Cheryl M.
was in a tough spot.
The savvy nursing professional knew her days as Director of Nursing for Practice, Education and Quality were numbered when the newly installed Vice President of Nursing began to reorganize her leadership team.
After nine years on the job, Cheryl was abundantly aware that finding a senior level position that would make the most of her experience and expertise wouldn't be easy.
One thing was certain-it was critical for her next position to be a great fit.
Greg B.
, a Senior Vice President, was in a similar predicament.
He had an open position that had been extremely difficult to fill: Director of Nursing for Education, Quality and Practice, a key leadership position that had been vacant too long.
After two unsuccessful hires, the nursing staff had grown disillusioned and disheartened, acutely feeling the absence of leadership.
Greg knew that in order to restore faith and trust among team members, the next person in the role couldn't just meet the job requirements; she or he would have to exceed them.
Greg wasn't in hot water, he explained, it was more like "boiling water," and he could not afford another hiring mistake.
Both Cheryl and Greg were in comparable circumstances-the next job or the next hire would have to be a "perfect fit.
" Describing what exactly "fit" means is a bit like trying to describe friendship or trust.
You know it when you feel it.
The trouble with fit, however, is that unlike a pair of trousers or a hat, where one pretty much knows within 30 seconds if there's a fit, assessing a person's fit within an organization takes time.
The ability to see first hand how a potential candidate handles a difficult conversation or solves a problem, for instance, gives an employer tremendous insight into the talent, judgment and skill set of the would-be hire, indicating with relative accuracy how successful she or he will be in the role.
At the same time, for a potential candidate to have the opportunity to get to know her staff, her manager and the organization over the course of several weeks or months, is invaluable when evaluating the likelihood of success and contentment in the role permanently.
Especially if one is able to get past the "honeymoon period" and still feel that the job is the right one.
The Model Once primarily associated with lower-level administrative and IT roles, the temp-to-perm model has been around for a long time, and is gaining acceptance in many industries, with positions ranging from mid-management to C-level, giving both parties-the employer and employee-the chance to try things on for size.
In the case of healthcare, consultants and interims have been accustomed to bridging leadership gaps for quite some time; however, the trend lately is to have the interim assume the role permanently, rather than moving on to the next assignment.
The transitional approach works for many reasons, not the least of which is the level of comfort interims find when they are placed in a position that challenges them and feels right.
Also, when the employer becomes convinced that the best person for the job is right under his nose, why should he look elsewhere? That's how it happened for Roger L.
, Executive Director of a pediatric physicians' organization in Boston.
Roger was hired as an interim with little direct experience with physicians' organizations, but he had significant healthcare-related financial and operational expertise.
"They needed someone yesterday to continue a major project," Roger said.
"I stepped in while the organization searched nationally for a permanent Executive Director.
" But once Roger got his arms around the position, he discovered that the hospital really didn't know what they needed.
After examining the organization's strategic plan and vision of the future, Roger presented the CEO with an organizational assessment of his "observations and recommendations".
He didn't think the infrastructure was in place to achieve the goals of the physicians' organization, and suggested that the job description be changed to identify a person with more organizational and leadership experience, putting less of an emphasis on practice management and physician relations skills.
The CEO was so impressed with Roger's eight-page report, he offered him the permanent job four weeks after his interim assignment began.
"As a consultant, I wanted to add a high level of value while serving as an interim," said Roger.
"I didn't realize my evaluation would lead to a permanent job offer, but it really is a good fit.
" The High Cost of Hiring Mistakes Hiring mistakes take their toll in at least two areas for both employers and employees: financial and emotional.
Financial costs add up quickly when one considers how much time and money it takes for organizations to identify, interview and bring someone new on board.
Having to repeat the cycle two or three times adds significant expense to the bottom line.
For employees, leaving a position that isn't right before securing a new one can wreak havoc on the family budget, and when the funds aren't there to support a lengthy job search, taking a position just for the paycheck can be disastrous.
But it's the "burn and learn" aspect that made the temp-to-perm model particularly attractive to Roger L.
"Sometimes there is a panic to fill the job right away, which can lead to a hasty decision," explained Roger.
"There have been too many situations where someone just presents well.
They look good on paper and in person, and then all of a sudden, they're not who you thought they were.
" Consider the impact on staff when a leadership role goes unfilled, or worse, when a revolving door seems to be in place.
Gaps in leadership almost always bring about turmoil and uncertainty, resulting in a demoralized team.
When a professional finds herself in the wrong role, the second-guessing, frustration, and unhappiness can lead to poor performance, absences and sometimes even illness.
Going from Interim to Permanent Hire "We had used Leaders for Today with interim placement in the past," explained Greg, "but had never considered trying temp-to-perm before.
" His hospital experienced good luck with hiring travel nurses who had come on board after three-month long assignments demonstrating they were too good to let go.
"It's a great way for managers to assess competencies, skill sets, behavior and fit," he said.
The hospital also enjoys a successful nurse externship program where top students get to apply their skills and receive course credit while the hospital determines potential suitability.
With all this positive exposure to the temp-to-perm model, Greg decided to use it to fill the Director position, and Cheryl was one of the professionals he interviewed, and subsequently hired.
Cheryl knew that there was no way to guarantee the next job she accepted would be ideal, but felt that taking a position on a temp-to-perm basis was the best way to go.
Just to be on the safe side, however, she continued to look at permanent opportunities as they surfaced.
It came down to accepting a permanent leadership role at a hospital that looked promising, except for the 50-mile commute, or the position Greg had open-for which Cheryl was uniquely qualified.
"We clicked during the interview," recalled Cheryl.
"I had a good feeling, but wanted to be sure.
" Greg's side of the story is much the same.
"I had a great feeling quickly with Cheryl.
After discussing my vision and needs, she was in complete alignment.
" He was looking for an "agent for change" and found one in Cheryl.
Cheryl has been with the organization now for 11 months and couldn't be happier, and not just because her commute is a short 20 minutes.
"It's a perfect fit," she says, "and the temp-to-perm arrangement was a 'win-win' for everyone.
" If He Had Only Known At one point, Patrick J.
, Chief Operating Officer, spent well over a year looking for the "perfect" candidate to fill a vacancy at a prior organization.
He ended up settling for someone "who could do the job, but wasn't great.
" He was unaware that the temporary to perm option existed, until now.
"That's a terrific option, if you can get it," said Patrick with no small degree of interest.
Having used interim placement in the past for a number of assignments, the idea of having someone "try on" the position from the onset, made perfect sense.
He uses interims because they are extremely well qualified candidates who add value immediately.
"We pay a premium for this," said Patrick, "but it allows us to maintain a steady revenue base, and it allows us the time for an extensive search so that we don't fall into the warm body syndrome.
" Now he has a new model to use.
No stranger to the hiring scene, Patrick makes a big effort to coach members of his leadership team to take their time when they have positions to fill.
"The number one issue is hiring too fast," explained Patrick.
"I've seen people hired after a battery of tests and all kinds of assessments who end up being the wrong people.
Despite all intentions, a candidate is still an 'unknown.
' People can act certain ways for short periods of time," said Patrick, who has seen his share of bad hires.
When an important position remains open for any length of time, two things happen.
First, someone within the organization ends up doing two jobs while a search for a replacement gets underway, unless of course an interim is engaged.
Next, as the search extends from one or two months, to six or eight, compromise can creep in.
The education, skills and level of experience that were required when the job was first posted, take a dive.
The search for the elusive healthcare leader with a master's degree and 10 years of acute-care facility experience somehow gets reframed and candidates with only bachelor's degrees, and maybe four to six years of experience are suddenly considered.
As the clock ticks, hiring managers become more frustrated, and that's when "the warm body syndrome" Patrick mentioned sets in.
Standards have always been high in healthcare, not just because lives are often in the balance, but because it's a matter of pride and respect to fill your open positions with the best of the best.
This often takes a great deal more time and dedication than first anticipated.
In a world with few guarantees, it's reassuring to know there is a hiring model out there that gets pretty close.
Employers and professionals alike realize that trying a position on for size before taking the plunge helps each side envision the future with more confidence and accuracy, trading surprises for realistic expectations.
Final Thoughts As an employer, Greg Bird, Senior VP of Patient Care Services/CNO of Northeast Health System in Beverly, Massachusetts, feels the following behaviors essential to a candidate's success are far more accurately assessed during a temp-to-perm engagement than in an interview setting:
The more senior the hire, the more important it is to be sure of fit.
There is a real price to pay for a bad hire at the senior level.
" Chief Operating Officer of Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Patrick Jordan, offers this advice: "Don't compromise.
Resist the urge to conclude, 'This is the best I'm going to get,' and keep searching.
The value proposition of temp-to-perm is clear.
"
was in a tough spot.
The savvy nursing professional knew her days as Director of Nursing for Practice, Education and Quality were numbered when the newly installed Vice President of Nursing began to reorganize her leadership team.
After nine years on the job, Cheryl was abundantly aware that finding a senior level position that would make the most of her experience and expertise wouldn't be easy.
One thing was certain-it was critical for her next position to be a great fit.
Greg B.
, a Senior Vice President, was in a similar predicament.
He had an open position that had been extremely difficult to fill: Director of Nursing for Education, Quality and Practice, a key leadership position that had been vacant too long.
After two unsuccessful hires, the nursing staff had grown disillusioned and disheartened, acutely feeling the absence of leadership.
Greg knew that in order to restore faith and trust among team members, the next person in the role couldn't just meet the job requirements; she or he would have to exceed them.
Greg wasn't in hot water, he explained, it was more like "boiling water," and he could not afford another hiring mistake.
Both Cheryl and Greg were in comparable circumstances-the next job or the next hire would have to be a "perfect fit.
" Describing what exactly "fit" means is a bit like trying to describe friendship or trust.
You know it when you feel it.
The trouble with fit, however, is that unlike a pair of trousers or a hat, where one pretty much knows within 30 seconds if there's a fit, assessing a person's fit within an organization takes time.
The ability to see first hand how a potential candidate handles a difficult conversation or solves a problem, for instance, gives an employer tremendous insight into the talent, judgment and skill set of the would-be hire, indicating with relative accuracy how successful she or he will be in the role.
At the same time, for a potential candidate to have the opportunity to get to know her staff, her manager and the organization over the course of several weeks or months, is invaluable when evaluating the likelihood of success and contentment in the role permanently.
Especially if one is able to get past the "honeymoon period" and still feel that the job is the right one.
The Model Once primarily associated with lower-level administrative and IT roles, the temp-to-perm model has been around for a long time, and is gaining acceptance in many industries, with positions ranging from mid-management to C-level, giving both parties-the employer and employee-the chance to try things on for size.
In the case of healthcare, consultants and interims have been accustomed to bridging leadership gaps for quite some time; however, the trend lately is to have the interim assume the role permanently, rather than moving on to the next assignment.
The transitional approach works for many reasons, not the least of which is the level of comfort interims find when they are placed in a position that challenges them and feels right.
Also, when the employer becomes convinced that the best person for the job is right under his nose, why should he look elsewhere? That's how it happened for Roger L.
, Executive Director of a pediatric physicians' organization in Boston.
Roger was hired as an interim with little direct experience with physicians' organizations, but he had significant healthcare-related financial and operational expertise.
"They needed someone yesterday to continue a major project," Roger said.
"I stepped in while the organization searched nationally for a permanent Executive Director.
" But once Roger got his arms around the position, he discovered that the hospital really didn't know what they needed.
After examining the organization's strategic plan and vision of the future, Roger presented the CEO with an organizational assessment of his "observations and recommendations".
He didn't think the infrastructure was in place to achieve the goals of the physicians' organization, and suggested that the job description be changed to identify a person with more organizational and leadership experience, putting less of an emphasis on practice management and physician relations skills.
The CEO was so impressed with Roger's eight-page report, he offered him the permanent job four weeks after his interim assignment began.
"As a consultant, I wanted to add a high level of value while serving as an interim," said Roger.
"I didn't realize my evaluation would lead to a permanent job offer, but it really is a good fit.
" The High Cost of Hiring Mistakes Hiring mistakes take their toll in at least two areas for both employers and employees: financial and emotional.
Financial costs add up quickly when one considers how much time and money it takes for organizations to identify, interview and bring someone new on board.
Having to repeat the cycle two or three times adds significant expense to the bottom line.
For employees, leaving a position that isn't right before securing a new one can wreak havoc on the family budget, and when the funds aren't there to support a lengthy job search, taking a position just for the paycheck can be disastrous.
But it's the "burn and learn" aspect that made the temp-to-perm model particularly attractive to Roger L.
"Sometimes there is a panic to fill the job right away, which can lead to a hasty decision," explained Roger.
"There have been too many situations where someone just presents well.
They look good on paper and in person, and then all of a sudden, they're not who you thought they were.
" Consider the impact on staff when a leadership role goes unfilled, or worse, when a revolving door seems to be in place.
Gaps in leadership almost always bring about turmoil and uncertainty, resulting in a demoralized team.
When a professional finds herself in the wrong role, the second-guessing, frustration, and unhappiness can lead to poor performance, absences and sometimes even illness.
Going from Interim to Permanent Hire "We had used Leaders for Today with interim placement in the past," explained Greg, "but had never considered trying temp-to-perm before.
" His hospital experienced good luck with hiring travel nurses who had come on board after three-month long assignments demonstrating they were too good to let go.
"It's a great way for managers to assess competencies, skill sets, behavior and fit," he said.
The hospital also enjoys a successful nurse externship program where top students get to apply their skills and receive course credit while the hospital determines potential suitability.
With all this positive exposure to the temp-to-perm model, Greg decided to use it to fill the Director position, and Cheryl was one of the professionals he interviewed, and subsequently hired.
Cheryl knew that there was no way to guarantee the next job she accepted would be ideal, but felt that taking a position on a temp-to-perm basis was the best way to go.
Just to be on the safe side, however, she continued to look at permanent opportunities as they surfaced.
It came down to accepting a permanent leadership role at a hospital that looked promising, except for the 50-mile commute, or the position Greg had open-for which Cheryl was uniquely qualified.
"We clicked during the interview," recalled Cheryl.
"I had a good feeling, but wanted to be sure.
" Greg's side of the story is much the same.
"I had a great feeling quickly with Cheryl.
After discussing my vision and needs, she was in complete alignment.
" He was looking for an "agent for change" and found one in Cheryl.
Cheryl has been with the organization now for 11 months and couldn't be happier, and not just because her commute is a short 20 minutes.
"It's a perfect fit," she says, "and the temp-to-perm arrangement was a 'win-win' for everyone.
" If He Had Only Known At one point, Patrick J.
, Chief Operating Officer, spent well over a year looking for the "perfect" candidate to fill a vacancy at a prior organization.
He ended up settling for someone "who could do the job, but wasn't great.
" He was unaware that the temporary to perm option existed, until now.
"That's a terrific option, if you can get it," said Patrick with no small degree of interest.
Having used interim placement in the past for a number of assignments, the idea of having someone "try on" the position from the onset, made perfect sense.
He uses interims because they are extremely well qualified candidates who add value immediately.
"We pay a premium for this," said Patrick, "but it allows us to maintain a steady revenue base, and it allows us the time for an extensive search so that we don't fall into the warm body syndrome.
" Now he has a new model to use.
No stranger to the hiring scene, Patrick makes a big effort to coach members of his leadership team to take their time when they have positions to fill.
"The number one issue is hiring too fast," explained Patrick.
"I've seen people hired after a battery of tests and all kinds of assessments who end up being the wrong people.
Despite all intentions, a candidate is still an 'unknown.
' People can act certain ways for short periods of time," said Patrick, who has seen his share of bad hires.
When an important position remains open for any length of time, two things happen.
First, someone within the organization ends up doing two jobs while a search for a replacement gets underway, unless of course an interim is engaged.
Next, as the search extends from one or two months, to six or eight, compromise can creep in.
The education, skills and level of experience that were required when the job was first posted, take a dive.
The search for the elusive healthcare leader with a master's degree and 10 years of acute-care facility experience somehow gets reframed and candidates with only bachelor's degrees, and maybe four to six years of experience are suddenly considered.
As the clock ticks, hiring managers become more frustrated, and that's when "the warm body syndrome" Patrick mentioned sets in.
Standards have always been high in healthcare, not just because lives are often in the balance, but because it's a matter of pride and respect to fill your open positions with the best of the best.
This often takes a great deal more time and dedication than first anticipated.
In a world with few guarantees, it's reassuring to know there is a hiring model out there that gets pretty close.
Employers and professionals alike realize that trying a position on for size before taking the plunge helps each side envision the future with more confidence and accuracy, trading surprises for realistic expectations.
Final Thoughts As an employer, Greg Bird, Senior VP of Patient Care Services/CNO of Northeast Health System in Beverly, Massachusetts, feels the following behaviors essential to a candidate's success are far more accurately assessed during a temp-to-perm engagement than in an interview setting:
- The ability to build relationships, encourage teamwork, and create "followership.
" - The willingness to foster professional growth and development in others.
- Drive, accountability, and personal integrity.
The more senior the hire, the more important it is to be sure of fit.
There is a real price to pay for a bad hire at the senior level.
" Chief Operating Officer of Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Patrick Jordan, offers this advice: "Don't compromise.
Resist the urge to conclude, 'This is the best I'm going to get,' and keep searching.
The value proposition of temp-to-perm is clear.
"
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