It is time to make the most important hiring decision you can make for your senior living community. You are hiring a new Executive Director. Ask any operator and they will tell you that this hire is absolutely pivotal to the success of the facility. After all, they’re responsible for everything from finances to customer relations.
With such a big hire, you can’t screw this up.
Unfortunately, a lot of communities do.
Not only does a bad hire result in lost revenue, but it can damage the organization’s structure as a whole. On the other hand, a good hire encourages move-ins and boosts revenue.
1. “Tunnel Vision” Accelerates the Process
Finding the perfect candidate has never been a cut-and-dry process; what could be a couple of weeks, easily turns into a couple of months. The truth is the best candidates are only on the market for a couple of weeks. While you’re dragging out the process, your competition is preparing the offer letter.
You also don’t want to jump the gun; impulsively hiring is just as bad as a dragged-out recruitment effort. So, what should you do? Concentrate on the right things.
Things that are a waste of time? Editing a job description to death. Scheduling interviews without scheduling software. Apps that require the applicants to manually fill out their resume. Getting too many people involved in the interview process. Manually scouting the talent pool without a recruitment firm.
Working on a myriad of things for limited results is not the solution and something like a complicated portal with a lengthy questionnaire can break your recruitment efforts, especially when it comes to executive talent. It’s important to consider what is necessary. While an assessment test can provide some insight, it’s not going to be as effective as an in-person interview. Optimize your process.
2. High Performance Doesn’t Always Equate with Future Potential
Looking at a candidate’s resume, it can be easy to overlook potential red flags when they have nothing but accolades and an impressive job history.
A high performer doesn’t always have high potential in your community. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should recruit a low performer, but it’s not always fair to assume that every candidate is enthusiastic about the role. It’s common to onboard “top talent” that falls through due to disengagement.
You should be able to have answers to the following questions:
- Is this candidate looking for a role that presents challenging opportunities?
- Does this role fit their lifestyle, flexibility/location-wise?
- What growth tract do they want in their career?
- What is their market value and what is their desired salary?
- What is their management style and how does it fit in with the organization’s culture?
3. The Quality of Your Search Committee Reflects the Quality of Your Talent
Quality hiring managers will pick quality candidates. When you’re assembling a search committee, you don’t want to have too many cooks in the kitchen. While including current staff members can temporarily boost morale, it can also cause a shift in the power dynamics of the community. Alongside this, some communities may consider putting their previous ED on the search committee. This can be helpful as they’ll have a deeper understanding of what the job actually requires. On the other hand, unintentional biases can sway the process in the wrong direction.
We, obviously, are going to recommend that you use an executive recruitment firm to find your talent. Recruitment firms can leverage their talent network to pull from. JDI is comprised of world-class search professionals with successful relationships in the industries they serve. All of our recruiters have a deep understanding of how their senior living communities operate. If you’re looking to hire an Executive Director, contact our recruiters here. Follow our LinkedIn here.