April 19, 2012 Tim Tolan
article
After more than four years the tides are shifting in the workforce in the United States, and the healthcare IT industry is already starting to feel the effects of employee turnover. In our industry, unlike many others, the loss of talent has a much greater impact, given the shortages many healthcare organizations are already dealing with as they are knee-deep into new implementations as a result of meaningful use initiatives.
April 16, 2012 Tim Tolan
blog
Last week I received a comment from a reader of my recent Career Paths article about “Work/Life Balance” that made me take pause. She wrote “Your honest assessment about leaders who don't communicate effectively was especially refreshing -- it's a common problem, but few of us talk about it”. Really? Leading would be much easier if leaders demonstrated they care about their workers by making sure they have the right balance to be productive and … yes – happy!
April 11, 2012 Gwen Darling
blog
About a year ago, I worked on a search assignment for an extremely innovative healthcare IT company that was seeking to fill a Chief Marketing Officer position. I've had the pleasure of knowing this team personally for several years now, and count them amongst my favorite clients, as they are all kind, thoughtful, sharp, friendly, and yes, I'm guessing they are brave, clean, and reverent, as well. And (and this is key) - they were all male.
April 9, 2012
news
The State of Wisconsin, recognizing the growth of health IT, is offering a Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management and Technology (HIMT) through a consortium of University of Wisconsin campuses, coordinated by the University of Wisconsin-Extension. The universities are the UW-Green Bay, UW-Parkside, and UW-Stevens Point. In addition, UW-La Crosse will contribute courses.
April 9, 2012 Tim Tolan
blog
When role models like Tiger Woods step up to the tee box, people pay attention. His audience is global, and his brand is huge. And for his adoring fans, especially the kids who aspire to be a good golfer one day, watching his poor behavior this past week was… well, just not what you want to see.
April 2, 2012 Tim Tolan
blog
I thought about the term, in particular how it relates to the way each of us handles that interview where we quickly know the candidate sitting in front of us is likely not going much further in the search we're conducting, but now are forced to deal with the "right way” to end the interview while still giving the candidate their deserved measure of dignity. One school of thought is to let the interview play out and give the candidate a chance to turns things around, while others like to cut and run, i.e. end things immediately. What are your thoughts?
March 19, 2012 Jennifer Prestigiacomo
article
In today’s competitive hiring market, it’s especially important for healthcare organizations to optimize their recruitment strategies to help attract quality healthcare professionals. For instance, the Health Resources and Services Administration projects that by 2020, there will be a shortage of more than 1 million nurses in the U.S., and with labor-intensive efforts like the ICD-10 transition and meaningful use, the industry is in the midst of a talent shortage crisis.
February 22, 2012 Gwen Darling
blog
Usually I spend this day in client meetings, reserving the evening for my two favorite social events of the conference - Healthcare Informatics magazine's Innovator Awards reception, and the famous HIStalk party. I began the day thinking this would most decidedly be the plan, but. . . well, let's just say it's good to have a plan, but you just never know where you'll end up at the end of the day.
February 21, 2012
blog
When it comes to hiring, I've never really seen the secret sauce. Sure, there are lots of hurdles to overcome (and plenty of boxes the hiring manager must check), but there isn't a silver bullet that a candidate can fire off to impress someone enough to employ them on the first (date) interview. Just don't tell that to a really qualified HCIT candidate I interviewed earlier this month!
January 23, 2012 Tim Tolan
blog
I have a few pet peeves when it comes to evaluating and interviewing candidates - bad resumes, arriving late for scheduled phone or in-person interviews, poor choices on business attire, nightmare references – I could go on and on and on…. but I won’t. Most of these irritants manifest over the course of weeks or months, and they leave me scratching my head as I try to ponder how and why great people make bad (really) choices while trying to find a new job.
November 23, 2011 Tim Tolan
blog
OK – up front – this is a rant! The things that happen in this business rarely surprise me, but they do make me take pause and ask a few questions. Executives hire search firms to find the talent they can’t source on their own, conduct a precision search for a purple squirrel, or perhaps attempt to hire away superior talent from a competitor.
November 23, 2011 Tim Tolan
article
Everyone wants to believe that they have the best talent in the land working on their team. In many cases they are probably correct, but not all that glitters is gold. I'm a big believer that by recruiting a superstar and adding top shelf-talent to your team, by osmosis your B players can upgrade to the B+ or A level.
