KALAMAZOO (WKZO) — The Kalamazoo County Board won’t be starting from scratch exactly but may be switching professional search firms now that their first national search has fallen just short of finding a new administrator.
Their front running candidate going into Tuesday’s vote, Jeffrey Davis, decided to withdraw his name Monday night, leaving them high and dry.
The issue was discussed during the County Board’s Committee of the Whole meeting in the afternoon. Board members agree that choosing a new Administrator may be the most important thing they do as Commissioners.
They say that Kalamazoo County may be the most financially sound county in the state of Michigan, and a very attractive county to work and live in, and that the Administrator’s opening should have attracted more than the 40-plus who submitted applications.
Several also agreed that they are partly responsible for the failure of the process to produce a winning candidate, making bad choices along the way.
Several commissioners expressed the wish that they had taken the time to interview more of the finalists during the afternoon discussion. .
Some board members also blamed themselves for failing to more clearly describe the kind of candidates they were looking for. What they stated they wanted was a cross between Superman and someone who could walk on water, and that may have frightened a lot of qualified candidates away.
Two commissioners claimed they also felt the professional consultant failed to do the kind of head-hunting and searching for qualified candidates they were hoping for.
Instead the consultant just sat back and waited for people to apply, picking the most qualified for the finalist list.
The board had been hoping the firm, GOV H.R. would use their contacts to recruit some talented executives who would only be applicants if asked.
The most experienced and qualified candidates like to be able to say to their current employers that they did not go seeking the opportunity, that were recruited.
There was some discussion among the commissioners that they just seek applicants from inside County Government, or from the County or region, and that they do it themselves. The H.R. Staff said they don’t have the manpower or the time to conduct such a search.
They have directed their County Council to talk with Gov. H.R., their current consultant to close out their contract.
They also plan to talk to another Human Resources firm to see if they are interested in doing another search at the bid price they originally presented to the County Board.
They should have that information back by their next meeting in two weeks. If they go with that firm, the process will take several more months to complete.
They hope the lessons learned from this first process will help them avoid making the same mistakes the second time around. They say it may take more time and money, but its very important that they get this job done with the best possible outcome.
