Client Case Study – Capstone

Client Background

Rob Joslin and Matthew Cary co-founded Capstone Recruitment which has been operating for just over four years. Capstone is a construction and property specialist contingent recruitment firm, focusing on mid to CEO level appointments. The areas that Capstone recruitment specialise in are;

     – Construction and Engineering

     – Real Estate

     – Infrastructure

Capstone:

– Employs over 50 members of staff,

– Operates out of 5 locations, spanning the UK, Australia and EMENA therefore has an international reach;

– Has established with a number of clients a reputation as a ‘business partner’, rather than just another supplier. Leading to continued repeat business from these clients

– Have built up strong relationships with a variety of key clients

– Supports a number of industry bodies including RICS, MATRICS, CICES, Land Aid and CIOB

Capstones success has been achieved by;

– Ensuring all consultants have a deep knowledge of their sectors, often coming from the industries they are recruiting for and are MRICS qualified

– All clients are met to discuss in detail the roles that are being recruited for

– All candidates are given an in-depth interview prior to meeting any prospective organisation

Matthew had engaged with a variety of rec2rec agencies who worked across many industries. As a result, they didn’t fully understand the specialist sector of construction. This didn’t inspire Matthew with confidence and this lack of industry knowledge was reflected in the quality of the candidates submitted and interviewed by Matthew.

The candidates were often vague and underprepared for their interviews. This led to Matthew feeling that the rec2rec companies had not only wasted his time but also created a perception that they were interested in a transactional and short term relationship based on looking for a placement fee, versus wanting to build a long term mutually beneficial business relationship.

What happened next?

Matthew Cary and Mike Kennedy of GSR2R had a prior business relationship for the best part of 10 years, initially starting when, Mike placed Matthew in his second role at Judd Farris.

Due to Matthew’s own previous experience he knew that Mike Kennedy had gained a prominent reputation within the construction field as someone who not only fully understood the sector but also had strong industry knowledge. When this was combined with Mike’s wide network of connections, that Capstone Recruitment would find beneficial, Matthew knew he needed to contact GSR2R.

Matthew contacted Mike regarding the vacancies within Capstone. At Mike’s invitation, they met to discuss a detailed brief for the candidates Capstone required. The candidates Mike subsequently submitted were described by Matthew as “second to none, they were in fact a stronger skill set match than I had anticipated”.

Mike fully prepared each candidate prior to the interviews, to such a degree that Matthew felt they were so well briefed about Capstone, that they could sell his own organisation to him better than he could.

This demonstrated that Mike was adding value to the recruitment process, therefore, assuring his commitment to building a long term partnership with Capstone. Mike continued to support the recruitment process with constant and genuine communications. In between recruitment assignments Capstone have regular meetings with Mike, and his advice is described as “transparent and honest”.

What Matthew Cary (Founder of Capstone) thought of his experience of GSR2R

Feedback given from Matthew about his relationship with GSR2R; primarily with Mike Kennedy;

The key areas highlighted are as follows;

– Knowledgeable and highly committed consultants

– Suitably screened, well prepared and appropriate candidates

– Consultative and investigative method of extracting integral information about client needs

– Long term strategic standards, GSR2R value the importance of building long term, lasting business partnerships

Would you recommend GSR2R and why?

“Yes I can confidently recommend Mike and GSR2R. I’d class my relationship with Mike as a partnering relationship as opposed to a supplier, there’s constant communication during the process and it’s all about relationships, because he is in it for the long term, it’s not transactional”.

“Mike is genuine and he offers transparent and honest advice. The level of service before, during and after is second to none. It’s very good. It’s not just about the fee with Mike. He likes to do a good job and that comes across”.

“I have recommended an individual to Mike that I haven’t taken on myself or is not a good fit for construction and property, I always recommend Mike to others and I’ve got nothing to gain from that. I don’t do that for the sake of it”.

Matthew Cary

Founder Capstone Recruitment