Internal Candidates Warrant Special Consideration

One positive development we’ve observed over the past sixteen months is our clients’ -- healthcare payers, providers, and technology organizations -- receptivity to prioritizing internal candidates for senior leadership roles. In many cases, hiring managers and talent acquisition leaders, in a largely remote workforce, began to appreciate established relationships with existing team members as opposed to the risk associated with vetting & onboarding an external hire remotely.

On most of my firm’s engagements, we’re tasked to find the proverbial “needle-in-a-haystack” candidate for our clients. And, quite frankly, we welcome that challenge and pride ourselves in achieving successful search outcomes 91% of the time (since 2011). In most cases, there are literally 10-20 healthcare executives in the world that check every box for the experiential & technical requirements for the position in question. Add to that the variables around relocation, motivation, compensation, non-competes, strategic alignment, leadership style, and cultural fit, and you’re getting the picture of the substantial undertaking involved.

Successful internal candidates might not check every box but, they have several unique attributes working in their favor: cultural fit, a verifiable record of development & achievement, a well-understood set of strengths/weaknesses, as well as established relationships across the enterprise. As has been often said, many technical & leadership skills can be developed. But, the above organizational alignment is nearly priceless. Furthermore, promoting internal candidates can improve morale & associate retention while reducing cost-per-hire.

Now, where does that leave the executive search industry? There are still plenty of cases, particularly in the accelerated transformational era our industry has entered, where there are skill sets and subject matter expertise that simply can’t be found among the internal candidate pool.

Perhaps it’s a new line of business in which the organization has no prior experience (Value Based Care, Government Programs, Digital Health, Home Health, Population Health, etc.) or an instance where the organization recognizes a need for new ways of thinking and problem solving (i.e., new blood). As such, executive search consultants like me get to truly add value and earn our clients’ trust & engagement.

Regardless, as a general rule, I still advise our clients to strongly prioritize internal candidates who possess more than 60% of the experiential requirements for a role over external candidates who, despite an exhaustive vetting process, still come with a higher level of unpredictability. To be clear, any internal candidates considered should be well-established high-performers with a demonstrated track record of success. If an internal candidate doesn't meet these high standards, an external candidate is likely the answer.

As always, I’d welcome your feedback and thoughts. Thank you for reading and for your time and consideration.

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