When a health and social care provider approaches us here at Pioneer Talent, its mainly with the intent to source the very best talent for a senior role.

Our clients generally know what they want in their leaders (and if they don’t, they are welcome to chat through ideas with us, we are always happy to have friendly, advisory conversations) but are generally less clear about how to find them.

So how can a Search project source the best talent?

An attraction exercise in its most simple form can look like an advert on your website, job board and even a LinkedIn post. It is likely you will be visible to 25% of the available market this way. This method is great if you know your followers and potential applicants are active and relevant job seekers. There will be certain roles for which this is the right route.

Executive search or ‘headhunting’ is the process of proactively approaching prospective, highly skilled, and experienced leaders and managers not otherwise in the market for a new role. Desirable candidates in the market are mapped, considering the main requirements such as experience, specialism, location, reputation. It is a process used to fill roles that are strategically important or very hard to fill management roles where there is a particular skills shortage or a lack of candidates in a geographical area. Typical titles in Health and Social care that lend themselves to Search and Selection are C-Cuite (CEO/CFO/COO), Managing Director, Operations Director or Manager, HR/ People Director or manager, Registered Managers. Other senior management posts can also be headhunted for.

If an organisation is looking to recruit more junior level staff or if they know there is a highly active pool of strong, prospective candidates out there, a recruitment agency or their internal HR department may be better placed to post adverts and react to the interest shown by candidates.

For a role with strategic oversight, either across the whole group or organisation or for a division, department or special provision, an executive search firm specialising in health and social care could help find the best talent. The personalised service that comes with a head hunt, improves the chances of them wanting to join a provider.

To determine whether a Search and Selection process is right for your senior management vacancy in health and social care, it is important to work closely and openly with the consultant to confirm the most important factors for the role. Is it location? Sector knowledge? Understanding of how competitors do things to support your company’s knowledge base? Or is it a particular personality type or leadership style?

Do you have a clear idea of a competitor you would ideally like to see candidates from? Or are you looking to cast a wider net across a broader sector to consider a wider range of candidates who can bring a different pair of eyes?

It’s worth repeating that actively job seeking candidates make up between 10-25% of the market depending on the role. By only targeting people who are actively looking, we would miss out on a huge chunk of talent in the health and social care leadership market. The active market will likely be applying for several jobs at a time and so may not be as committed to your opportunity.

Depending on the brief, it is possible to take both a search and selection approach.

A specific and targeted process is used for a search exercise. This targets individuals from an agreed set of criteria and identifying the most appropriate candidates to actively approach. This works particularly well for strategically important senior roles and where there needs to be a confidentiality agreement about the role; It’s not always appropriate for people outside or within your company to know that you are recruiting to a certain role. If your business is expanding in a particular direction or you are restructuring, you might want to keep the role between trusted parties for a certain timeframe.

If appropriate, a search can be complemented by a wider selection exercise comprising advertising and networking. The beauty of a Search and Selection consultancy in Health and Social Care is the network that will have been built up over time. A combined approach of the targeted and wider processes will mean a high likelihood of attracting the majority pf the potential market. Using a health and social care sector specific Search and Selection firm, ensures a deep understanding of the market. What’s more, this focus provides a robust and relevant candidate pool.