Senior Living Recruiting Case Study - Chief Operating Officer

CASE STUDY
Finding an EVP/COO for North Dakota’s leading senior living organization.
SCENARIO
LM Hurley a& Associates was retained to conduct a search for a Chief Operating Officer for North Dakota’s leading provider of retirement living communities for seniors.
 
At the time of the executive search, this well established, well financed, very successful company was operated by the owner.  The owner/CEO of the company is also involved in real estate, residential and commercial development and a REIT he founded.
 
The client had 27 properties in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wyoming for a total of 1900 units. Twelve of the buildings are stand-alone memory care facilities.  He also had 3-5 developments and acquisitions in his pipeline due to close in the next 12 months.
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The owner wanted to step back from the operating side of the business to spend more time with his family and to focus more on growth initiatives for the company.   His plan was to grow the company aggressively by developing and buying existing facilities and then hand them over to the new COO – because the finance, development, and acquisitions ares what he enjoys – not operations.
SOLUTION
A nationwide search strategy sought “top performers” in large and mid-sized senior living communities with revenues over $100 million. We targeted senior care providers. Additionally, ideal candidates for this position required:
  • A servant leader with high ethical standards, a decisive self-starter personality, and strong leadership skills
  • Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills to facilitate strong  relationships at all levels of the organization
  • The ability to execute on a vision and provide insight to multiple senior executive leaders, in order to advance organizational goals and growth.
Of the 318 prospects we contacted and screened, 47 were interviewed. We narrowed it down to a slate of three candidates who were presented to the organization after completion of reference checks.
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RESULTS
From the five, our client selected three individuals to interview and ultimately chose a candidate that exceeded initial executive search specifications. An offer was made and accepted within 60 days of engagement. The new COO joined with over 22 years of success in assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing.
 
"Our client selected three individuals to interview and ultimately chose a candidate that exceeded initial search specifications."