Martyrs of Managed Care Hospital relies on an executive search firm for providing well-qualified applicants for key managerial and professional positions, especially those for which a nationwide search seems appropriate. The Vice President for Administrative Support Services, Jacque Johnson, has placed a top priority on filling the Director of Health Information Services position without unnecessary delay. The hospital is planning a major information system upgrade and conversion within the next 9 months before The Joint Commission accreditation survey. The search firm's recruiter assigned to this project had not provided Ms. Johnson with any applicants by the end of the first month of the search. On her inquiry, the recruiter informed Jacque that the job market was tight for persons with the required skills but that good candidates would be forthcoming soon.
Three weeks later the recruiter sent an e-mail roster of two "well-qualified" candidates followed by their faxed resumes. Ms. Johnson's review of these materials allowed her to conclude quickly that one candidate was at best marginally qualified for this position. The other seemed by experience and current position title to be very well qualified for executive-level financial management positions. Thus it was not clear why this individual had been referred for the position of Director of Health Information Management Services.
1. What factors might have contributed to this recruitment problem?
2. Other than simply terminating the contract and selecting another search firm to restart the process (an option that would likely entail at least another 3 to 4 weeks' delay), what might Ms. Johnson do to expedite the recruitment process?