Medical School Faculty Recruitment

Successful Transformation of Medical School Faculty Recruitment Process

The Client

Southern Illinois University’s (SIU) School of Medicine, with campuses in Springfield and Carbondale, IL, assists the people of southern and central Illinois in meeting their healthcare needs through education, patient care, research, and service to the community. The organization engaged Jordan Search Consultants (JSC) for a variety of ac-level searches including Associate Provost and Chief Operating Officer on a retained basis. Impressed by JSC’s commitment to understanding the culture of their organization, leadership decided that this firm could more effectively drive Department Chair and faculty recruitment efforts.

The Challenges

Prior to engaging Jordan Search Consultants, SIU School of Medicine placed the responsibility for faculty and Department Chair recruitment on each individual department. Acting in a silo, each conducted their own searches, utilizing a variety of resources on hand including faculty members, internal administrative staff, and a variety of outside recruitment firms. As a result, the process (and success rate) of candidate sourcing and interviewing varied significantly throughout the institution. SIU School of Medicine began to see the effects of this disjointed approach, including a higher turnover rate and a costly recruitment process.

The Solution

First, JSC’s leadership team met with SIU School of Medicine administrators and select faculty physicians to garner a sense of organizational and corporate culture within each unique academic department. Then, they interviewed physicians from each department to ascertain top personal and professional qualities they perceived as essential to long-term success within their department and within the SIU system as a whole. Jordan Search Consultants leveraged this information and partnered with each department to create, standardize, and execute a well-defined and effective sourcing and recruitment process. In addition, JSC’s leadership team attends SIU School of Medicine’s departmental meetings once a month to keep informed about cultural changes, business goals, direction for the department, and future recruiting needs.

The Results

Today, the recruitment efforts of individual departments are well-coordinated. Because of the consistent and customized recruitment standards implemented, SIU School of Medicine has saved approximately 30% in overall recruitment costs per hire. In part, this cost savings can be attributed to more specific sourcing initiatives and culturally- and community-relevant vetting of candidates. Moreover, JSC’s standardized process across departments translates to consistent, professional branding on job boards and an enhanced institutional marketplace presence. To date, Jordan Search Consultants has recruited four of the School’s seven department chairs (OBGYN, Neurology, Pediatrics, and Internal Medicine), and is working on placing a fifth (Psychiatry). Leadership at SIU School of Medicine feels confident in the partnership and knows that JSC is committed to their long-term success.

“We are able to attract good people who in turn do good work that gets recognized. Jordan Search Consultants has been essential to this, and I believe it is because we have a relationship that is built on more than business.

JSC knows who we are and, because of that, we trust their judgement.”

-Kevin Dorsey, MD, Dean and Provost
SIU School of Medicine (2001-2015)

For information about how to enhance your organization’s recruitment efforts, please contact:

Kathy Jordan
[email protected]
636.294.6081

“JSC was professional, responsive, and flexible. They customized the search to our organization, and readily incorporated our feedback to create a positive experience not only for us, but also for the candidates.”

— Katie Rutledge, Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer
Springfield Clinic, Springfield, IL

Medical School Faculty Recruitment

Medical School Faculty Recruitment

Successful Transformation of Medical School Faculty Recruitment Process

The Client

The Challenges

The Solution

The Results

For information about how to enhance your organization’s recruitment efforts, please contact:

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