This is the third article in a three-part series based on Hueman RPO's video interview with Scotty Kinn and Dave Malenfant regarding healthcare supply chains. For more on "5,000 Surgical Knives" and "Why Hospitals Are Outsourcing What They Used to Own" (the links will be published later), or to watch the entire video series.
A kind of hiring bias causes health systems to lose more than most realize, and it doesn't show up in any DEI report: a highly capable, motivated candidate applies for a position in healthcare supply chain, quality, or operations. They have the discipline needed for the role but don't have a degree with the word 'healthcare' printed on it.
They will not have the interview. It is a genuine pattern, one that has been personally described by Dave Malenfant, the founder and CEO of MDM Consulting, a career supply chain executive who currently mentors students who are preparing to enter the field: "Many of the supply chain students that I speak to would like to get into healthcare, but healthcare organizations are unwilling to interview them since they haven't obtained a degree in healthcare.
So, it's a vicious, vicious circle."The problem is that only one or two universities in the country may offer a supply chain specialization in healthcare. All the other universities that offer supply chain programs, covering the areas of planning, sourcing, manufacturing, delivery, and returning, which is precisely the system that hospital operations rely on, will necessarily be listed as having no healthcare experience. Therefore, if a health system's selection process regards this as a disqualifying factor, it will inadvertently eliminate almost the entire potential talent pool.
When health systems aim to control costs in their supply chains and operations, they tend to consider reducing staff numbers. However, the real opportunity lies in improving hiring and eliminating inefficiencies, not cutting staff. Excluding qualified supply chain professionals simply because they lack specific 'healthcare' experience reduces the pool of available talent, increases costs, and leaves important positions unfilled.
No one intends to turn away capable candidates, and this kind of situation arises for a much more common reason—inconsistency. A recruiter's casual way of meaning "qualified" ends up acting as a filter. A hiring manager who has always hired people similar to the last successful employee tends to revert to that approach because it feels safer than trying a new method, especially when pressure to fill the position quickly is high.
When this happens for every job requisition, for each recruiter, and for each hiring manager, screening criteria vary depending on who is reviewing the file, and no one can clearly state the real standard. This inconsistency has costly consequences, many of which go unnoticed. In the healthcare sector, positions relating to hard-to-fill roles, quality, and the supply chain are already facing a decreasing and increasingly competitive pool of candidates; if the selection process by mistake excludes a large portion of that pool, it will lead to longer time-to-fill and reduce the pipeline for reasons that are entirely independent of the quality of the candidates.
The most beneficial aspect of this discussion is how a well-managed talent pipeline operates differently before a resume reaches the hiring manager's desk. University case competitions were among the best examples of this approach: they bring together top graduate students in supply chain from across the country to solve a real, complex case before a panel of industry judges.
"Such a competition is better than an interview," our supply chain executive remarked. "It shows whether a person can stand before seven judges and defend their decisions even though they only have limited data," and it tests precisely the kind of skills needed for the job—sound judgment, composure when under pressure, and the ability to make a defensible decision without having perfect information—rather than checking whether the candidate's resume happens to include the right keywords. "There is your talent pool," he stated.
Through partnerships like these, exceptional candidates are identified who would never pass a strict keyword filter, since the filter was never designed to identify the qualities that predict success in the role.
It should be noted that when directly questioned about this bias, Scotty Kinn, Hueman RPO's Chief Sales Officer, gave a completely different response. "I feel lucky," he stated, "since a number of our customers who are turning to us to help with supply chain hiring aren't particular about the healthcare requirement." This isn't coincidental; it results from deliberately established hiring criteria by people who pay attention to what the role actually demands, rather than letting it develop by default.