2022 Annual Impact Report - 14

Executive Search: A Key to Successful Change in Leadership
By Dr. Scott Snyder, Director of Consulting
How does
an organization
grow through
change? You may
have heard the
expression " water
finds its level. "
While originally
derived in the
world of chemistry, its truth expands
to organizational development. If an
organization cannot grow and thrive
beyond its senior most leaders, the
skills, experience and abilities of these
individuals become a top priority. Often
a change in leadership is a crucial time to
grow an organization and " raise the water
level. " Using an executive search firm
may feel nefarious as many wonder, " how
can someone from the outside find the
right fit for someone on the inside? " At
Samaritan, we take leadership change and
successful growth seriously and believe it
does not have to be as scary as it seems.
We have answered some of the most
common questions about the executive
search process below and how it may lend
to a thriving and growing organization
during leadership transitions.
What is an Executive Search?
The retained Executive Search offered
by Samaritan is a consulting engagement
dedicated to locating a candidate with
very specific qualifications, skills, abilities
and traits for an executive level position.
Given the importance of the senior
leadership of an organization, it is critical
to hire the right person and manage
the hiring process appropriately for the
organization, employees, candidates,
clients and other stakeholders. The
retained executive search service is
intended to be very collaborative
and supportive. We work closely
and communicate regularly with an
organization's Search Committee and
Board of Directors.
How many engagements does a
team member typically work on
at one time?
The committed consultant team has no
more than two executive searches being
conducted at the same time, and an effort
14
is made to have them staggered in regard
to start and end dates with no overlap of
the interviewing phases.
How is your team structured, and
who do you anticipate would be
working on this engagement?
Each executive search has a dedicated
experienced consultant, an operations
manager and marketing specialist
assigned. Additionally, we will utilize the
expertise and knowledge of our partnering
consultants and in-house psychologists
as needed to best position the search for
success.
What is the general methodology
to obtain input on the
organization's needs from the
Board of Directors and other
stakeholders?
First, we conduct initial meetings
with the search committee to understand
the position and its expectations, as
well as to identify the stakeholders and
board members to discuss things further.
These meetings are one-on-one, and all
comments are recorded, compiled and
shared with the search committee to
create a posting/job description that meets
the organization's criteria.
Once this posting is completed, in the
spirit of transparency, it is shared with
the stakeholders who provided input as a
means to continue their engagement and
partnership with the organization and its
future CEO.
What is your general
methodology as to
communication with internal
& external candidates,
staff generally and other
stakeholders?
Communication with internal
candidates is the same as communication
with external candidates in the process.
It is timely, with interactions occurring
within 24 hours of a request, interview,
question, etc., in order to keep moving
forward in a timely manner, be
transparent and keep talented candidates
engaged.
Staff and stakeholder communications
are usually directed by the search
committee on a need-to-know basis in a
confidential search. The communication
can be prepared by our team and
distributed by the search committee or
the consultant, based on the mutual
agreement of the parties.
What should be the top priorities
in this process?
The top priority is to ensure the process
garners the best candidate possible. It is
important to have everything in place
prior to posting the position. All the
steps involving the stakeholder feedback,
job descriptions/expectation, hiring
committee discussions, etc., should be
fully complete before the job is posted.
Once the job is posted it is imperative
to move in a timely manner so as not
to lose qualified talent to delays or
indecisiveness.
As the search team, it is our role to be
the advocate and support to the hiring
committee as well as being the liaison to
the candidates in the most comprehensive
and transparent manner. This process is
outlined in the CEO search booklet.
What matters should the
organization be considering in
selecting a consultant for this
project?
The organization should seek a
consulting firm with a deep knowledge
of the area the organization serves, as
well as the region's culture, values and
2022 Annual Impact Report

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