Three council members, however, didn't agree. They thought hiring a professional recruiter might turn up some better qualified candidates. One of them opined that it would be a whole lot better to hire someone who wasn't looking for a job, but could be persuaded to look at this particular opportunity. He added,  "Rather than settle for someone who's just fishing for a higher-paying job, let's get the best person we can - we owe it to our community."

In the end, the do-it-yourselfers won the day by a vote of 6 to 3. "Motion carried!" said the Mayor, as  she happily hammered her hickory gavel, adding, "It would have cost us far too much to hire a professional recruiter." 

The Mayor was proud of her town, and proud of being its Mayor. She felt a great sense of accomplishment as the last of her councillors descended the steps of her front porch.

The crisp, late summer night air felt good, and she just stood and inhaled deeply, filling her lungs. Her thoughts had her soaring to new, untold heights when she felt a tap on her shoulder that brought her back to the moment.

"Grams," her teenaged granddaughter said, "I thought you told me that people shouldn't pretend to be professionals when they're not! I know, I wasn't supposed to be listening, but there was nothing on TV, so I was just sitting reading at the kitchen table. Why did you and council decide to do the search for the new CAO yourselves?"

Mayor Jean, who liked to use stories and object lessons to teach her grandchildren about the things of the world, had only recently told the girl about the folly of doing really important things yourself. She had been pretty adamant about it, and had scoffed at the theory that money could be saved. "It's false economy," she had crowed. "Some things are better left to professionals. It's as simple as that!"

Her favourite story was the one about the man who decided to save the money he would have to pay a dentist. He pulled 13 of his own teeth with a pair of pliers

"But, Grams, aren't you and council kind'a pulling your own teeth?"

The Mayor had a ready answer (as she always did). "This is a little different Jenny, dear," she said softly "because the folks on my council actually do know what they are doing. After all, Bill is a postal worker, Mary owns a variety store, Jack operates a gravel pit and Sharon ... well, Sharon used to be a lawyer!" I couldn't ask for better people than my nine!"

"Oh," said Jenny, "and you used to run the taxi business. I had no idea you were all so knowledgeable. I always thought you had to be a specialist to recruit important people." And off she went.

People are our biggest asset! Oh really?

"When a council believes they can perform executive searches, a lot can go wrong. It's like do-it-yourself dentistry." Dentist turned Councillor

"It's amazing that a council will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on road graders, computer software and training, but think of their investment in finding the best person for the job as a low priority."Former Mayor

"The worst part about DIY hiring for senior municipal positions is the potential for costly errors." Director of HR

"I would never dream of spending $400,000 of my city's money before having many meetings with all the stakeholders to outline the reasons for the expenditure, the process of how the money will be spent, the metrics associated with the outcome, and going through the whole tendering process. But, with hiring, we don't give it any thought. We've always just said, "We have a job opening - go fill it!" After that last fiasco, you can bet your boots I won't ever do that again." Director of Finance

Dan Hughes ext 702

Bruce Malcolm ext 727