Four months, $73k for fruitless CEO hunt
Waikato DHB paid a recruitment firm $73k to find a new boss.
The bulk of the funds paid to Kerridge and Partners was for an ‘‘executive search fee’’, while about $8700 was for disbursements – mainly for advertising.
The embattled district health board has been without a chief executive since October 2017.
Nigel Murray left under a cloud and the search for his replacement started a year later.
But four months in and the search has stopped, with board chair Sally Webb saying the process halted ‘‘due to current challenges facing the board.’’
It was crucial to get the right person in that important role, she wrote in a statement.
‘‘Now is not the right time to proceed with the appointment process.’’
The organisation would not elaborate further.
The statement Webb said the board intended to meet next week to discuss their options and any future appointments.
The interim chief executive is Derek Wright.
The health board’s executive director of public affairs, Lydia
Aydon, would not answer further questions on the recruitment process, including how many applicants applied and how many were shortlisted.
The response to the questions was: ‘‘that’s confidential.’’
Asked whether the process was put on hold because candidates pulled out, Aydon referred Stuff to Webb’s written statement.
Kerridge and Partners was one of three companies shortlisted by the health board.
While the job of finding a chief executive is run by the board and its chair, the recruitment process was broader than the one used to appoint its former chief executive.
Throughout the four month process, the firm met with health board staff, members of the consumer council, the Iwi Ma¯ ori Council, and other key stakeholders including health service providers, to get their views on what they want from a chief executive, Aydon said in a written response.
‘‘The board wanted to make sure the firm involved staff and external stakeholders, like primary health organisations, non-government organisations etc in the process to get their views.
The DHB is not just about hospital care it’s about the whole health system.’’
Murray’s appointment in 2014 cost the health board $106k in recruitment fees.
Recruitment firm Sheffield interviewed, tested and checked references of chief executive candidates for the health board back then.
They also consulted with stakeholders, but not to the same extent, Aydon said.
Murray resigned as DHB chief executive on October 5, part way through an investigation into allegations he misspent health dollars during his numerous trips, both abroad and within New Zealand.