Prior to the global pandemic, the vast majority of executive recruiting in healthcare took place in the form of in-person, one-on-one interactions. Since COVID-19, the professional world has turned upside down, and businesses are responding with more flexibility than ever.
Face masks obscured much of our nonverbal communication cues, social distancing required us to be a minimum of six feet apart, and many healthcare organizations moved to no-visitor policies in hospitals as well as corporate offices. For most, the recruiting process moved online. Much of 2020 was a continuous, rapid-fire cycle of business agility, change management, and resilience.
As recruiters and candidates became more comfortable with the nuances of virtual interactions, they started to realize there was true utility in the medium. Over a year into our virtual existence, most experts agree that the pros largely outweigh the cons, and digital recruiting is here to stay for every level of talent from the frontline employee to top executive leadership.
Healthcare leaders of today work remotely
Following the digitization of all things work and continued globalization, flexibility has become a key consideration in conversations with leadership candidates, and executive talent is no exception.
In fact, observers note that the prevailing trend before the pandemic demonstrated about 90 percent of strategic sourcing engagements for executive positions expected the executive to relocate to the home office region. Now, the scales have tipped. About 80 percent of leadership searches extend the option of allowing the new hire to work from anywhere.
This falls in line with Canton & Company’s frequent interactions with today’s top healthcare executives, and it anecdotally supports the trend toward more dynamic flexibility in leadership roles. Candidates that are capable of leading and communicating in the virtual space will distinguish themselves from the competition and be in very high demand.
Social recruiting is all about who you know
Social recruiting is the type of connected recruiting that happens through social media or other broad social network channels, and it has become a catchphrase in human-capital-management circles over the last several years. Increasingly as the nature of work shifts and new technologies and roles emerge, organizations will need to move away from traditional methods of identifying talent and explore new sources and skillsets to fill the leadership needs of tomorrow. Social recruiting offers exactly that inroad to historically untapped sources of talent.
Healthcare companies and private equity investment firms looking for a partner to help them create strong leadership teams should consider those certified in social sourcing techniques. Look for experts with broad social networks who can bring that capability to bear for talent searches.
The roaring 2020s include an executive hiring boom
It goes without saying that there is both enormous pent-up demand as well as immense opportunity in the healthcare space. As vaccine distribution becomes more geographically saturated and communities approach herd immunity, we are anticipating a hiring boom, including demand for fresh talent and new capabilities in the executive space.
Couple this demand with supply-side factors, such as accelerated retirements and huge job creation numbers, and the war for executive talent looks poised to heat up and even surpass what it was pre-pandemic. Organizations that intentionally launch their executive searches early will have the advantage over their competitors.
What’s more, the best strategy is getting out ahead of leadership needs, rather than reacting to them once the need becomes urgent. As you sketch out your talent forecast, be sure to anticipate what you’ll need long-term as well as what you need right away.
Discover how you might benefit from Canton & Company’s certified social sourcing and broad connections in healthcare to find the perfect fit for your executive leadership team. Start a conversation with us.