesn’t want to hire the candidate you choose, you want to know that they feel that way,” he says. “If you hire someone without [consulting] anyone else, you’re subject to ridicule and criticism if something goes wrong.”
If you ask senior management to give their approval, they will feel responsible for the choice and will back you up if the candidate turns out to be a bad fit. If the candidate turns out to be perfect for the position, they will feel proud knowing that they were part of such an important decision. You don’t have to give other leaders the final “yes” or “no” on your preferred candidate, but let them provide feedback. It might turn out that they see a major flaw that you didn’t notice. Invite the chief financial officer, vice president of human resources, vice president of nursing and other leaders to sit down with the candidate and conduct an interview before you make a final decision.
5. Don’t encourage employees who won’t be hired. Some hospital administrators make the mistake of encouraging managers that they absolutely know will not be a good fit for the open position. Don’t tell someone to apply just because you want to seem nice, Mr. DiPisa says. In the long run, they will feel humiliated and disrespected when they realize you were not serious about hiring them, and you may lose a manager who was a perfectly good fit in another position. When Mr. DiPisa works with hospitals to find a new executive, he sits down with bad-fit managers and explains the situation gently. “I say, ‘Look, I don’t think you should put your hat in the ring. I guarantee the organization is not going to hire someone less qualified than you are for this job. If you wait on the sidelines and see how it plays out, [the administration] will come back and ask you to apply if the candidates are not as good as you,'” he says. Let managers know that they will lose nothing by waiting for administration to approach them, whereas pushing for consideration could end up hurting their reputation.
6. Search outside the organization if you’re looking to implement major change. Internal searches are often ideal for finding new leadership. You save money on recruitment, find candidates who already know your organization and empower your employees. However, there are certain circumstances where an outside search is preferable. If your organization wants to change a major aspect of its operations, you might consider bringing in “fresh blood” to introduce new ideas and point out your failures. For example, as the hospital industry begins to take advice from the hotel industry, you might want a leader who knows the importance of customer service and has a strong background in cleanliness, food service and amenities. While an internal candidate will often maintain the status quo at a hospital, an external candidate can shake things up and point out age-old processes that have been hurting your facility for years.
If you choose to hire an outside candidate, you run the risk of damaging relationships with internal leaders who expected the promotion. If you have a great internal candidate but you need a change, sit down with the manager and explain your reasoning. “Tell them, ‘Under normal circumstances, you’d be a perfect promotion, but we’re looking to change our services. I don’t want you to feel that the fact we’re not hiring you is a reflection on your management ability,'” he says. Stress that the manager is still extremely important to the organization and that the new leader will understand that. If possible, talk about opportunities for promotion or advancement aside from the current opening.
Learn more about Phillips DiPisa.
Read more on hospital leadership:
–Ohio’s Akron General Health System Names Ben Alvarez CMO
–California’s Adventist Health Names Wayne Ferch CEO of Central Valley Network
–Joe Crossett to Retire From Missouri’s Liberty Hospital
