Integrity-Teamwork-Creativity-Loyalty-Ethics-Client Focus-Customer Satisfaction-Excellence-Respect-

Quality-Honesty-Commitment-Work Ethic-Discipline-Professionalism…

At construction Talent Partners, of course we uphold these values. Any decent business would. But with virtually every executive search firm preaching nothing but the same doctrines time and again, are these really operating philosophies which can define a company? Or are they simply “soft” principles of belief with no real specific added value?

Construction Talent Partners is an Executive Search Firm which truly stands out from the rest. The philosophy behind our success is the core to understanding who we are, why we operate the way we do, and why construction employers choose us time and again as their recruitment agency of choice.

Our operating philosophies are not simply “soft” feel good words such as Integrity and Teamwork. It goes without saying that these as well as other often-heard principles should be a part of any corporate identity, and executive search firms who consciously choose to focus on these types of principles as their core ideologies often are lacking in real value beyond the norm. As an employer, considering whether an executive search firm understands and can clearly define a true and definitive value set beyond “soft” principles and values should be a crucial element in the agency decision process. Employers who require the best talent shouldn’t have to settle for anything less.

BEYOND “SOFT” PRINCIPLES

Create “Surprising” Value

We determine our value as a company to the extent we create value for the people we serve, our clients. Delivery of value is something every client expects and most companies promise. But going beyond, creating and delivering “Surprising Value” is the principle of excellence. To achieve “Surprising Value” construction recruiters at Construction Talent Partners take specific steps which will inevitably result in excellence, and often, in “Surprising Value”.

It’s more than arrogant to believe that a company can exactly satisfy the client’s wants without asking. As recruiters, we very often hear the comment from clients that our degree of detail in taking a search assignment is significantly more involved than other recruiters they’ve worked with. This is by design. In searching for a construction executive, be it an estimator, bridge designer, or high-rise construction manager, we know the precise questions to ask. In fact, taking that time to secure the added knowledge which other executive recruiters will never have is a competitive advantage which only Construction Talent Partners can promise as specialists in the construction search arena. Understanding your industry, we are ready with the answers to questions that candidates ask. As a result, we attract more candidates and place them quicker.

Creating “Surprising Value” for clients, however, is more than industry experience. It’s more than putting in the required time up front with clients. And it’s more than being ready with the right answers for candidates. As you read through our principles you will no doubt see other examples in which we understand and put into practice for our clients, through our operational procedures and beliefs, how to create the type value which is more than expected.

Humility & Commitment to Continual Learning

There are many things we readily concede to. We readily concede that we are not glamorous movie stars. We readily concede that we are not world-renowned surgeons. And we readily concede that we are not the “best thing since sliced bread”. While the vast majority of search firms collectively preach a “best of the best” and “nobody’s better” message in a sea of egoism and false promises, Construction Talent Partners construction recruiters are of a different mindset. Will we get the job done? You bet, especially given a true client partnership and collaboration. In fact, it can be said that diligence and work-ethic are our calling cards. What we won’t do, however, is promise employers the moon. No search firm can be successful in every search 100% of the time, though many recruiters will claim that exact feat. A core principle we instill in every employee is to strive for the humility that’s such a rarity in the realm of executive search and recruitment. Where others boast, we prefer to listen. And through that choice, we learn new things every day. We concede that we don’t know everything there is to know about your business. We concede that clients and candidates alike give us new insights just about every day. But we feel that listening, asking, and learning are faster routes to finding client solutions than ignoring one’s own ignorance for the sake of maintaining an image. Given a choice between image and humility, again we concede…we choose humility every time.

Partnering & Confiding Collaboration

At Construction Talent Partners, our name is our mantra. We work in unison and as real partners with client firms as a single unit to achieve results which are sometimes truly amazing. Whether you’re seeking an experienced recruiter to tackle a single challenging construction job vacancy or whether you’re searching for a “Go-To” construction recruiter as a longer term overall recruitment strategy, this competitive advantage is of great importance. “Partnering & Confiding Collaboration” refers to our process of creating a search partnership with our clients to such a degree that we often exchange confidential items of interest which allow our executive search firm the unique ability to work differently and more efficiently than otherwise possible. In this way, our cumulative team of client industry experts, construction search specialists, project researchers, and partnership principals put together detailed inside industry information on both sides and throughout the search process, often resulting in increased talent sourcing ability, a greater number of qualified leads, and candidates whom are substantially more experienced.

Trust through Transparency

At Construction Talent Partners, we know that if we’re unable to trust our clients, very soon we won’t have any. Often construction employers come to us after experiencing disappointments with previous agencies and executive recruiters who would ask the client to place trust in their search services, yet questioned the need on their own part to extend the same trust in return. A business relationship, just as a personal one, is a two-way street. Neither will last without mutual trust. If one side expects trust but is unwilling to give it, the relationship will simply fail.

Transparency within our firm, the sharing of operational processes, real-time construction search progress, as well as possible stumbling blocks or obstacles to success, is one way that we at Construction Talent Partners demonstrate trust in our clients. By folding back the corporate veil, we extend you our trust, enabling your reciprocating trust in us. As our name implies, our construction recruiters work as real partners with clients. And just as in any real partnership, transparency is simply inherent. That said, Construction Talent Partners is a knowledge-based company which creates value for our clients based on that knowledge base. Further, this knowledge base enables us to provide our construction clients with a competitive advantage over their competitors. The ability to be transparent with clients yet be discreet on an external basis with regard to our knowledge base is a priority our clients respect, of which, the resulting competitive advantage they prefer we keep close.

Adaptability

Adaptability can mean the difference between success and failure. Construction Talent Partners construction recruiters are focused in the Here-and-Now of a search assignment. When the market requires something to be changed or altered, we don’t hesitate. In fact, often we will go with what our gut tells us based on our construction industry experience and experience in the local market. As an employer, you can’t afford not to engage an executive search firm who can’t turn on a dime, see opportunity, or trust what they feel the market is telling them.

As a specific example, we were placed on a high level executive search for a fast growing general contractor. The general contractor asked us to locate an individual within a particular functional area of the firm and, of course, a position title was presented along with the search assignment. Although not apparent at first, it was interesting to note that the duties and responsibilities of the future construction executive were, for all practical matters, one level of responsibility higher than what would otherwise be expected given the current position title. During the course of the search, we ran into an obstacle: lackluster reception from the very few qualified candidates we were able to source given this stumbling block. After examining the construction marketplace utilizing our own industry knowledge and learning more about the local environment, we had a gut feeling as to the problem. Based on this feeling, we had a meeting with our client, explained our findings, and together we agreed that the position title needed to be changed to convey higher level management responsibility. We also determined that a modified bonus structure would back up the new title and our client agreed. A highly experienced construction executive was soon sourced and placed with our client. Not only was this construction executive experienced, he was also highly motivated, which leads to our next operating philosophy.

Create Excitement!

Recruiting has as at its core a sales component and construction recruiting is no different. This fact explains a saying we have among our search firm’s associates: If you’re going to dive for hidden treasure, don’t forget the rope! This quip accurately describes how crucial enthusiasm is in successfully reeling in the highest caliber candidates who are the collective “hidden treasure” of every employer and the executive search firms they engage. Enthusiasm creates excitement, and as we all know, excitement is contagious. To this day, executive search firms and the recruitment industry as a whole are still discounting the importance of this, arguably one of the most critical elements to their success. At Construction Talent Partners, this causes us great pause. Imagine the degree of planning, strategizing, detail and time needed to successfully locate a chest of hidden treasure holding immense value only to find after diving to the ocean floor that you forgot the one item needed to bring it to the surface and realize its value…the rope.

Top caliber construction candidates, like hidden treasure, won’t be so easily brought to the surface. Why would they? These top performers are already successful in their current role and usually have a very close-knit relationship with their employers. In addition, due in large part to their success and close relationship with management, these construction professionals often view themselves as more loyal than they otherwise might as average performers. In fact the first words a construction executive will tell anyone attempting to recruit him are “No thanks, I’m happy where I’m at.” If a recruiter is hearing this statement for the 10^th time during a search done on your behalf, you are losing time and money. Convincing a top performing Vice President or Director of Construction, Senior Construction Project Manager, Preconstruction Manager, or Construction Superintendent to take action on a search assignment is where the “rubber meets the road” in this business. All associate recruiters at Construction Talent Partners are made aware of this critical point in a search and know exactly what it takes to maximize a candidate’s probability of becoming engaged in the opportunity presented and taking action.

For employers, the advantages are obvious. Do in large part to this single element, Construction Talent Partners enjoys a placement rate of 92%, well above the 75% industry average most recruiters attain. Not only does this translate to a higher probability of placement, it also translates into a more experienced candidate pool, a larger pool from which to draw, and faster placements to get your firm on the road to growth as soon as possible. Our results speak for themselves.