The Director of Human Resources at a Southern California hospital collaborated with administrators to recruit a highly skilled Computer Laboratory Specialist. With an increased emphasis on healthcare and technology, the hospital administrators were considering reorganizing the department due to the talent pool being almost non-existent. They faced several challenges:

• Market conditions made it difficult to position the opportunity attractively.
• How could they address the lack of competitive intelligence about the talent market?
• Would reorganizing the department be a viable alternative to not filling the position?

The Recruitment Challenge

Traditionally, the hospital relied on online job boards and LinkedIn to target talent, but the response from qualified applicants was disappointing. The administration realized that without proper research and competitive intelligence, it would be difficult to determine if there were candidates in the market with the necessary skills and qualifications. Consequently, the leadership decided to partner with an executive recruiting firm to thoroughly assess the market.

The Strategy

The Director of HR considered engaging a recruiting firm capable of providing competitive intelligence for strategic positioning. He had previously worked with recruiting firms with a similar approach to Duffy Group but found that Duffy Group elevated the service “up a notch.” Key aspects of their approach included:

• Weekly calibration calls to address challenges, explore opportunities and share insights on competitive intelligence.
• A consultative and solution-focused strategy.
• Solid stewardship of recruiting dollars.

Duffy Group’s project team conducted an in-depth analysis of the competitive market. The hospital leveraged the Duffy Recruitment Research™ model to navigate the challenges associated with recruiting for a position requiring a unique and scarce skill set.

“The transparency of the process and owning the candidate data is what separates Duffy’s process from other recruiting firms. The hiring leaders and I value the competitive data.”

The Duffy Difference

Within three months, the recruiting strategy yielded results — a candidate with the specialized skills was identified. However, the data suggested that the role was becoming obsolete due to technological advancements in healthcare. Ultimately, after reviewing the competitive data within the Duffy Group report, the leadership decided to cease further recruitment efforts.