Recruiting the Best of the Best

Have you ever seen a person in a job that was really motivated to do well?   Contrast that with a person in a job who is just getting by – they appear to have little motivation or care about the work they’re doing.   The impact of each of these individuals is a world apart!  

In senior living, we are in the business of caring for and impacting the lives of seniors.  It’s critical we find and hire staff members who are motivated and engaged by the job and our mission.  

How do we find a person who has a real affinity for MRC’s mission, to make the lives of our seniors and employees better?  There are two key questions to answer when making a hiring decision:  

1)     can the individual do the job, and

2)     does the job, work environment, and company culture/mission match the candidate’s interest, and cause the candidate to be motivated and engaged in the job?  

It is the second of these two questions that we have to get right, to ensure a person is satisfied, motivated and engaged on the job. This is the hardest part of the hiring decision – you’re trying get into the mind of the candidate and figure out what makes them tick.  To do this we look closely at past work patterns and probe carefully about job changes and their current job search.  This can yield their true interests, and what motivates them.  Hard work!  But, well worth it to make the right hiring decision!

Written by Karl Pry, MRC's Regional Director of Human Resources who has worked for the organization since 2012.