Why Universities Struggle to Compete for Administrative Talent
March 24, 2026
Universities are facing a troubling trend as they work to find and retain administrative talent. Many schools looking to fill IT professional, HR director, and mid-level manager positions are finding it difficult to compete with the private sector for the same positions.
Why is this happening, and what can universities do?
Let’s take a look.
Salary Differences
The most obvious hurdle is the paycheck. According to 2024–2026 labor data, while public universities have recently outpaced private universities in salary increases for senior administrators, median raises are barely keeping pace with inflation, let alone with private-sector competition.
While a university may offer a stable career, the private sector may offer more money. This can steer quality talent in that direction. Universities may not be able to do much in this department, so it will remain an issue that keeps top talent away.
Remote Work Options
Many private-sector jobs can offer employees remote or hybrid work options. These days, this is very appealing. People want the flexibility that private sector jobs can offer.
Universities are often bound to in-person jobs only. Leadership often feels that for a campus to be alive, staff must be physically present. This can deter some quality employees from these positions. Many favor remote options and will gravitate toward companies that offer them. If the private sector offers higher salaries and remote work options, universities may not be able to compete.
Increasing Complexity
The job of a university administrator is becoming more difficult. New financial rules and delays in federal aid have made it more difficult to work in some university departments. There are also some demands to be more AI-savvy to manage enrollment and student engagement. Some of these tasks are unappealing, leaving candidates to look to the private sector, especially if the salary is higher.
How Can Universities Compete?
To win back administrative talent, institutions have to change. These are some suggestions:
- Embrace Flexibility: Consider allowing remote work for roles that don't require face-to-face student interaction. This can be for data entry and similar tasks.
- Modernizing Benefits: If the base salaries can’t compete with the private sector, they can, and should. Universities can consider offering tuition help, superior health benefits, and excellent retirement options.
- Streamlining the Search: Academic hiring is notoriously slow. A corporate recruiter can hire an accountant in two weeks; a university search committee might take six months. By the time the offer letter arrives, the talent is gone. By speeding up the process, universities can avoid losing talent.
Are you Looking to Fill University Jobs? Contact Summit Careers
At Summit Careers, we hear from candidates daily looking to fill university jobs. When you partner with us, we will sort through resumes and present you with only the best candidates. Contact us today to learn more about our university staffing program and how we can help you fill your vacancies. We have helped countless universities find their top employees; let us do the same for you.
These days, everything is getting automated, and the hiring process is no different. With just one click, employers can post an opening to dozens of national job boards, and automated Applicant Tracking Systems can screen hundreds of resumes in seconds. While all of that sounds good on paper, many businesses are quickly realizing that something is missing. This digital hiring marketing is resulting in mismatched applications, ghosted interviews, and unqualified candidates. That is why more people are turning to local staffing agencies like Summit Careers. It is necessary to put the human element back into the hiring process. Navigating Local Markets The digital hiring market cannot account for the hyperlocal factors that influence a candidate’s actual employment choices. A regional staffing partner understands the realities of your specific market. This can include commuting barriers. A candidate might look perfect on a digital dashboard, but a local expert knows that specific transportation limitations may be difficult. Hiring this person may result in high turnover. Local staffing agencies understand exactly what neighboring facilities are offering in real time, helping you put together a compensation package to secure top talent. Sifting Through Unqualified Candidates Digital hiring platforms have made applying for a job so easy that it has created an unprecedented volume of noise. HR departments are routinely flooded with hundreds of generic resumes generated or enhanced by AI tools. This can make it hard for employers to find the real deal. Local staffing agencies can find the real treasures. Instead of relying solely on keyword scanning, recruiters conduct in-person or localized video interviews. They can check local references and verify hands-on skills before a candidate even comes into your office. Unlocking the Passive Talent Network Did you know that the highest-quality personnel are rarely sitting on job boards all day? Instead, they are typically working steadily. But they keep lines of communication open with trusted local recruiters whom they have known for years in case the perfect job opens up. By doing this, you don’t miss out. A local agency relies heavily on word-of-mouth referrals and professional trust. When an urgent or highly specialized need arises, a local recruiter doesn't just post an ad and wait; they pick up the phone and call professionals they know who are ready to make a move for the right opportunity. Quick Hiring When a production line faces a sudden spike, a key employee unexpectedly leaves, or a major seasonal project gets the go-ahead, you need qualified employees ready to work now. In a digital hiring market, the process has to play out. This takes time you don’t have. When you lean on local staffing groups, they have pre-screened talent that is ready to move. Because background checks, basic onboarding orientations, and skill verifications are already completed, a local partner can often deploy reliable personnel right away. Building Accountability When you totally rely on a digital job platform, there is no accountability. If a candidate leaves after three days, the digital job board is not there for you. Local agencies operate on building relationships and accountability. If a placement doesn't work out, a local representative can come directly to your facility to assess what went wrong and do their best to make it right. They aren't just an app; they actively contribute to your operational success. If you succeed, it also helps build their credibility. Contact Summit Careers Today Digital tools are highly effective for tracking metrics, but they cannot replace regional relationships, human intuition, and local community presence. By partnering with a dedicated local staffing agency, such as Summit Careers, your organization gets the best of both worlds. We employ modern recruitment efficiency with the deep regional knowledge you need to build a stable, long-term workforce. Contact Summit Careers today and experience the difference.
If you’ve ever applied for a university job, you know that the process can be painstakingly slow. With search committees, multi-stage interviews, dean approvals, and more, a lot goes into the process. But taking too much time can kill the recruitment strategy. You may be missing out on high-quality candidates because the process is taking too long. While your committee is scheduling its third follow-up meeting, your top candidate has just accepted an offer from another institution that moved more quickly. This is just one of the reasons why speed matters in the hiring process. What Happens When the Hiring Process is Too Slow Here are some other factors to consider and why you want to speed up the process: The "Top-Tier" Candidate Pool Shrinks Instantly The most exceptional candidates are rarely available for long. When an institution takes weeks or months to decide whether to move forward with a candidate, it will lose them. Top-tier candidates often have their eggs in more than one basket. By the time a slow-moving department is ready to extend an offer, their top two or three choices are frequently already off the market. You aren't choosing from your best candidates anymore; you are choosing from who is left. Slowness Signals Bureaucracy The hiring process says a lot about an institution. If the process is dragged out and disorganized, a candidate may think twice about working there. If a candidate experiences radio silence, delayed scheduling, and endless administrative hurdles before they are even hired, they will assume that the university works at this slow pace as a whole. If the process is fast and clear, it can set a good precedent of what’s to come. The University Suffers When a search fails because the department was too slow to land its top candidates, there are severe consequences. A failed search can result in existing faculty bearing the extra workload, strategic initiatives being put on hold, and stalling departmental growth. How to Accelerate The Timeline Accelerating your hiring timeline does not mean lowering your standards. It means optimizing the logistics. Establish Hard Deadlines Before the Search Begins Committees often stall because they try to build the schedule as the search progresses. Instead, map out the entire search process before the job description even goes live. Secure dates for committee reviews, first-round interviews, and campus visits on faculty calendars months in advance. This will help to keep you on track. Define What Consensus Means Does consensus mean absolute, 100% agreement on every detail? Or does it mean that everyone has been heard, and a clear majority agrees on a candidate's viability? Endless debate often happens because committees confuse unanimity with consensus. Establish the voting and decision-making rules early. Empower the Search Chair If there are too many cooks in the kitchen, your hiring process will never move forward. Give the search chair the authority to keep the committee moving forward. If a committee member misses a feedback deadline, the process must move on without them. By keeping these factors in consideration, you can help to move the hiring process along so you don’t miss out on excellent candidates. If you need help with the hiring process, Summit Careers is here to help. We have a database of resumes from people seeking their next job in academia. Reach out to us today to learn more!
When filling academic support roles, there are two main ways institutions can approach the hiring process. They can look for people with the technical skills for the position, or they can favor those who fit more closely with the school's culture, thereby fulfilling the institutional fit. Hiring to fit each area specifically can have its benefits. Of course, if you can find someone who fits both roles, it is a major win-win. The Immediate Impact of Technical Skill Hiring people with strong technical skills has many benefits. These types of skills can be difficult to teach if people don’t already know them. Consider these perks: Reduced Training Time: An extremely tech-savvy person can start right away. They are already familiar with your software system and know how to get the job done. If you hire someone who knows what they’re doing from the start, you reduce training time and cost. Relieving Team Burnout: Hiring someone with all the technical skills the job requires can reduce team burnout. The new person can serve as a much-needed leader, reducing stress. Hard-to-Teach Competencies: Teaching specific technical skills to someone can be extremely difficult. If they know how to do these things from the start, it is a major bonus. While all of these are major benefits of hiring someone with technical skills, they may not have the soft skills to blend with the academic culture. So, for all of the technical skills they bring to the table, they may alienate themselves from the rest of the staff. Finding the Right Institutional Fit Hiring someone with the right institutional fit means this person understands the institution's unique mission, even if they do not possess all the technical skills for the job. This brings many benefits to the table. Can Navigate Difficult Areas: A candidate with high emotional intelligence (EQ) and strong cultural fit understands how to work with others and can navigate otherwise difficult areas. Mission Alignment: Having the right academic support staff is important for student retention. Hiring someone who genuinely and instantly connects with the institution’s demographics can bring something to the table that you may not be able to find on a resume. Long-Term Retention: Employees who feel a connection to an institution's mission are far more likely to stick around, reducing the costly, exhausting cycle of turnover. When you rely too heavily on the institutional fit, it can stifle innovation and creativity. These people fit so well that there may be no room for growth or new ideas. How to Get the Best of Both Worlds The reality is that hiring managers shouldn’t have to choose between the two. The goal should be to find someone with a reasonable technical background and the skills to be the right institutional fit. To achieve this goal, hiring managers should employ these strategies: Know What Type of Job Fit You’re Looking For Truly look at what the institutional fit means for this specific role. These should be necessary competencies. Use Behavioral and Scenario-Based Questions Asking the right questions will get you the right answers. Instead of asking simple yes-or-no questions, ask questions that prompt a candidate to describe a scenario. This measures their technical strategy in how they approach the answer, as well as their cultural emotional intelligence. Determine Trainability If a candidate lacks a specific technical skill but checks all the other boxes, consider their trainability factor. Have they been able to learn new skills quickly in the past? If so, this proven ability to learn can balance a temporary skill gap. The Bottom Line As you navigate hiring for institutional fit versus technical skill, remember that soft skills like empathy and resilience can be taught. With technology constantly evolving, skills must always be taught and learned. If you can find someone who believes in your mission, you can build a training program to support them. At Summit Careers, we work with candidates and academic institutions in the hiring process. Reach out to us today to learn more about how we can help you find your next career move or discover your new employee.
