Following the retirement of its administrator the Town of Sundre has initiated the process to find a qualified candidate for the position.
Following the retirement of its administrator the Town of Sundre has initiated the process to find a qualified candidate for the position.
Last week council accepted former chief administrative officer Dave Dubauskas's decision, effective immediately.
A special meeting was held the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 3 at the town hall to hear a presentation from James Davies, president of Davies Consulting Group Executive Search Services, an Edmonton-based firm that specializes specifically in facilitating a municipality's search for qualified administrative staff.
"It's a position that council I know would like some stability in," he said about securing a new chief administrative officer.
Following a brief introduction about himself, Davies — who has about 17 years of experience, mostly working with the public sector — outlined the service his company offers.
"I am very familiar with municipalities."
Additionally, Davies said he is no stranger to the region, and that he has previously worked with Mountain View County and is currently consulting with the Town of Olds, which is also looking for an administrator.
"Just to go over the process, so everybody understands — really, my job as a search consultant is to take the onus off council for this process."
Finding the best candidate for the job is an onerous undertaking, which involves steps including placing ads, talking with people, doing interviews and coming up with questions, he said.
"I take care of all of that. My job is, as I say, from cradle to grave."
Council provides insight in terms of what the municipality is looking for in an ideal candidate, and Davies said that information is compiled and considered when drafting a list of potential applicants.
That means elected officials will have to decide what they're looking for in a successful administrator — such as, for example, perhaps someone with a strong financial background or a deeper understanding of engineering for capital projects.
"Where do you really want those strengths to lie in your new CAO? We talk about that."
Personality is always an important factor, as the candidate has to fit in and work well with the rest of the staff, he said.
"My goal at the end of the day is to put forth by the end of the process three, no more than four candidates that really match what you're looking for based on our conversations."
Once a profile has been prepared and approved by council, Davies said he goes out and "basically shakes the trees, as they say. I've been doing this a long time so I've got an extensive network."
After coming up with a long list, Davies said he would then return to meet with council to discuss narrowing the options down to a short list. The next step is to reference-check the remaining candidates.
"I do all the background checks."
Although Davies helps facilitate interviews, council takes over when the final candidates are presented.
"It's important that you ask the questions and interact with them," he said, calling himself a "fly on the wall" at that point.
Another key aspect of the interview process is for council not only to sell the position but the town itself.
"You've got to sell the community."
Even after a successful candidate has been hired, Davies continues to consult with the municipality to ensure council is satisfied.
"I don't go away," he told council.
The idea is to establish a long-lasting relationship, and Davies said, "I want to see a smooth transition."
With a professional guarantee lasting 12 months, his firm will repeat the entire process for free should the chosen candidate not work out.
"As a business owner, free is not a good business model, so I try and avoid that. It's important to get it right the first time."
Coun. Verna McFadden inquired how many administrators he's helped hire have retained their positions.
There is provincewide a lot of movement in that profession, and few CAOs in Alberta have held the same position for much more than five years. But over the last six or seven years, Davies said a few out of about 10 administrators he was involved in helping to hire have moved on.
Coun. Myron Thompson wanted to know how much the service would cost.
"No more than $27,000," answered Davies. However, that would not include the cost of relocating a successful candidate if, for example, that person is hired out of province, but that's up to council to decide, he added.
"Those are conversations we have prior to arriving at that short list."
Coun. Paul Isaac said the difference he was hearing with Davies' proposal compared with others in the past that were not necessarily successful is the level of commitment offered, especially in terms of the professional guarantee.
Mayor Terry Leslie inquired about the depth of the available pool of potential candidates to draw from, and Davies cited as an example the Town of Olds' search. Out of about 80 applicants, roughly 20 match the job description outlined by that municipality, said Davies.
Council ended up deciding to engage the consulting firm's services.
This hiring process is expected to take up to four months, officials announced in the press release.
