Mr. Quinlan said, “You get
these ideas as to what you can accomplish, and I thought sure, I can do this myself.
I probably could have, but it was a heck of a lot faster, easier and smoother using BEST
Group.”
Mr. Quinlan met with Dave Schenk,
President of BEST Group. Mr. Quinlan said, “No one ever gets an appointment,
and after talking with Dave on the phone, I made an appointment with him. After a
lengthy discussion, I concluded he and his company would be the ones to find Southwest a
new CIO. Once we started, the candidates kept coming. Considering the size of
our organization and the salary we were prepared to offer, they were very good candidates
and met our requirements. Then we hired one. Being able to choose from the
selection of high quality candidates was a luxury I don’t think we would have had if
we had looked for a CIO without a search firm that specializes in searches in the IT
field.”
“Another thing I liked about
BEST Group,” Mr. Quinlan added, “is that I negotiated the deal with Dave and he
was our point person. He had others doing the work, but he was the only person we
dealt with. I wasn’t handed off to an assistant after the contract was
signed. We had a very good experience with BEST Group and we’d use them again
for another search when the opportunity arises and we certainly endorse them.”
Dave Schenk, BEST Group President
said, “We heard about the CIO opening through an industry contact. BEST does
many IT searches in the Cleveland area, so frequently we are one of the first to hear of
openings because everyone is always from somewhere. I knew Southwest would need a
CIO, and pursued the opportunity for BEST Group to fill that position.”
The tasks involved in an executive
search can include: candidate search using industry contacts, Internet searches, database
searches and cold calls, phone screening, face-to-face, in-depth interviews, reference
checks, background checks, appointment coordination between the hiring department, the
human resources department and the candidate, communication between candidates and the
hiring company, and more.
Mr. Schenk added, “BEST becomes
like an extension of the company for whom we’re working - we do everything that
company would do and more. The difference is, we have the tools and both IT and HR
experience with which to accomplish the task faster and easier.”
“BEST’s recruiters
interview a large number of people each month so we have a database of viable candidates
from the Cleveland area,” Mr. Schenk said, “We evaluate their skills and
do reference checks and when a new position arises, we match a candidate’s talents,
personality and skills to the potential employer, environment and job.”
The new CIO at Southwest General
Health Center is Jerry Schmotzer. In reviewing his experience with BEST Group, Mr.
Schmotzer said, “I was very well prepared to meet with Southwest because of
BEST’s information about Southwest - who I would be meeting with, their hot spots,
what the Health Center needed from a new CIO, the types of technology they processed, the
types of technology they wanted to implement and the kinds of management styles each
person had. It was that information that helped me to concentrate on
Southwest’s needs both during the interview process as well as during the tenure of
my employment. For example, biomedical engineering is a hot spot. Medical
technology has taken a direction where desktop computers drive the MRI, EKG, cat scan and
other medical equipment to make a diagnosis. I was well prepared for that direction,
emphasized that, and have helped Southwest to grow in those areas.”
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