What’s Next for Health: Searching for Resilient Changemakers

As a changemaker, trusted advisor and champion of healthcare standards, at HIMSS we are using our scale, authority and expertise to cut through the noise and lead healthcare’s reformation. Our leadership approach is strategic, impartial, member-driven and based on best practices. Our members are diverse, committed healthcare leaders from all corners of the globe. Together, we are working to create a world where no matter where you live or who you are, better health is possible.

The people within our organization are linked by a core set of values: curiosity, belonging, integrity, tenacity and simplicity. These principles enable us to create a better future and to fulfill our mission of reforming health globally through information and technology. Janella Kaczanko, vice president of human resources, recently discussed the search for future changemakers and the power of the core values.

What will HIMSS be looking for in prospective employees in this new era?

We’re looking for resiliency. To me, resiliency is the key to being a changemaker. HIMSS is made up of people who are energized by a challenge. They are good at solving problems, they get excited about trying to figure out solutions and they’re definitely people who want to make a difference. We’re going through so much change as an organization. Change is becoming the new constant here and we really need people who get excited about that and find it invigorating.

So we want to bring in resilient people. Is that going to change how the organization hires our future changemakers?

We’ve done a good job as an organization in finding individuals who are motivated by our mission. That will continue to be one area of focus in hiring. But going forward, we’re placing more of an emphasis on hiring people who have our shared values of curiosity, belonging, integrity, tenacity and simplicity. When we interview, we’re going to hone in on those values. And before job candidates even come to us, we’re more accurately describing and portraying what we’re looking for in potential candidates. We are doing more to highlight what it looks like to work at HIMSS by offering a preview of the type of experience people will have when they work here.

We’re also casting a wider net to attract a more diverse candidate pool, full of people who really want to be changemakers. We are putting emphasis on the characteristics we’re looking for: People who are authentic, enthusiastic, driven, smart, optimistic and those characteristics that make up the changemaker persona.

How will the core values create a better organization?

Our shared values are powerful. They work together in a suite. They help people stay connected and engaged, and we are using them to actively align the HIMSS culture to the brand. HIMSS employees are excited about our vision and our mission, and they’ve adopted the values to become strong changemakers. If we can create consistent habits around the values, they will help propel us closer to that vision of improving healthcare for humans everywhere. It’s such a grand vision, and I find it so inspiring. When we talk to candidates, you can see it in their eyes that they also feel inspired by our vision. People want to belong to something bigger than themselves.

HIMSS is unique because we are recruiting people who are not coming out of healthcare, not out of non-for-profits or associations. Some of the things people tell us is that this work is exciting, it’s global, it’s challenging, but it’s also nice to know that what you’re doing is for something good. At HIMSS, we’re actually helping to make things better for people everywhere and that makes people excited to come to work. It’s so touching how people feel about their coworkers and about this organization and about what they do. We will continue to build those bonds of connection so we can work together and solve problems.

What is the single most important thing we want people to know about the new HIMSS?

I do believe it’s an exciting time to be part of this HIMSS story, but it’s not for the faint of heart. This work requires a willingness to challenge the status quo and an openness to being challenged by others so we can get the best ideas on the table. Maybe this environment is not for everyone, but together we will be stronger. The only way we can achieve our vision is to do it together.