Adding Value to The Recruitment of Senior Health Service Managers: A participatory action research study

Objective: As healthcare services evolve, effective management is essential to ensure they remain contemporary, function effectively, deliver client-centered care, foster a positive culture, support staff, drive strategic direction and promote continuous quality improvement. Health managers strongl...

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Main Authors: Kathryn Gregory, Pieter Van Dam, Lindsay Smith
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: ACHSM 2025-08-01
Series:Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journal.achsm.org.au/index.php/achsm/article/view/4545
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author Kathryn Gregory
Pieter Van Dam
Lindsay Smith
author_facet Kathryn Gregory
Pieter Van Dam
Lindsay Smith
author_sort Kathryn Gregory
collection DOAJ
description Objective: As healthcare services evolve, effective management is essential to ensure they remain contemporary, function effectively, deliver client-centered care, foster a positive culture, support staff, drive strategic direction and promote continuous quality improvement. Health managers strongly influence and drive the services they are responsible for, therefore appointing the right person is essential. This qualitative Participatory Action Research (PAR) study explores the values prioritised by health services in recruiting senior managers and collaboratively develops actionable solutions to enhance these crucial recruitment processes. Design: A Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology has been used to enable the researchers to work collaboratively with participants to develop an understanding of the values of senior managers and explore possible solutions to improve recruitment processes. PAR is a dynamic and iterative process, and data is collected over several cycles with the same focus group participants. This paper shares the findings of the first two cycles. Results: The findings from PAR cycle one demonstrated that the values of senior managers are represented by a central organising concept of ‘leadership’. The second PAR cycle identified values-based recruitment (VBR) as a central organising concept for improving recruitment, leading to concrete solutions such as enhanced communication strategies, leadership capability frameworks and  ‘growing your own’ initiatives. Conclusion: This study highlights the need to explore the values of an individual in addition to their skills, knowledge and experience during the recruitment process for a senior health service manager. This study underscores the critical importance of integrating individual values, particularly leadership attributes, alongside traditional skills and experience in senior health services manager recruitment, offering a clear pathway for more effective and sustainable talent acquisition strategies within healthcare.
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spelling doaj-art-bbb64c9fefca4dc7be17f04f361998cf2025-08-20T04:03:21ZengACHSMAsia Pacific Journal of Health Management1833-38182204-31362025-08-01Adding Value to The Recruitment of Senior Health Service Managers: A participatory action research studyKathryn Gregory0Pieter Van Dam1Lindsay Smith2School of Nursing, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. School of Nursing, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, AustraliaSchool of Nursing, Paramedicine and Healthcare Sciences, Charles Sturt University, New South Wales, Australia Objective: As healthcare services evolve, effective management is essential to ensure they remain contemporary, function effectively, deliver client-centered care, foster a positive culture, support staff, drive strategic direction and promote continuous quality improvement. Health managers strongly influence and drive the services they are responsible for, therefore appointing the right person is essential. This qualitative Participatory Action Research (PAR) study explores the values prioritised by health services in recruiting senior managers and collaboratively develops actionable solutions to enhance these crucial recruitment processes. Design: A Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology has been used to enable the researchers to work collaboratively with participants to develop an understanding of the values of senior managers and explore possible solutions to improve recruitment processes. PAR is a dynamic and iterative process, and data is collected over several cycles with the same focus group participants. This paper shares the findings of the first two cycles. Results: The findings from PAR cycle one demonstrated that the values of senior managers are represented by a central organising concept of ‘leadership’. The second PAR cycle identified values-based recruitment (VBR) as a central organising concept for improving recruitment, leading to concrete solutions such as enhanced communication strategies, leadership capability frameworks and  ‘growing your own’ initiatives. Conclusion: This study highlights the need to explore the values of an individual in addition to their skills, knowledge and experience during the recruitment process for a senior health service manager. This study underscores the critical importance of integrating individual values, particularly leadership attributes, alongside traditional skills and experience in senior health services manager recruitment, offering a clear pathway for more effective and sustainable talent acquisition strategies within healthcare. https://journal.achsm.org.au/index.php/achsm/article/view/4545Values; health service manager; values-based recruitment; leadership, Participatory Action Research; Thematic Analysis
spellingShingle Kathryn Gregory
Pieter Van Dam
Lindsay Smith
Adding Value to The Recruitment of Senior Health Service Managers: A participatory action research study
Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management
Values; health service manager; values-based recruitment; leadership, Participatory Action Research; Thematic Analysis
title Adding Value to The Recruitment of Senior Health Service Managers: A participatory action research study
title_full Adding Value to The Recruitment of Senior Health Service Managers: A participatory action research study
title_fullStr Adding Value to The Recruitment of Senior Health Service Managers: A participatory action research study
title_full_unstemmed Adding Value to The Recruitment of Senior Health Service Managers: A participatory action research study
title_short Adding Value to The Recruitment of Senior Health Service Managers: A participatory action research study
title_sort adding value to the recruitment of senior health service managers a participatory action research study
topic Values; health service manager; values-based recruitment; leadership, Participatory Action Research; Thematic Analysis
url https://journal.achsm.org.au/index.php/achsm/article/view/4545
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