According to the Harvard Business Review:

 “80 percent of turnover is caused by bad hiring decisions. These are costly mistakes. The U.S. Department of Labor calculates that it costs one-third of a new hire’s annual salary to replace him. These figures include money spent on recruitment, selection and training plus costs due to decreased productivity as other employees fill in to take up the slack.

But these numbers don’t reflect the intangible damages an exiting employee can have such as lost customers and low employee morale across the rest of the organization. And, turnover costs climb even higher as you move up the organization: mid- and upper–level managers can cost over twice their annual salary to replace.”

Making a hiring decision is in fact: making a buying decision.  A hiring decision should be an investment decision however in many cases there is a need to be solved by hiring someone right away.

Solving needs.  That’s the key reason why people buy things, whether or not we are consciously aware of our actions.  Of course we look for value when we buy, but at its basic core: we buy because of a need.

Employers:  when you hire someone make sure that you are hiring to solve a need that you have but more importantly make sure that you “buy the solution.”  In plain and simple terms, make sure that you have properly identified the business need that you have and why that need exists, then and only then “hire the solution.”

When you hire the solution, you are buying down the business need or enhancing business profit and ultimately solving the issue at hand.

Hiring the right person though difficult it may be, is the solution and it’s also perhaps the biggest challenge that a company faces.  (Sometimes an effective way to buy down a hiring solution is to terminate the issue at hand.  Maybe the wrong person is in the wrong position.) Of course that is a different topic though completely relevant.

In conclusion, buying the solution is an extremely effective strategy when making a hiring decision.  Making a bad hiring decision happens to the best of businesses and though painful it may be in terms of costs and morale, having a “solve needs” strategy goes along way in successful hiring.

Any questions or comments? I am Bernie Reifkind, CEO and founder of Premier Search, Inc.  I can be reached at 1(800) 801-1400 or email at ceo@psihealth.com

After an interview, most applicants need feedback almost immediately.  Employers who intend to further explore a professional relationship with a candidate should provide that feedback within 48 hours of an interview.

Why?

If a candidate does not hear back after an interview, the following assumptions are usually made:

• “They’re not interested in me”
• “I had a bad interview”
• “Do I really want to work for a company that takes too long to make decisions?”

The first impression of a new employer is just as important as the impression made by a candidate. 

Candidates often judge employers by their decision making abilities.  If too much time goes by (without reasonable communication) and then an offer is made, an impression might be inferred that the employer is unable to make timely decisions.

Candidates tend to wonder “what other decisions do they drag their feet on?’ and often times are hesitant about accepting an offer.  ”If I take this job, how long will I have to wait if I need more resources, or more staffing? How long will I have to wait for my employment review”?

In the recruitment world it is a given that “time kills all deals.”

On the other hand, employers should never make rash hiring decisions.  That is not the message being conveyed in this essay!  There should be no less than 2 interviews and of course references should be checked but this does not have to take weeks and weeks as it often does. 

If there is a legitimate reason why the interviewing process needs to take a long time, then it is incumbent upon the employer to communicate, communicate and communicate!  We are living in the digital age so an easy email is all that is really necessary to communicate  intent but why not pick up the phone and give it a personal touch? 

The personal touch goes a long way.  Communication is key.

In conclussion, employers should do their best to communicate the process with a prospective new hire during the interview process and never let time kill a deal!

Any questions or comments? I am Bernie Reifkind, CEO and founder of Premier Search, Inc.  I can be reached at 1(800) 801-1400 or email at ceo@psihealth.com

It is essential that a health care organization in need of critical staff to use a health care recruiter to get it “right, the first time”?  If you are not using a health care recruiter to solve your most critical staffing needs, than one can presume that you are also not using a CPA, not using an attorney to represent your best interests and of course you never go to a dentist.

If saving money is a reason that you are not using a professional health care recruiter, you might just be missing the boat.  If you are relying on your human resources department or if you are posting ads on the various job boards, you are not in fact saving money and you could be drowning.

In opportunity costs alone you might be paying a fortune.  For every day that a critical job remains open, it is costing you in not only the obvious ways but in non-tangibles such as the cost of low morale amongst your staff and quite possibly compromising in providing the best in quality care to residents and patients.

Using a health care recruiter is “getting it right the first time.”  Here are 5 reasons:

1.  Recruiters are experts in the field of your industry and take a proactive approach in seeking out the very best candidates and not relying solely on placing ads on Monster, Career Builder, Yahoo Job,etc.

2.  It is proven that by using a health care recruiter, an organization often achieves a much higher recruitment ROI by using a professional recruiter who understands the costs associated with what it truly takes to recruit the very best candidates. 

3.  Health care recruiters understand urgency- your urgency- in filling positions because as you know: for every day that a position remains open it is costing you big time. (Not only in real dollars but in downtime and company morale.)

4.  Professional recruiters proactively call on your competitors and seek out the best talent.  In most cases it is in poor taste for organizations to recruit competitor’s employees.  Some searches can only be conducted in this manner.   

5.  Using software (such as using the job boards) to get resumes will never replace the skills of  an action oriented and results driven recruiter.  This is similar to hanging a sign on a retail store.  Recruiters put buyers in your store!

In conclusion, getting it right the first time should be key to one’s business plan when it comes to staffing issues.   It is obviously not a good idea to defend or represent yourself in legal matters, to perform your own dental work or to repair your own car.  So what is stopping you from calling a health care recruiter?

Any questions or comments? I am Bernie Reifkind, CEO and founder of Premier Search, Inc.  I can be reached at 1(800) 801-1400 or email at ceo@psihealth.com

Dear President Obama,

I am a private business owner in Los Angeles, California operating a health care executive search firm, Premier Search, Inc.  We are in the employment business assisting health care organizations nationwide in finding staff. 

Although the current economic conditions have affected my business, I think that it is important to share with you some bright spots with regard to employment that might not show up in national labor statistics.

In the past two weeks alone my firm has been responsible for securing employment for more than 12 Americans.  That number might not seem a lot, but I assure you that there are 12 families whose lives have been changed.  We anticipate similar, if not higher numbers in the coming months.

In essence, my firm is directly responsible for putting Americans back to work.  

There is a message here that our fellow citizens urgently need to know.  There needs to be more of a spotlight on small businesses just like mine that are directly making a difference in America not just in employment, but the economy.

Small businesses are the foundation that America was built upon and the lifeblood of our economy.   I began my business from my dining room table in 1987, a classic American story.

It has been written that helping someone find a job is the greatest charity of all.   My firm course is not a charity but it is symbolic of what America stands for: opportunity.

Mr. President, I would welcome an opportunity to meet with you at the White House as a positive symbol of a small business that is directly putting America back to work.  Americans need to feel inspired about the future.  I would be honored to help put forth this message.

Yours truly,

Bernie Reifkind, CEO/Premier Search, Inc.

Any questions or comments? I am Bernie Reifkind, CEO and founder of Premier Search, Inc.  I can be reached at 1(800) 801-1400 or email at ceo@psihealth.com

As a healthcare executive recruiter with more than 20 years of experience, you might imagine the countless conversations that I have had with my clients- looking to fill job openings- and my candidates- looking for jobs!

After an interview I usually follow up with both the employer and the candidate to debrief and find out how the interview went.  My first question is usually to ask how long the interview went.  Obviously if the interview was less than 10 minutes long than chances are great that the interview was a disaster.

If however an interview lasts longer than an hour, that is a pretty good sign of some mutual interest.

There are so many questions that are asked by both candidate and employer during an interview as each party is learning about each other.  Some questions by employers are so completely lame that it is almost comical.

Here are the top 4 most annoying interview questions to a candidate:

1.  What are your weak points?- Like someone is really going to tell a complete stranger something incriminating about themselves.  Would someone really say  “I come to work late sometimes” or  “Sometimes I spend the entire day surfing the net” or “I am really lazy”? Of course not.

2.  Where do you see yourself in 5 years?- If you want the job bad enough you’re going to almost certainly lie and say something politically correct such as  “If it’s with your company, then where you feel my abilities will be of most benefit to the organization.”  Yeah, right.  Most people have no clue where they see themselves tomorrow!  It is such an annoying question.

3.  How would others describe you?- Well doesn’t that depend on who the “others” are in question?  If the “others” are your friends and family, they’ll say great things- they’ll would even lie for you.  If “others” are your co-workers, than each one would have a different description of you because each has had different experiences with you- and they too would lie for you.

4.  Why do you want to work here?- Wow, how original.  Another completely annoying question that does not provide for any useful information in getting to know someone at an interview.  Is anyone going to tell the truth and say “I’m unemployed and I’m broke- I couldn’t care less who I work for” or “I want to work here because I’ve been turned down by every one of your competitors”?

If you want some great responses to these difficult questions, feel free to contact me!

I am Bernie Reifkind, CEO and founder of Premier Search, Inc. I can be reached at

1(800) 801-1400 or email at ceo@psihealth.com