3 Things Your Executive Search Firm Needs to Recruit a Top Population Health Executive

Population Health is a universal approach to medical care in which healthcare professionals strive to manage health-related issues across subsets of the population, rather than focusing only on individual cases.

Interpretations vary, but a general definition of population health is the “management of the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within a group.”

To clarify, members of any group or society are afflicted with common outcomes that result from such influences as behaviors, genetics, physical environment, and of course the quality of available healthcare services. These determinants may impact a significant percentage of individuals within the group. Addressing the determinants of group issues tends to be more meaningful and cost effective in the long run than attacking the problems as they arise in individual cases.

The healthcare industry is adopting population health on a very broad scale. While instituting population health systems, most administrators are adapting the program to their existing environments, thus producing executives with a diverse set of theories and approaches to population health.

1. Your search firm needs to have Population Health expertise.

Many healthcare organizations are embracing the concept of population health and modifying their fundamental mission accordingly, yet not every group views the field of Population Health the same way. Recruiting an executive to manage Population Health at a hospital or clinic requires an exhaustive understanding of the client’s interpretation and vision, while matching these to a candidate’s skill set and experience.

To this end, a professional executive search firm must spend considerable time prior to initiating a search with the hospital’s stakeholders to comprehend their precise understanding and desired outcomes of their population health initiatives. Matching this vision is critical to the success of the medical facility and its newly hired executive. Failure to get clarity on the vision for Population Health could very well result in the new executive’s failure in the job.

2. Your recruiting partner needs to be great at research and needs to have a comprehensive recruiting process.

Recruiting top healthcare executives requires extensive research to identify the best candidates who not only could succeed at the job, but are willing to uproot their careers (and their families) for a new challenge in a new hospital (and perhaps a new city, too). The primary measure of executive search success is the speed and ease with which a newly hired executive adapts to the new employer’s culture, adds value with new initiatives and projects a positive, productive influence on colleagues and subordinates.

To this end, top executive search firms dedicate considerable resources to the research elements of an executive search. Our blog post, Research: The Firm Foundation for Extraordinary Executive Search, explores Dise & Company’s population health executive recruitment experiences through the eyes of our expert researcher, Dori Lieber.

A weak executive match is detrimental to the hospital, potentially disastrous for the newly hired employee and a failure for the executive search firm. Extensive research and fact gathering to identify candidates’ strengths, weaknesses, successes and failures, management skills and communications styles are essential. Matching those attributes with the qualities defined by the healthcare organization’s stakeholders is a key objective for the recruiting team.

3. Your executive recruiting firm needs to have a track record of success, especially when it comes to a specialty like Population Health.

Top recruiters achieve success through experience, diligence, research and attention to detail. Failure is not an option, and past performance measures a successful executive search team. Recruiters who are competitive by nature and mission-driven researchers who enjoy their work are the core of a successful recruiting firm. Our well honed process at Dise & Company works to present clients with qualified candidates through, but not limited to:

• Situation Assessment
• Position Specification
• Scorecard Review
• Talent Sourcing
• Candidate Identification and Calibration
• Offer Presentation
• Resignation Support

Dise & Company has developed a distinct approach to our clients’ recruiting requirements. Experienced and staffed with knowledgeable professionals, our executive recruiting process begins with developing an enlightened understanding of your needs. With this in hand, the research group extensively researches the market to find a precise match. Dise & Company’s involvement does not end when the candidate is hired. Follow-up and coaching are also provided for the new hire as needed. We strive to make the world a healthier place, preventing chronic disease and closing the care gaps through seeking top notch Population Health executives for healthcare facilities throughout the nation.

Population Health Management isn’t just a new position, it’s a passion.

We are competitive by nature, but competing isn’t what gets us going every morning.  We get our satisfaction from helping our clients get the best people. It’s what we do for a living, but it’s also a calling. Bringing great people to new careers with great organizations is what truly fulfils us.

Do you need a search firm with Population Health Management expertise? Share your thoughts in the comments!