Earlier this year, partner and director of recruiting Angela Burns set a new tone for the Recruiting Department.
She raised expectations, made standards unmistakably clear and doubled down on daily investment in her team. The goal wasn’t just to hire more; it was to hire better. She also wanted to build a culture of recruiters who were confident, aligned and committed to doing things the right way.
That mindset shift led to several changes across the department, from how associates approach their markets to how they support each other’s growth.
In the last 120 days, our Recruiting Department hired 20 general managers. They filled key roles across Tech Ops, Kids & Community and Regional VP positions. The quality of candidates improved, and the department is now more aligned than ever before.
“The progress made in recruiting is a testament to an elite leader like Angela setting clear expectations, living up to her commitments and not compromising her standards,” said partner and senior vice president of operations Brad Dykes. “You couple that with a team of recruiters who have a strong desire to learn, grow and ultimately win, you have a real formula for success.”
“She’s really got us bought in, into not only hitting our own personal goals, but doing the right thing and getting the right people in process,” added partner and executive recruiter Kevin Pierce. “Her ability to motivate and inspire the team is second to none.”
For Angela, the recent success was the outcome of intentional investment.
“This team is relentless,” Angela said. “They’ll scroll until their eyes cross looking for the right candidate. They’ll talk to each other, problem-solve, take calls apart and figure out where something went wrong so it doesn’t happen again. They don’t live in the past, but they learn from it.”
Our recruiters only hire about 0.05% of the people they engage with. But they’re not “snipers,” Angela says. They’re listeners – trained to recognize the traits that signal a cultural, long-term fit.
“There are so many intricacies to what we do,” Angela said. “If you’re working different markets, you’ve got to learn different people. It’s not because we’re looking for anybody different, but you have to learn who are my resources in the market? Who’s my region head? What’s my process? It takes time to learn all of the pieces.”
Training sessions led by Brad took that idea even further. Recruiters were divided into three groups based on the roles they hire for. Each week, for over a month, they met with Brad to dig into traits that define long-term fit at The Connor Group. The goal: elevate instincts, align processes and get even more intentional about what makes someone the right hire.
“It was a game-changer,” Kevin said. “Brad broke down what we’re looking for and the why behind it. It wasn’t just a PowerPoint. It was a conversation. It got us all on the same page and made us more tactical.”
Kevin played a direct role in the March to May general manager hiring blitz. After spending months focused on VP and director-level searches, Angela asked him to help with GM hiring. He jumped in without hesitation, relearning the GM profile, shadowing interviews with partner and senior vice president Sal Gracia and Brad, and quickly delivering hires for Cincinnati and Columbus.
“It’s a challenge,” Kevin said. “It’s something that’s going to make me uncomfortable at first, but then it was like riding a bike.”
To get our GM hires up to standard was a total team effort. Josh Eades, Amanda Burkholder, Maddison Prether, Beth McDermott and Kevin all played a part in hiring the 20 GMs over the last 120 days.
One trait our top recruiters share is the ability to build fast, meaningful connections with candidates.
“We’re the first impression of The Connor Group, good, bad or indifferent,” Kevin said. “It’s about building that rapport with an individual on the phone, getting them to trust you, and then diving in and really peeling back the layers of the onion to find out who they truly are as best as you can.”
This ability to build rapport is not limited to veterans in our Recruiting Department. Newer recruiters like field recruiter Bailey Shepherd are finding their stride, and their voice.
Bailey started in service recruiting, then made the leap to sales in May. Within her first month, she had four candidates make it through SMT interviews, and three were hired in Austin. Her secret? Initiative. She shadowed Josh and Amanda, listened to call recordings, and broke down every decision in her IAMs with Angela and Kevin.
“When you’re unsure, you trust the process, because process determines outcome,” Bailey said. “But it helps when you’re surrounded by high performers, who hold you accountable. That naturally brings those traits out of you as well, which in turn makes you really good at your job.”
Her story mirrors what’s happening across the department. Angela says confidence usually sets in around the nine-month mark, once associates have cycled through enough markets and profiles to feel steady. But more than confidence, what’s grown lately on this team is cohesion.
“We’ve got a really good group of people,” Angela said. “They work their butts off. I’m just the conductor. They’re the ones driving it forward.”
“Mark my words, this team is on the path to exceptional high productivity standards and delivering the teams that will fuel our success in the future,” Brad added.
Now, the Recruiting Department is focused on finding the right people and doing it the right way. They listen better. They move faster. They challenge one another and their own outcomes.
Great job to our Recruiting Department!