Changing Jobs – The New Healthcare Employer’s Perspective

Did you know that a new employer not only wants to hire the best candidate they can find, but one who is the most highly adaptable or able to flex and change. The best companies in the world are those that are agile and able to adjust themselves to the varying realities of the market place. Hence, when they set out to hire, they are seeking those who have well honed “change management” mechanisms.

To substantiate this point, a May 2005 Fast Company article entitled, “Change or Die” by Alan Deutschman addresses the issue of change.

Changing the behavior of people isn't just the biggest challenge in health care. It's the most important challenge for businesses trying to compete in a turbulent world, says John Kotter, a Harvard Business School professor who has studied dozens of organizations in the midst of upheaval: "The central issue is never strategy, structure, culture, or systems. The core of the matter is always about changing the behavior of people." Those people may be called upon to respond to profound upheavals in marketplace dynamics -- the rise of a new global competitor, say, or a shift from a regulated to a deregulated environment -- or to a corporate reorganization, merger, or entry into a new business. And as individuals, we may want to change our own styles of work -- how we mentor subordinates, for example, or how we react to criticism. Yet more often than not, we can't…Kotter has hit on a crucial insight. "Behavior change happens mostly by speaking to people's feelings," he says. "This is true even in organizations that are very focused on analysis and quantitative measurement, even among people who think of themselves as smart in an MBA sense. In highly successful change efforts, people find ways to help others see the problems or solutions in ways that influence emotions, not just thought."

Employers are listening for details in how candidates will make a difference in the success of their businesses – smart employer interviewers are also listening to the emotional underpinnings or values expressed by the candidates they seek to hire. They are listening for motivation, enthusiasm and spark. They are listening for evidence that the new hire wannabe has an internal passion, roadmap for success and adaptability about themselves that makes them great contributors in the workplace.

The secret then to hiring the best is to “put your ears on” when interviewing; listening for a sense of purpose, contribution and passion about being in the work place and not just finding candidates who arrive as a place filler, but as a true agile team player to flex and grow with your business over the long term.

Happy and healthy hiring!

Lynden