Sterling Search & Consulting Assists The Centers Inc. in CEO Hunt
November 7, 2017 – The Centers Inc. has named Dr. Donald Baracskay as its new chief executive officer. The multi-service non-profit had enlisted Jacksonville, FL-based executive recruiting firm Sterling Search & Consulting to find its new leader.
“We received countless applications and conducted interviews with well-qualified candidates from as far away as Texas and Ohio,” said Steve Libby, president of the board of directors, in the release. “Through this search effort it became evident that the best person for the job was an internal applicant, Dr. Baracskay.”
Dr. Baracskay is the current medical director of the Centers, which provides mental health, recovery support and child safety services. He has been instrumental in improving efficiencies and the quality of services provided by the Centers since 2016. Dr. Baracskay is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and has extensive experience in the mental health and addiction recovery fields.
Insider Knowledge
“Dr. Baracskay has demonstrated a unique and valuable ability to analyze our business clinically, operationally, as well as financially,” said Ralph Fera-McIlwain, the agency’s chief financial officer and interim CEO. “He brings a very level-headed, calm and measured approach to leading the Centers towards a bright and strong future.”
The Centers is a private, not-for-profit organization licensed by the State of Florida and accredited by CARF International. Approximately 550 professionals are on staff in Citrus and Marion counties.
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Established in 1999, Sterling Search & Consulting provides executive search and consulting services to local, regional and national clients. The firm specializes in the recruitment of corporate office staff executives and senior business line leaders across multiple industries.
Mike Imperial is Sterling’s managing partner. With a career that spans over three decades, he has filled key leadership roles for many nationally recognized financial services and healthcare brand names, including leading corporations, foundations and professional associations. His experience includes 17 years in corporate HR and executive recruiting with some of the country’s largest and well known financial institutions, including Chemical Bank, HSBC/Marine Midland Bank and Barnett Banks.
Insiders are ‘Safer Bets’
Recruiters focused on finding talent for the C-suite say that at least half of all job openings are filled by internal candidates before the positions are introduced to the public job market. This may suggest that companies have relatively reliable bench strength even though leadership development is seen as stagnating at many companies. The main reason given: Companies prefer to promote from within.
Bridging the Skills Gap With Insiders
There has been an emergent skills gap that has plagued almost every industry. While organizations have implemented a series of measures to improve oversight of labor costs and value returns, they have focused more on improving the quality of talent acquisition than they have on sustaining employee performance.
For those searches that go to recruiters, with a clear mandate to look wide and deep both inside and outside a client organization, internal candidates still surface more often and get the job about 80 percent of the time.
Recruiters say clients generally like to be seen as making bold moves but in the end many remain risk averse when it comes to hiring elite executives, especially into their highly protected upper leadership ranks. They look at insiders as safer bets. Knowing this mindset going in, recruiters say they advise their clients that when they have an inside candidate who is 70 percent as strong as an outside choice to hire the insider. Fit and culture seem to be the deciding factor.
“There is a greater risk when you bring somebody in from the outside that it won’t work out,” said Kathleen Yazbak, founder of Boston-based Viewcrest Advisors, a boutique search firm focused on finding leadership talent for mission-driven and high-performing companies, social enterprises and philanthropies.
Internal candidates know the business model, organization goals and inside cultures, say recruiters, and oftentimes they have the requisite skills. They know the customers, clients and co-workers. They have also established relationships with colleagues and their organization’s leaders. But, more importantly, they have already shown their potential. They can, therefore, assimilate faster and will likely be more satisfied in their new roles than outside hires.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Will Schatz, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
