The Resilient Recruiter How to Build a Recruitment Dream Team of 27 Top Performers, with Trey Hugley, Ep #225
“You can't manage people and lead them at the same time… You're managing a task. You're leading people”
Do you apply the same principles when running your recruitment firm? How do you develop leaders and managers to establish a succession plan when you are scaling it?
My special guest, Trey Hugley, shares his insights on fostering an environment in his recruitment business that not only grew his team in numbers but professionally as well. Trey is the President of Genesis Resources based in Dallas Forth Worth. Trey is a leader in executive search for the insurance industry, with over 28 years of experience.
Having launched and sold a recruiting firm, Trey founded Genesis Resources in 2004 with a commitment to bringing a consultative approach to recruitment. Trey also founded a sister business, Genesis Industries, in 2014, expanding consultancy practices into the Manufacturing, Engineering, Accounting & Finance, and Healthcare sectors.
Episode Outline and Highlights
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[02:21] Trey’s story from being a recruiter to starting his firm.
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[06:45] Sharing perspectives on how commitment and exclusivity work with client relationships.
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[19:54] Milestones in building an organization - how Trey built his team to 27 people.
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[33:09] How do you decide when you have to part ways with a team member?
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[46:56] Planning your brakes rather than it creeping up on you.
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[51:13] Developing business leaders and managers.
Scaling His Recruitment Firm Successfully
A key achievement of Trey that I wanted to pick his brains on is how he progressed in building his business from just him to having 27 team members. “I could have made a lot more money over the last 15 years if I was just doing it on my own. Mine is an end game. If I build it, I think my mentality is a little different. I enjoy the concept of building. I like the idea of growing something.”
Trey shared his practices when looking for someone to join his team. He mentioned hiring competitive individuals, often with a background in team sports, who can thrive in a competitive environment. He stressed the importance of training and creating an environment where his staff can support and learn from each other. We covered two focus areas when scaling: taking responsibility and ownership for hiring decisions and training to ensure that the right people are in the right roles.
Deciding When to Let Go of a Team Member
It can be challenging to let go of team members. A recruitment business owner could have invested so much time and resources in hiring and training, and the relationship built over time can make it difficult to let go.
Although difficult, Trey explained that it is part of scaling your business effectively, especially if the overall fit of your recruiter is not aligned with your organizational goals. He outlined the following objective factors that can help you decide when it is time to transition your team member to a new career:
1. If they're not meeting their metrics, like having consistent candidate or client conversations, it’s a red flag.
2. Their ability to generate revenue is crucial; it's a concern if they're not producing at least $20,000 a month (in the case of Trey’s organization).
3. Assessing their pending deals and interview activities can predict future performance; if these numbers are low, they indicate potential issues.
4. If they lack the drive and initiative to meet basic expectations consistently, it may be time to let go.
Trey ended it by saying, “We'll, you know, we'll call it a career transition is what we call it. We're gonna transition you. If you can't succeed here, we don't think you're gonna be able to succeed in recruiting.”
Developing Leaders
Engaging your staff and making them leaders is another achievement that Trey is proud of. He has not only grown his team in size, but he grew them professionally into team leaders and managers. He described his approach and mindset well, “There's a certain humility that comes with managing and, leadership, and I think those are two different, two completely different things. Management is the day-to-day, task-oriented. Have you met your numbers? Leading is, how do I make someone better? … But the concept is, you can't manage people and lead them at the same time. Right? You're managing a task. You're leading people, at least in my mind.”
One thing that Trey shared is fostering an environment where asking questions and continuous learning are supported. He said, “I think the biggest piece is that there is no dumb question. And those who are most inquisitive tend to grow quicker than the others in nurturing a lot of that.”
He also shared an integrated approach (egalitarian versus a top-down model), where his staff can always approach him for ideas, scenarios, and proposals. This is except for metrics and numbers, for which clear expectations are in place.
Aside from very competitive compensation, Trey also shared their setup for working onsite and working from home, which offers practical benefits to his employees.
Trey Hugley Bio and Contact Info
An Executive Leader in the Insurance Recruiting Field for over 28 years. Trey Hugley launched and sold a recruiting firm and then began building Genesis Resources in 2004 as the premier example of partnership in the industry. Launched as an Executive Search firm, Genesis quickly moved to a full-service recruiting organization focused on the recruitment of passive candidates for several of its premier clients in the insurance industry.
Trey graduated from Texas A&M University in 1994 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. Upon graduating, he began his career in Recruitment with a boutique recruiting firm out of college and a focus on multiple disciplines. Soon after, he joined his partner in a start-up dedicated solely to the property & casualty insurance industry. After 8 years, Trey sold to his partner to start a more consultative approach to recruitment; one that was more dedicated toward executive search methodologies with an overall consultative approach that highlighted his passion for successful recruitment and the improvement of individual careers. In 2004, with a focus on “new beginnings” as the name Genesis implies, Trey launched his new company – Genesis Resources. Trey focused on integrating true consultation efforts into recruitment and building relationships with every professional with whom he interacted. Genesis Resources today focuses on passive candidate recruitment while staying at the forefront of the insurance industry.
Trey’s career includes over twenty-nine years of furthering the careers of others. He has developed a variety of leaders and helped them grow to their full potential in the insurance industry. Not only has he achieved this externally, but his current employees have followed in his footsteps, and within a span of the last ten years, Genesis Resources now has several leaders and Executive Recruiters who elevate the careers of all those with whom they come in contact.
In 2014, several of Trey’s HR leadership relationships moved outside the industry. Together, they built a recruitment offering that would highlight the best practices of Genesis Resources while focusing on several new industries; Genesis Industries was born. From a national project to building out an internal recruiting team, revamping an entire sales organization, and multiple other leadership placements along the way, Genesis Industries has become its own “go-to” consultative and recruiting firm with its staff of experts. Genesis Industries has a primary focus on Manufacturing, Engineering, Accounting & Finance, and Healthcare.
People and Resources Mentioned
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Gail Audibert on LinkedIn
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Gerald Legrove on LinkedIn
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Joel Slenning on LinkedIn
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Chris DiNaso on LinkedIn
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