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Using the Hiring Process as a Change Agent
Using the Hiring Process as a Change Agent
The hospital, like all human organizations, exists first in the human mind. Our perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs significantly shape and impact our world. This abstract point has very concrete implications for organizational culture.
It is necessary for hospitals to continually evolve in order to effectively meet the ever changing demands of patient care. Changes in technology, funding, treatment, and patient demographics force the hospital to be a progressive entity that can transform to meet the needs and challenges it faces while at the same time upholding its mission statement and philosophical beliefs. The hiring process presents a natural opportunity as a change agent.
When a person joins an organization, both the person and the organization have expectations. For example, a new employee expects to perform defined tasks in return for rewards that the hospital will provide, including money and benefits. The hospital in turn expects that employees will show up on time, follow the rules, and do the jobs for which they were hired. Often, the employee selection process focuses almost exclusively on finding and hiring people capable of physically performing required tasks. This is counterproductive to facilitating change among employees to create an alignment between employees and the mission and goals of the organization.
Consider these points:
- The hospital's organizational culture is defined by the beliefs and expectations that its people hold and the behaviors that flow from those beliefs and expectations. Mere possession of impressive academic or technical credentials says nothing about a prospective employee's potential fit with the organization or how an employee's beliefs and expectations will impact that culture.
- Energy that an organization must expend on its own maintenance is not available to do the organization's work. When employees not only possess the skill set required to perform the functions for which they were hired, but also identify with and enthusiastically support the hospital's mission and goals, retention is higher and fewer resources must be expended in the supervision process.
- Personality tests are readily available that can help you ascertain how well a potential hire is likely to perform the job and how well he or she fits with the hospital's belief structure. These tests are even available online at minimal cost.
What does all this mean? Don't hire credentials alone! The hiring process has a tremendous impact on organizational culture for good or bad. When it is designed to systematically include both cultural fit and technical competence in the selection process, it can be a powerful engine for positive change.
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