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Speak up on those toughest jobs to fill

What's the toughest job to fill in your organization?

By Kris Hundley, Times Staff Writer
Published December 16, 2007

What's the toughest job to fill in your organization?

The one that causes the HR director to pull out all the stops and the person directly responsible for the post to pull out all her hair?

Sounds like an easy question, doesn't it? And for at least one Tampa Bay area employer, it was. Executives at BayCare Health Systems were able to identify their most challenging position in a heartbeat: operating room director at busy Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater.

In an interview this year, they talked about the wide range of skills needed for the position, their frustrating nationwide search and the ultimately successful decision to mentor an internal candidate up to the position.

So why have other local companies been reluctant to pinpoint similar challenging vacancies when I've inquired? Are they afraid of offending someone like the highly paid CEO if his VERY IMPORTANT POSITION doesn't rate as "toughest to fill"?

I've talked to recruiters locally who say they're always scrambling to fill certain "meat-and-potato" type jobs.

Like receptionists in doctor's offices, who have to juggle phones, co-pays, demanding doctors and waiting rooms full of patients.

Or call center workers. Brent Short of Spherion in Tampa said companies are bumping up pay, offering a four-day work week and easing off technical requirements to fill seats.

"More and more companies are starting to be a little more lenient toward the 'must-haves' vs. hiring someone with a 'get-it-done' attitude," he said.

Also always in demand are junior-level accounting professionals. "When they're one or two years out of school, it's like working with a clean chalk board," Short said.

And though Tampa Bay has a growing number of financial services jobs, Short finds one quality elusive in Florida.

"We need more of that 'Wall Street' mentality," he said.

When was the last time you struggled to fill a slot at your company? If you're willing to talk, give me a call.

Kris Hundley can be reached at hundley@sptimes.com or 727-892-2996.

[Last modified December 14, 2007, 20:40:20]