The traditional method for filling a healthcare executive role follows this process:
- The role opens and is posted to a handful of industry-specific job boards, often at great expense to the hiring organization
- Applications flow, or alternatively, trickle in
- The applications are sorted
- Interviews take place, the pool is narrowed down, and eventually an offer is extended
There are two problems with this approach.
First, executive turnover has accelerated in recent years. The roles that require such a painstaking process to fill might not be occupied for long. Secondly, this approach is set up to fail. Why? Because just 30% of the workforce is actively seeking a job. That shrinks dramatically when you’re filling a C-Suite role, especially in a niche industry like healthcare delivery.
So what’s the solution to this hiring quandary? What secret weapon do executive search firms have? Passive candidates.
In this article, we’ll examine what a passive candidate is and why they are vital to the healthcare executive search process.
What is a Passive Candidate?
A passive candidate is anyone who’s currently employed and isn’t actively seeking a new role. They may have their eyes open for opportunities that come their way, but they’re not job searching and sending out resumes like traditional active candidates.
Passive candidates account for an enormous segment of the talent market. While less than a third of the workforce is looking for a job, nearly 90% are open to new opportunities. That means your chances of hiring the right healthcare executive increase dramatically when you start looking for the people who are the best fit, not just the candidates who are available.
How to Recruit Passive Candidates for Executive Healthcare Roles
Recruiting passive candidates is challenging. Jocelyn Clarke, Assistant Vice President of Executive Search Services, has been helping connect healthcare organizations with leading talent for over a decade. With an extensive nationwide network cultivated through her thought leadership and presentations at the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and at leading conferences such as HIMSS Global Health Conference, Clarke is an expert at recruiting passive candidates for executive roles in healthcare organizations.
“Even if a candidate isn’t actively looking for a new position, they are often interested when they hear about the career opportunity you’re bringing them. At that point, you are off to the races,” reports Clarke.
While this highly-personalized approach is more demanding, the results are far more fruitful. When it comes to filling an executive role, your organization shouldn’t settle for anything less.
Use Executive Recruiters Who Are Industry Specialists
The odds are that the best leader for your open executive position has no idea the role is open. They might not even be aware that your organization exists. And key decision makers in your organization may well be equally unaware that the perfect candidate is out there working with another organization at the moment.
Engaging a healthcare executive search firm can help you find the right passive candidates and connect your organization with the executive leadership it needs to thrive. Our recruiters are experts at leveraging their unparalleled professional networks across all clinical, financial, and operational executive leadership disciplines. Our personal connections forged over decades in the healthcare industry allow us to identify top-tier candidates that search firms without healthcare-industry specialization would never know to pursue.
Get Specialized Recruiting For Your Healthcare Organization’s Executive Leadership
Kirby Bates’ ability to draw on decades of experience in healthcare means our team understands and has direct experience with the unique challenges you face as a healthcare organization. Our teams’ vast network of passive candidates allows us to pair your organization with the right candidates for the job, and our nuanced knowledge of the healthcare industry helps us avoid risks associated with putting the wrong candidates in crucial leadership roles.
If your organization is hiring for an executive leadership position, you need the best candidates possible. Kirby Bates Associates’ healthcare executive recruiters can help you find them.
To learn more, contact our team today!