By Pamela J. Gallagher
In the midst of the Great Resignation, staffing is complete chaos. Across industries, organizations are rushing to fill vacancies so that customer service (and profits) don’t skip a beat. In the urgency of the moment, everyone is looking to hire permanent employees to replace the ones that resigned, but I think businesses would benefit from taking a pause to evaluate their true needs and rethink how they approach hiring.
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When an executive leaves unexpectedly or a major personnel changes occur in your organization, the void is felt at all levels of the organization. Rather than rushing to return to a feeling of equilibrium, I believe one of the best ways to make the right permanent hire and position your organization for long-term success and stability is to first hire an interim manager.
Interim managers do more than just “hold down the fort” until a permanent hire can be made. Interims bring their expertise, perspectives, adaptability, leadership and motivation skills, and entrepreneurial mindset to the challenges your organization is facing. An interim executive comes in with an analytical mind and unbiased view to help your organization achieve sustainable results in a short amount of time, allowing you the time to iron out persistent organizational issues and assess your organization’s needs so you are better positioned to make hiring decisions with purpose and wisdom.
Gain fresh perspectives and re-focus on your mission.
Getting the objective outsider view that an interim can provide is important for the long-term health of your organization, especially if your organization tends to promote from within. Often, when a management position becomes vacant unexpectedly, organizations will rush to promote a promising lower-level manager, even if he or she still hasn’t fully developed the skills to be successful in the vacant position. Hiring an interim manager into this position for a short time before you hire internally allows your organization to work out process issues, for example, while bringing the potential internal hire up to speed. The interim can bridge that gap, setting up the internal hire and your organization for success.
Times of transition provide the opportunity to consider who you are as an organization and whether processes currently in place promote the organization’s mission and values. A lack of crisis doesn’t mean everything is running smoothly. When growth slows, mission creep sinks in, goals go unreached, or when urgent issues distract your organization’s leadership from mission-centered issues, an experienced interim’s perspective could be just the breath of fresh air your organization needs to refocus on its unique identity.
Read MoreBy Pamela J. Gallagher
Among the dilemmas facing healthcare executives, the decision to hire more in-house staff or outsource non-core functions of an organization is becoming increasingly common and complex. In the healthcare industry, business process outsourcing (BPO) can allow hospitals to increase their focus on what they do best: caring for patients and serving them well.
BPO includes benefits like lowering costs, increasing efficiencies, increasing focus on core business functions, and partnership with trusted experts in a wide variety of front- and back-office functions. But outsourcing has a cost that is more than just financial. Working with a BPO company requires releasing control, and if the relationship doesn’t work out, it can be hard to recover, both for your organization and your people.
Is business process outsourcing (BPO) right for my organization?
How do you know if it makes sense to outsource a function of your hospital or healthcare company? Start by weighing the costs and benefits to determine if outsourcing makes more sense financially than hiring or training an in-house employee. Ask yourself questions like:
What specific process or function does my organization need performed? Where is this function lacking in efficiency or cost effectiveness?
Does my organization currently have the skill set needed to perform this function internally? Locally?
What is our budget for this function, process, or service? What can we afford?
How often and for how long do we need this function performed?
If it has been determined that it is financially viable and necessary to your company running efficiently to outsource a service or process, here are some things to consider as your company explores outsourcing options.
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