A long shot

Kurt Long, CEO of FairWarning in Clearwater, has a vision to transform the health care industry so patients can share their most sensitive details without privacy concerns.
Seems like a lot of people share that vision.

At least a lot of people apply for jobs at FairWarning, which Long founded in 2005. The company normally gets between 500 and 1,000 applicants for every job opening. And it expects to receive about 20,000 applications this year, up 67% from the 12,000 it received in 2015.

For a firm with 96 employees, it's a startling number of people who seek a job there.

The key to finding the right people, says Long, is to be particularly clear about the company's needs. “We're immediately transparent about who we think will fit in,” Long says. “Our goal is to get people to authentically buy in to what we're trying to accomplish.”

FairWarning, with a client list that includes thousands of hospitals and health systems worldwide, grew revenues 55% in 2015 from 2014. Long expects a similar growth rate this year, which is why the company is in hire mode.

He says five key traits make up a good hire at FairWarning. The traits include:

Communication: “We're looking for great communicators,” says Long. “People who are either great written communicators or verbal communicators. Hopefully both.”

Competency: “They can demonstrate an applied competency. It doesn't matter what it is,” says Long. “It's not enough to talk about it. They need a track record of applying it.”

Motivation: “We want people that are exceptionally motivated,” Long says. “Everyone wants to think they are; they have to show it.”

Integrity: “We want people with high integrity,” says Long. “We're connected to 300 networks around the world, so integrity is a part of the job.”

Success: “The last piece is if they can make all of that evident with examples,” Long says. “Show us an example of having high integrity above 99 other people. It's evidence-based.”

FairWarning has an extensive interview process to find those traits. It starts with a phone interview, which is followed up by an on-site meeting with managers. Next up, a candidate writes a letter to Long about the unique contributions they can make, their past successes and why they want to join FairWarning. The letter is followed by an interview with Long. Then there's a personality profile, reference and background checks, and, if all goes well, an offer.

To retain hires Long says FairWarning tries to maintain a culture of both celebration/recognition and accountability.

“Really great people want to be held accountable,” Long says. “They want to be held accountable and say, 'Hey what went off the tracks right here?' And to do all that with transparency in an environment like this is really powerful.”

This story was updated to reflect the correct number of hospitals and health systems FairWarning works with.

TIPS
• Be transparent in letting candidates know whether they fit in;

• Create a unique culture and share it with recruits;

• Hold employees accountable, but give credit when it's due.