Top Recruiter Stevie Aylsworth On Why Human Capital Is The Most Important Asset For Your Business (#33)

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Jeffrey Feldberg: [00:01:39] Welcome to episode 33 of The Sell My Business Podcast. Stevie Aylsworth has been making a difference in the recruitment world for over 15 years. He has created and led recruitment teams that have delivered well over a thousand placements globally. His experience in sales and management is crucial in shaping TriSearch as one of the industry leaders in innovative recruitment.

Built on the principle of providing talents recruitment with intention., TriSearch is a full-service talent solutions firm with paradigm shifting managed recruitment services delivered with speed, quality, and value. TriSearch's commitment to precision original research and transparency is what sets it apart.

Possessing deep human resource experience is what allows TriSearch to be successful at all levels and across all functional areas through the United States, Canada and Europe. Prior to TriSearch Stevie was formerly a key executive and co-founder at TriWorth and Managing Director of the West Coast division of Job Plex. Stevie graduated from Lehigh University with a B.S. in finance.

Stevie, welcome to the podcast. It's a pleasure to have you with us. I'm excited because we always talk about capital here on the Sell My Business Podcast and in the Deep Wealth Experience and with our community. But today we're going to talk about a different kind of capital.

And for me, the most important capital, otherwise known as people. Stevie, you have hit a home run, not even a home run, a grand slam on the recruitment side. 

It'd be great to hear your story of how you got into recruiting and then how you got to where you are today. So, why don't we start with that? 

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:03:28] Great. Thank you. And glad to be here. Thank you for having me, to start off, we were lucky enough to get trained in the executive search world, and most people know that as the C-Suite, the very important leadership positions that people recruit on and many times spend a good amount of money and resource to get the right people.

And getting trained there, we got to see the best of those that are placed in the process and placing those high-power executives.  We saw a major need pretty quickly in our career to, take that downstream because it's very important to build your bench and build your culture and your people. Maybe as important as even your executive team, because really the bulk of your people will drive the business.

And we wanted to take that curated approach downstream and bring it to all levels, whether it be a Salesforce build-out, whether it be, key management positions, all the way up to, lead directors, VPs, and executive if needed. And so human capital is the most important capital.

And sometimes we forget about it. We think about monetary or other things to grow the business, but it's really about the culture and people with the create the company. And so, our whole mission is driven by teamwork. And then we take that same team work downstream to our clients to make sure that they're building the right team, with their human capital.

We see it over and over again, people drive the business, people create the revenue. And even when today's technological world, you can't forget about the people that drive the business and that's what we enjoy to do. 

Jeffrey Feldberg: [00:04:43] It's a fascinating story. Here at Deep Wealth, as we work with business owners who are beginning the preparation process to either exit the company or have a liquidity event, oftentimes when they go through the Deep Wealth Experience, they realize that they have a gap.

And the gap that they have is the talent. That's not in the company, whether it be on the management team or in key positions in the company. The right people that will make a company more attractive to a future buyer or investor. Offline Stevie, we were talking briefly about some of the myths that too many business owners have when it comes to recruiting talent.

Can you give us some insights of what one or two of those myths are and what you recommend of what a business owner should do in terms of finding the right talent? 

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:05:30] Yeah, I think the number one myth is the, do it yourself idea and everyone does it, we even did at times building our businesses in regards to that.

And you think you can hire people or find people that make the most sense. The problem is there's a lot of bias in that. and it's obviously your network is only so large. And so, I think the biggest myth is you got to be careful doing it yourself and recruiting because, you really want to get every available person, especially those that are gainfully employed.

90% of our placements are all people that are actually gainfully employed and not even looking for a job. They're not looking for an opportunity. yet we find them and educate them on that potential scenario. And those placements are very successful individuals that never thought they'd make a move until they heard about a great opportunity.

So, the number one myth buster must be, the do it yourself, model. I always joke that in recruitment and this is true, that we're the most underpaid service there is, if it's really a successful person that's placed. And then obviously it could be overpaid if it's not the right person.

And that's why we put guarantees in place to make sure that they stay and if they don't, we were placed for free. That's the key is the, do it yourself model. I think the other one is, you can sometimes do everything internally, which is true to a certain level. Internal recruiters are great and they're very important to have on your bench and have on your team, but there's a lot of, restrictions there in regards to that, you cannot really go aggressively after the best talent the market.

Many times, you cannot go to competitors that you would like the proper training of that individual to come from. There's a lot of hands-off and restrictions that exist in that scenario. And so, while we always encourage for a company to build an internal bench, it's key that, you can tandem and partner with an outside source to get all the talent out there.

And so, you're not restricted to the best people, because it's all about hiring the best people, not the available individuals for the opportunity. And then the third myth, would be, That all recruiting's the same.  I think there's a lot of variances in how recruitment is done and how it's executed.

And there's a lot of variance in agencies and how they do the recruitment. And so, it's very important for an individual to think about recruitment. There's a big difference between the contingent recruitment model Aand the retained model contingent is, hiring on placement and they're only paying a fee once someone is actually hired, it has its place, especially in certain industries and specific specialties, but it has its limitations. it's very candidate specific and, will not really be client-centric. A great candidate will be shown to many companies which sometimes creates problems.

And then you have the retail side, which is truly investing in retaining an organization, whether it be executive search or downstream like us. And that's the other side to know both sides are they're two completely different animals. And that retained is very partner centric, very client centric.

It works wholly and completely on behalf of the company to find them the best people. So, it's important to know those two differences and when they make sense. 

Steve Wells: [00:08:13] So, Stevie, most of our clients, aunts and people that we work with are business owners and they're looking for some liquidity event. And one of the steps that we counsel them and companies differ on what they need is developing a management team, because they're going to be very involved in this process of exiting bringing in a merger, and they've got to step away from some of the day-to-day operation. And they also don't want the future potential buyers to look at them as being so necessary for the business ongoing success. So, outline for our listeners? A process. if I want to build out a team, it can be as high as a president or some of those C level people.

What do I need to look at as far as a timeline and how to onboard these people? What would be the process to begin to do something like that? 

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:09:01] I think the first step of the process is self-assessment. What are you lacking either with yourself or your management team currently and where does that hole need to be filled?

I think sometimes that's the toughest thing for organizations to do. it's like a sports team. you can't win with that Rockstar shooting guard or that center, you need every position filled. So, I think the, self-assessment with, you as a leader and then also your management team today is vital.

You have to know where you're starting and then once you know where you're starting and your potential weaknesses are, which I believe is a strength, because once you know that you can fix it, then you would go out and you would specifically target the strengths that you need to round out that team.

And so that's the first thing. Timeline is a 60 to 90-day process to hire the right person. We pride ourselves in being under 60. That's very fast for the industry, but sometimes I think it's key because companies don't have much longer than that. Many times, they need to get the right person, quickly.

So, we'd like to keep it under 60, but 60 to 90 is particularly with high level executives. Many times, it is a 90-day timeframe, especially with, packages and compensation plans and complexities with their level, it may take 90 days to fully onboard someone. So, that's the estimate to predict.

So, you want to get started a good, quarter or three months before, you really feel like you have to have the whole team in place. 

Jeffrey Feldberg: [00:10:13] Stevie, as a follow-up question for you. Really, when you think about it to spend the time and the money in bringing in new talent, new human capital, it's an investment in your future.

It's an investment in your company. And I know in speaking with some business owners, you talked about the one extreme in the myths that are out there of doing it yourself and a DIY approach. I know there's another school of thought and back in the day, there used to be the saying nobody ever got fired for buying IBM.

And I'm wondering your views and your thoughts for the business owners out there who may be thinking, okay, if I'm going to hire a recruiter for me, for any position from the C-suite all the way down to the rank and file nobody ever got fired for giving a retainer and working with and fill in the blank. We all know who those big companies are in search and recruitment. And I would love your insights as to why a firm like yourself may be the better option and probably is the better option in terms of how you differentiate yourself and what I'm going to get as a business owner, working with a firm like yours than I may, from some of the more bigger monolithic companies that are out there. 

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:11:13] Sure. That's a great question. And I think many people experience, and feel the need to hire a big brand, to protect themselves that definitely does exist. The biggest thing, and it's funny, we were talking about human capital.

I think the key in hiring a recruitment firm is what human capital will be on your search. That's the number one question, and I think the number one differentiator, we pride ourselves on is very senior leadership within the recruitment side. At the end of the day, we are a recruiting company.

We source and screen and assess for candidates. we, create absolute assurances that's done by a very senior recruitment leader within our organization. always led by our executive leadership as well. And so, when hiring, or when looking at a smaller firm, which we would be considered a smaller firm, it's really about the people that are dedicated to it.

And we're nimble and small enough to put the absolute best in front of these clients. And, you make sure that it's executed. so that would be my thing is that it's about, who the people are on the project, just coincidentally we're hiring people too. And, that can vary quite a bit in a big organization.

They have ways that they need to operate and, employee counts that make their business more complex. and so, we pride ourselves on being able to provide, the best talent on our end directly to that search. And that's key. Because, if you asked anyone that had a search experience, I think they would probably say the number one thing was okay, who was the account manager on it?

Who drove the search from the client side and then, who was doing the recruitment on these candidates? How are they being communicated to? How are they being treated through the process? and then communicated over to the client. And I think that's the key that you never can take the human element out of every aspect of this business. We pride ourselves and we're proud to say that we would have the best recruiters, most senior recruiters on these searches. And that's key when you're talking to the individuals, because as we all know, as professionals, you can tell when someone's a little green and doesn't really know what they're saying, and that affects the process that affects the experience. The candidate needs to feel like the recruit understands them and is representing them properly. And that's vital, for the candidate experience and also getting the best candidates to the interview process. 

Steve Wells: [00:13:21] You know when Jeffrey and I were building our company, we did all of it. We learned the do it ourself, and then we had recruiters and we had successes and we had failures.

 Those failures are tough.  We learned that, first we were much slower. And I think it ended up costing us more money and we weren't adapting as quickly as the recruiters could, but, I know not every placement that goes perfectly. And I know you do your best and everyone does their best.

What happens when it isn't the right person, and how have you addressed that and seen that, or helped your clients through that process? 

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:13:52] Yeah, it's a very important question. And we like to say that we're a hundred percent, insurance guaranteed because we provide long-term placements.

You have to guarantee the candidate. At the end of the day, we're dealing with humans that are changing their lives, that have many facets and complexities in their own personal life that drive their career. And so, you may have a great candidate you hired due to family circumstances or geography or wherever it may be.

They got on the job for three to four months and it just didn't work out or it could be a performance issue, or it could be, a personality issue with the leader. There are a million different varieties, as we all know, as people that people can have challenges. And so it's vital that you have a long-term guarantee.

We provide guarantees that I'd never really heard of. We provide a full six month on anything, below a 100K base, which really no one guarantees much under a hundred K more than 30 or 90 days at the most. So, we want to make sure for that full six-month period, anyone under a hundred K base salary is, fully guaranteed.

And many times, even when it's extended, that we've been flexible. Because it's all about being a partner with our client. We want them to have the long-term person, anyone over a 100K base salary. We do a full year, which is actually an unheard of, most full years are left for very senior executive leadership.

And we want to stand by for that full 12-month period and absolutely know that they have the right long-term player, that someone's going to be there for years and create enterprise value to the organization. Twenty-fold to what they paid us to get them. So, I think it's really in the guarantees.

No questions asked if the person leaves, they leave and that's the definition and we go back at it, no additional expense, and make sure that person's placed and in doing that has built unbelievable partnerships for us. sometimes, you would think of that as a challenge. We actually think of that as an opportunity because it didn't work out for whatever reason.

And we stand behind our client and when we'd make that replacement and they stay for a long time, we have a client for life. They're with us because we knew that they know we stood behind them. And that's key because you can't insure people, but you can insure your process.

And that's what we do. 

Steve Wells: [00:15:44] And maybe a quick follow-up. So, what can you do to make sure that doesn't happen? What are the steps, the screening, the testing the thinking about who you need? what are the things that you need to think about to make sure you get the best candidate?

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:15:56] I think first thing is actually a very good kickoff. Kicking off the search is vital, and sometimes people don't think of that. They're like, Oh, go to the search. Okay. Go. But it's really where you start. back to where they talked about the management team, knowing their weaknesses. It starts in the search process that the kickoff and getting the absolute right questions that we call must haves.

The absolute must haves of the position. Three to five keys must have that this person must have in their experience, in their background. And then obviously identifying key selling points of the organization because as you are recruiting and providing an opportunity, we're also selling an opportunity and you want to make sure that the best candidates need to be sold at least initially to look into it because many times they're already successful or busy and don't have time to look at it until they really get interested.

So, it's defining the must haves, defining the selling points. and then really the targets.  The third thing would be what targets we specifically want go after a lot of times, its where, people know that there's right training, the right professional background, maybe there's certain processes that company has in place that just sets them up to be very successful in this next organization.

And so, targets are key and we're experts in that and going in and finding anyone anywhere in any target. and getting a conversation with them.  Really setting the clear expectation because it's where you start is where you went. If you start strongly with that foundation, then the recruitment process will have a lot of, foundation to it and making sure that when people are presented on those must haves, they're either pull the selling points and they're coming from the targets.

And therefore, you have a higher percentage of a successful candidate. Now, once they start interviewing, it's vital to continue to communicate on the interview process between us and them as they go through their process. And we guide on our recommendations of other right ways to really ask questions and how to phrase those questions and make sure you dig deep on an assessment level and the interview process, too.

And to ensure that, that you have the right person. Finally, assessments are done. They can be very successful actually. It just depends. There are so many different varieties. But assessments can be very effective on certain positions to, know a history of performance and people that have worked.

And what were those traits? What were those strengths that made them successful? And assessments can play a very good automated approach to ascertain that, it's a high percentage, probability that this person will be successful there. And then the last thing is I never want to take out good instincts.

I think these business professionals have a very incredible gut instinct to be the business owner they are. We really encourage our clients to listen to that, because that might be the strongest of them all. And when they go through the final review process really feel into can this person be right for not only the opportunity, but the culture. Culture is vital. I sometimes say it's more important for somebody to be a culture fit than actually a perfect experience fit. They'll learn what they need to learn, but they'll live in and breathe the culture and that's vital for success. So, institution is key, don't forget that. Don't get over too scientific about it. Make sure you stay true to your gut and hire who feels right. 

Jeffrey Feldberg: [00:18:38] Stevie a lot of wisdom that you shared there. And I really liked the preparation and the in-depth of what you do to find the right candidate.

Let's flip it through to the other side, because in all the years that you've been doing this and for the thousands and thousands of professionals that you've placed, I'm sure you've seen the other side where a business owner or a company drop the ball and mess things up.

And the person ends up leaving because of either the business owner or something that the company did. And again, at Deep Wealth, we have this 90-day solution where you come out of that with a launch plan to prepare your company to either have an exit or liquidity event, and there's no time to lose because you've done something wrong and you've lost a key member of the team.

So, as a business owner, what advice can you give in terms of don't do this because I've seen what happens and it's not a result you're going to like. So, in other words, what are the common mistakes that business owners are making that have their people from the highest levels to the lowest levels leave that company? 

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:19:43] Yeah, that's a big one. Because I think it go in so many different directions. It, depending on the size. Because I think size is key in some of these organizations and how big they are and how they operate, because it's much different for a $10 million company than it is for a $250 million company, many times.

But I think one of the, the, one of the biggest challenges is over micromanagement. Putting the right policies and procedures in place, but empowering your individuals to be successful. We've seen that create the most longevity, the most retainment than anything. If someone feels self-empowered to do their job at the highest level, and have the flexibility to do it at the highest level, with the right parameters and structure in place so they're not running wild, that's lifers. Ad we've had many stories where we placed individuals that are there 10, 12, 15, 20 years now because they've been given that authority. And so there is a balance in that it's having the key, parameters in place to know that you are keeping as a leader of a business or an owner of a business, the individuals, within the constructs of what the organization needs.

But, empowering that autonomy for that individual to be successful and have feel like they have either power to do their job at their best ability. That creates more loyalty, and more teamwork and more ownership of the process than anything. So, I think that's key. I think sometimes when business owners, cause we all, we're all like this were micromanagers a certain degree.

And the only way we got there was by being organized and working hard sometimes we may over control, when the best people don't want to be overly controlled. So, that's, that would be one thing that's key. and then additionally, going back to culture, it's such a used word, but it's so vital.

We see it constantly. And when you mentioned, the company screwed it up, many times, they screwed up because the culture is off. because the hiring manager is not as jazzed about the organization as the CEO or the CFO or whatever it may be. And so, as the interview process went on and went forward, there was a major difference between executive, experience and then, second line or third line experience. And I think sometimes that's what companies get wrong is they know what they want executives. They might be in alignment there, but they haven't quite brought it down completely, or don't have the right incentive plan or whatever it may be with the individuals below that are as highly motivated, highly jazzed about the organization. So, that lot of times you'll have fallout of good candidates in that process. So, along the lines of providing autonomy, it's really also, bleeding that culture, all the way through to the lowest man or woman on the totem pole.

It's key, that's vital and I always encourage owners to make culture, their number one priority. it's key and the experience of candidates and retaining and attracting the best talent. 

 Steve Wells: [00:22:21] This is piggybacking of what you just said, Stevie, you were talking about how the companies can look at their culture, make sure it's indoctrinated in everyone.

So, they put their best foot forward. and you mentioned it before you, you are recruiting. So, that is a sales process. And you're trying to make the company, the benefits and the attributes of the company, obvious to those candidates. So, my question is, what trends have you seen now?

You've been in business long enough to see a lot of trends on what people are looking for when they look to move to a company and the whole millennial coming in, many years ago and how that affected the business community and their hiring practices.

So, what do you see out there? And particularly maybe with even, the Corona virus, what are candidates looking for in companies these days as they look at making a switch? 

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:23:08] That's a great question. And I think the coronavirus plays actually a vital role in this too. A common theme out there right now that everyone's feeling that we're all in this together.

I think that's what this crisis has showed us. and also, when you look at it from a corporate level, I think there's a much more, even than before willingness and eagerness to be part of the team. Our number one value. It TriSearch is teamwork. We bleed it every single day and we execute that way.

And we never ever stopped working as a team. it's been our number one vital reason for success. And I think people are craving that. I really do what we see with candidates. They want to feel like they are part of something much bigger than themselves. But they're not in alone and they are in it together.

And I think people really want to have that experience. I think it's key. so teamwork is absolutely what people are looking for. There was a lot of individualism you've talked about different stages of things.

 Look at the last 20 years, at least from 22,000 to 20, there was a lot of individualism in the earlier part of this, of, let's call it the first decade, leading into the global recession 2009. And I feel like we're slowly climbing back and now through crisis into more of a teamwork approach.

And you've seen that with a lot of leading tech companies, they've done a great job of creating incredible cultures and teamwork scenarios. And so that's the craving. I think that's what we're going is hopefully as humanity as also, individual corporations, because that's, I think that's what people enjoy.

I think we're a people of community we want to be together. We want to feel part of something. And I think people really are wanting in their next career move to feel truly part of something. 

Jeffrey Feldberg: [00:24:32] Stevie with the Deep Wealth Experience, we have this nine-step process that helps business owners prepare for an exit process.

What you're doing is really the beginning process. So, it's the opposite of the exit. It's the beginning process where you're getting people in on a team that they're going to be put in place. And over a period of time, the results when things are done well, are going to show. But it's garbage in garbage out or gold in and platinum out.

Because you're only going to be as good as in this instance, the recruiter that you hire to help you find the talent. So, as a business owner, it would be great. If you can give us insights on two different types of recruiters. The recruiters that we should stop, whatever we're doing and run as fast as we can in the opposite direction.

How do we know, who these kinds of recruiters are and what they say or don't say, or what they do that we should just not use them and go somewhere else? And then. The flip side of that. How do we know that we have a real deal when it comes to a recruiter that we should be working with? 

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:25:34] Great question. So as far as what to move away from, would be someone overly transactional.  If recruiting has any bad rap it's that it's transactional, right? You place someone and what happens to recruiting and I hate to say this, but it does happen is that when someone gets to candidate centric, when they're too about the candidate candidates are important, but what's challenge with that is they'll shop the candidate to a lot of different organizations.

That's creates problems. You take an A-list candidate, an amazing person and great worker, et cetera. And then you bring them to multiple organizations. You never get a clear path or a clear vision of are you going to really hire this person? Can you really get them in? And who are they interviewing somewhere else?

There could be circumstances where that candidate is placed a different place later, even taken from that recruiter. So, if someone is too heavily, sometimes in a niche, and in very database and candidate driven only, I caution against that because a, I think it's will only work as well until the database has dried out.

And also, it's not loyal to the client. So transactional is a major issue. you want someone that's going to be in for the partnership and that doesn't mean they're going to have the best wind of their career in the first 30 days of working with you. It's about that they want to work with you for a very long time.

And long-term, with teamwork and partnership, you coincidentally would have way more revenue as a recruiting company than you would transactionally anyways. So, asking key questions, like how long is your guarantee? Your 30 day or 60 day guarantees, I would shy away from that. I think you're asking for a transactional type recruiter.

That's not going to stick by their placement. Sometimes they aren't asking for enough, now this is funny because we don't do anything contingent. We do ask for skin in the game or some level of retainer to everything we do, even down to large hourly projects we've done.

And, it's a sales process because most clients initially they're like, Oh, I'll pay when I hire somebody, but it takes two to tango and you need to make sure that it's as a partnership and there's relationship set. And most of the time money does that. So, if someone is to, Hey, I'll do it for free you might get a hire at some point, but it's going to be choppy and it's not going to be a partnership committed because they can't fully commit to you. If you're not paying them until you hire somebody, they have to show a good candidate to everyone they know.

And that creates problems. And so, I would shy away from the transactional setting and look for someone that's going to truly partner with you. That's going to stand up and stand behind a guarantee. Not everything goes perfect. We have people fall out that happens. They stand up and they say, you know what?

We'll replace that at no additional expense. We're here with you for the long run. And then lastly, who's going to work on the search. Do you have multiple people, do you have a true account manager, senior recruiter, a sourcing team, things that we put to everything we do and making sure it's just not a one-man shop or, a person in their garage, slinging resumes, and that exists. You want to make sure you have a real organization, that's going to put enough depth and breadth in their execution side to get it done because recruiting takes time. It's a lot of people, a lot of calls, a lot of communication, a lot of send-outs a lot of failed discussions, a lot of, more candidates that don't make sense way more than do. So, that takes manpower and that takes man hours.

And you need to make sure that company has the man hours to do it right, because even an incredible individual recruiter only as 24 hours a day. only as 12 to 15 hours of work. So, that's my caution. They went to transactional, not partnership or teamwork centric. I would shy away from that. 

Steve Wells: [00:28:42] What's funny when you mentioned that. That's good advice for so many areas. What I'm thinking of is the advice we give people trying to hire their exit team advisors.

You're going to sell a company, maybe someone on your team. Maybe it's even psychologically has more motivation for the buyer because there's more transactions happening to the buyer then you're one transaction. And it gets, it's just human nature. Isn't it? That, you have to understand, where people's pure allegiance lies and that's where the teamwork really pays off. I was curious, what you find exciting about this personally, and you've been in it for a while and maybe you don't have a story, maybe you do, what have you seen that has been inspiring to you and the people you might've found or situations that people you helped. Anything come to mind?

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:29:26] Oh yeah. one thing is we have a mission statement called talent recruitment with intention. And what we meant by that is that. It's one thing to resume match. It's one thing to experience, match, and get, candidates and companies in conversations for potential employment. It's a whole other thing to align intention.

And what I mean by that is the company has a very clear intention of what they need. They can't really control that. They might have a very distinct role that they need to fill to make sure that job has done for a larger working, corporation. Yet the individual has a very clear intention of what they want for their career. It's making sure that ten-year plant manager wants that opportunity and it is right for their career and their own human and professional development. And so, we take a lot of time to match that.

I think that's one of the most rewarding things for me in this business is as we've gone to the years, we get better in that, we've learned like everyone else does of how you more accurately and consistently can align that attention. And when we do align that, the people stay forever.

We never worry about a guarantee. It just all works. it's pretty automatic. So, that's one thing I would say. The other thing I would say is I would turn it internally. One thing I'm very proud of is what we do for our clients. We did ourselves. So, we walked the walk, and we have built an extraordinary team, with individuals and professionals, all across the country.

I think, myself and my three partners in this business don't do near as much as what those individuals do for this organization. And, I think a lot of what we've said and coached and preach to our clients and assisted them with. We did internally, leading with teamwork and leading with autonomy and, leading with the ability for that professional growth and development, but also making sure the intention is aligned and should they really want to work for TriSearch.

They are going to be able to do what we need them to do because that will provide job security. So, that's really been neat for me, at least being in this for 20 years to look back and say, oh wow, we really are doing what we're preaching and it's showing our results. And so that's been awesome.

And I think the last thing I would say is. There is no better feeling when, you get a message or one of our recruiters gets a message from a candidate where you really shifted their life. it's a really, beautiful moment because. It's that person, their family, they went up 30% of the income.

They ended up in the geographical place they desire to be, they got their dream job as far as what they're doing on a day-to-day basis. And that is just the best because, it's a key part of all our lives. We spend a lot of our hours in our career. When you can really up-level someone's opportunity, that's a pretty awesome thing. And so we love getting those messages. We get them constantly. And then when the clients love us too, that's important as well. Good references are really amazing, which is awesome as well. But when the individual, person and family have a big shift in their life, it’s a pretty cool thing.

Jeffrey Feldberg: [00:32:03] Stevie with this next question that I have, I'd like you to picture a business owner who maybe they've been hiring internally, or maybe it's been half hazard. They haven't had the chance to work with a professional, but after hearing you talk there, okay, sign me up. I'm going to find the right person and I'm going to get this going.

There are different kinds of business models out there. And I know that you've come up with a unique and innovative business model with what you're doing at TriSearch that would be great to hear you talk about, but before talking about some of the things that you've been doing that are innovative, what should somebody expect in terms of what they're going to pay a recruiter?

Earlier in the interview, you segmented it of under a 100K for some positions and over a 100K. Yeah. I don't know if that makes a difference or not in terms of what you look to see in a business model, but what would that look like if you find a recruiter that you like, how do you know the business model is something that's inline and is going to make sense?

What would be your recommendation? 

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:33:00] Yeah. so first off to give you the whole scale of the scenario, on the least expensive option is a contingent option where, you would be looking at no money upfront, but maybe a 25% or 30% fee of compensation on successful placement.

Many times, that will come with a pretty short guarantee, maybe 30 to 90 days. and that's one option to look. At the other far end is the retained executive search option. 

And they would, predominantly be a third of compensation, 33% of it, many times total compensation at that level. And then they would back that out. A third of the fee was due on engagement. A third of the fee is due on successful representation of three or more candidates.

And the final third, the fee is doing one successful hire placement. Sometimes it's not even on a higher, it's just after a certain timeframe in those positions, but that's what you could expect on the very highest level, CEO of Disney, that type of search. and then there's the middle ground, which, I'm a big fan of the middle.

 I feel like it's a very good place to be somewhere in the middle. And so, we, are many times some level of retainment. It varies on compensations and levels and projects in volume of searches, but some level of retainment on engagement, a majority of the fee on success placement.

A long-term guarantee with that. So, we basically take more flexible pricing. Not like contingent, but similar that the fact that a lot of our fees are performance-based and long-term guarantees like the executive search world does where, they're very highly insured candidates for the placement.

And so, we take best practices on both sides and create them to be, in the middle. We believe there's a balance that makes the most sense, there's a give and take for both sides. That seems to work really well for us.

Steve Wells: [00:34:31] Stevie, as we begin to wrap this up, are there anything that we might have missed or something that you think is very important? A few takeaways for business owners as a look at building out their team and particularly in today's environment and how they go about that., Anything that you'd like to share?

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:34:46] Yeah, I think one thing that's been a really a beautiful experience for us as a lot of times, our longest-term clients have become dear friends. And I would encourage a business owner to look at a recruiting relation that way. it's very easy to be like, Oh, this is going to cost me money.

But if they can flip the script on that a little bit and say, okay. Let me take the time to find someone. I really like we, as humans, love to work with people we like and trust and provides the right business model for me.

And that might be one of the three options that I gave you. Sometimes contingent make sense for certain organizations and that's fine. But it's really about taking the time to really like that person, because they will be an extension of you and not for your technology and not for your office space, but really if your people that is gigantic, it's huge about how you drive and grow your business.

And so that's my one encouragement is take the time, because that is a very important aspect of who you work with that it's, and it's not all about that expertise. Sometimes it's about someone that you trust that no matter what they're going to get you the right hire. And sometimes that's the best solution. 

Jeffrey Feldberg: [00:35:46] Stevie, one other question, before we go into our wrap up questions and we have a favorite one that we ask every guest, but before we get there. As we record this interview, we're still going through the pandemic. And people had thought initially that where we are today, it would have been over or at least well behind us.

And that's not the case. So, as we look into the next three months, six months, year, or even beyond that, what can a business owner expect in terms of this new environment, this new pandemic environment, when it comes time to find new talent and hire new talent, what's changed out there that you've seen, or has it changed in regards to recruiting and hiring?

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:36:29] I think one thing everyone can expect is more unknowns. I think that's a given, but I also think there's opportunity in regards to, there's going to be a lot of shift in talent. And we all know that service sectors are getting hit pretty heavily. Any anyone with close personal contact as part of their business model is an extreme challenge right now.

And I, I feel for all those incredible companies that are, they're really struggling in this time, and obviously the individuals that are struggling with this virus as well. So, it's a very tough and tumultuous time in that regard. Yet there's a lot of, opportunity in the sense that there's a talented people out of those industries that may be shifting into others. There are industries that are thriving right now.

And it surprises me sometimes. E-commerce and a lot of organizations are. Are doing extremely well. And so, it's a little bit of an irony, at least from my seat to see, one company hiring 300 people, the next company, closing their doors. It's really a game of extremes right now, but the silver lining and I'm an optimist for the most part.

So, I come from this side many times, but is there's a lot of strength in the economy from a hiring standpoint behind the most direct hit organizations. So, I encourage everyone to, look for ways to hire good people right now. We've done it ourselves. We've hired some tremendous people.

As a result of being downsized in large organizations, there's nothing wrong with those larger organizations. They just had to downsize in this environment. We were able to get some incredibly good talent that we may not have gotten otherwise, due to that. So, we went into this crisis a little bit differently than we did in 2009.

In 2009 we're almost a little bit of a deer in headlights because it was such a shock to our financial system and we didn't know how much hiring and it was true. Hiring did slow for quite a bit. The big difference we're seeing now is it's more of a bounce where hiring stopped for 60, 90 days, but it's steadily come back since June outside of service. But there has been shifts and changes within organizations that's opened up talent. That's released talent that are really good. w they were doing a great job at their job. They just got released circumstantially due to the pandemic. And so, we have done that ourselves, as well as have helped clients really get a lot of those very talented people out there.

So, I would say if you're able to, if your revenue is warranted it's a good time to hire, actually, I think you can find great people and build your organization very nicely, over however long, this still exists. As long as you're able to produce the revenues you need to in this environment, 

Steve Wells: [00:38:42] So, Stevie, here's a fun question. We get to ask everybody. I always love this question. I'll make up this story. You must have a high-tech client. I bet. And they've developed this time machine that allows you to go back in time and say, Stevie, come over. I want you to jump in this time machine.

I want you to go back to your young self. So, you go, okay. So, Stevie, you jump in there and you go back. I don't know how 20, 30 years, and you get to see yourself. And what do you tell your young self? 

What advice, what viewpoints would you say now that you've lived your life up to this point? What would you give yourself advice for that young Stevie back then? 

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:39:17] Wow. I love that question. That's a great one. Never stopped dancing. I'm a big dancer. So, I like that. and I don't think I ever stopped, so that's good. I kept that going a little bit, I think the biggest thing, and I think it's continuing to have fun.

It's another big value of ours is that, adult stuff gets more serious. and sometimes we lose the aspect to have fun, whether it be in our personal lives or in our professional worlds as well. And so, I would encourage, that youthful Stevie to stay with childlike curiosity and fun and enjoy every aspect and every stage, because it's fun. it's a journey we're all on. And its amazing way to stay connected with your inner child. And never lose that zest for life. And so, I would say no matter grade school, high school, college, all those tests you take and then getting your first job and then eventually building a business, have fun with it.

You have to do the details, because I think at the end of the day and we all look back to whatever we do. we really remember if we have fun or not, and that's, what's important. And if we've touched people's lives and help others. so that's my advice, 

Jeffrey Feldberg: [00:40:20] Stevie I love how you use the "F" word? We don't hear that enough the "fun" word. And I think that's some terrific life advice going on there. How would somebody find you online if they want to reach out or learn a little bit more about you or TriSearch what would be the best place? 

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:40:35] I’m on LinkedIn. Stevie Aylsworth, managing partner of TriSearch.

Email's easy, SAylsworth[at]trisearch[dot]com 

First initial, last name.

 And so, I'm pretty easy to find via email and LinkedIn, at least that way. 

Jeffrey Feldberg: [00:40:46] Terrific. And for our listeners, we'll put all of that in the show notes, particularly if you're driving, we got you covered.  We're going to wrap up this episode.

It's been an absolute delight and I'll use your "F" word, the fun. It's been a lot of fun, hearing your stories and giving some wonderful insights and some wisdom. Thank you so much, Stevie and wishing that you remain healthy and safe. 

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:41:06] Oh, thank you. You too. 

Steve Wells: [00:41:08] Thank you. 

Stevie Aylsworth: [00:41:08] Thank you. Thank you, gentlemen.

Thank you so much.