“I thought you were calling to sell me on skilled
nursing or executive directors.”
As an executive recruiter, that’s a common
reaction I receive when I’m networking with seniors housing executives.
However, in my activities leading the seniors housing recruiting practice for
ibr Search – that couldn’t be further from my reality. Below are 8 executive recruiting myths debunked to help you better understand the facts behind our approach to executive recruitment.
MYTH #1: ibr Search has captive candidates that we
are calling to discuss and share with you
REALITY: Every search we perform is based on a careful understanding of
your exact hiring scenario, the internal stakeholders in your firm and ibrSearch matching this against a competitive analysis of your peers in the
industry and our ability to source the appropriate candidates from those
firms. Each search is crafted from a scratch understanding of these
drivers and then articulated to you in a search plan with time-sensitive deliverables
that we must live up to. A typical engagement nets a qualified slate of
presentable candidates for consideration/interview in 3-4 weeks from the launch
of the search.
MYTH #2: there’s no reason to take our call or
counsel with us if you do not currently have a hiring need
REALTIY: Success at this level of search is highly dependent on a deep
understanding of what sets your seniors housing firm apart culturally and
capabilities from your peers. In the nearly 20 years of experience of our
leadership team, we’ve found that in all but the rarest instances, it can take,
on average, 9-12 months to form a relationship to which successfully launch our
first search together. We are more than willing to commit to that path
with you – we want to gain your trust and that does take time.
MYTH #3: “I already know all the recruiters in the
Seniors Housing space.”
REALITY: You may. However, from our experience, the majority of
recruiters in the space are based on the very lucrative, high-churn nursing and
skilled-medical staff that makes up over 90% of the employee-base in seniors
housing. ibr Search is a boutique recruiter only focusing on senior
management and executive leadership positions that possess a strong real
estate, development, design/construction, finance and marketing concentration.
MYTH #4: “I presume the reason you are calling or
attempting to meet is that you are out looking for candidates.”
REALITY: The general purpose for our initial outreach, be it by
phone or to arrange a meeting during our extensive in-market travel, is to
plant the seed of mutual understanding and a hopeful relationship.
MYTH #5: “We’re not a good prospect for your
recruiting services, we only hire one or two executives every couple of years.”
REALITY: In fact, most of our client use our services, on average, for
one to two critical searches every 16 months. Due to the
highly-specialized nature of our relationship with you – we consider this
client volume a quality (not quantity) relationship!
MYTH #6: “We have a relationship with a
recruiter already.”
REALITY: We respect that. That doesn’t always mean they are the
specific tool for the search at hand. Ibr Search does not seek to be your
exclusive recruiter – only the one that focuses on specific positions.
Further, we are a boutique with a full recruitng staff, team leads
(specialists) and a research department. Many, would-be competitors, are
sole pracitioners with limited capabilities.
MYTH #7: “Most of our middle and senior
leadership is stable and has been with us for years.”
REALITY: We respect that response and candidly, you sound like the type
of company we’d be proud to represent. However, now is the time to
consider succession planning (internal) and external pools of talent for
diversifying and enriching your tehnical skill-set. Ibr Search, during
our relationship building phase (which can take months, if not years), is happy
to casually discuss and brainstorm where you can begin to consider talent
options that might not be required until years from now.
MYTH #8: “You’re based in Pittsburgh.
How can you be effective when you are hundreds, if not thousands of miles
away?”
REALITY: For nearly 20 years, our leadership team has been effectively
networking coast-to-coast and building trusted relationships with industry
executives that form the backbone of our referral network to potential
candidates. In addition to all available electronic and telephonic means,
our search principals, on average, travel 6-8 days each month to most major
markets, nationally.
Written by:
Wesley P. Easly, Managing Principal
Brian P. Shuppe, Sr. Director Research & CIO
