Slippery Rock Gazette

Sharon Koehler

Stone Industry Consultant

We all know that the labor market has changed over the last few years. Looking for and finding qualified candidates is almost a full-time job in itself. Who has time for that?  Who has time to place ads, interview and vet, not to mention haggle over salary and benefits?

• The business owner? Possibly, but unlikely, since they are busy trying to run the day-to-day operations.
  
  
• HR? In this politically correct era we are in, when does HR have time to do anything but HR? Forms, phone calls, files, problem employees, and other things keep HR busy full-time these days. 
  
  
• The shop manager? Let’s see… running the shop, inventory, scheduling, filling in for call-outs, handling installer questions, fixing equipment, and unloading trucks are their main concerns. Seriously, you think there’s time for the shop manager to look for, recruit and vet employees?
  
  
• Who, then? 

The recruiter, of course! 

“Whoa, the recruiter? What recruiter? I don’t want management or sales help. I want shop and install help. No recruiter is going to be interested in that.”

……

That may have been the case before the recent economic shift, but that is not the case now. This is where Bronwick Recruiting, LLC enters the picture. Bronwick works within the construction field and more specifically, they work with fabricators to find the best help available. In fact, 95% of their clients are stone shops. 

It is their intention, past, present, and moving forward to “fill any position in a fabrication shop.” To that end, they belong to and are affiliated with multiple stone industry groups and organizations: Rockheads Group USA, NSI, Artisan Group, and ISFA. They also had a presence at TISE 2023. 

Bo Schwartz, founder of Bronwick Recruiting, actually started recruiting and placing people in fabrication shops back in 2011, but he didn’t take the company to LLC level until 2019. Bo, realizing that this was not a one-man job, turned to his longtime friend and former co-worker Travis Sterrett for assistance. 

In 2020, Bo recruited Travis away from his job in sales for a general contractor. Travis, now Director of Sales with the company, was Bronwick Recruiting’s and Bo’s first full-time hire. Today, in 2023, they have a staff of 12 and an office in Austin, Texas. 

Even coming off a debilitating worldwide pandemic, 2022 was a breakout year for the firm. They placed 87 candidates nationwide. They are poised to place 100+ candidates in 2023. Even though they are based in Austin, they have their eyes on expansion. In the next five years, they hope to open other offices. Their prime target is somewhere in the Carolinas. 

Travis is excited about what the company has accomplished and can provide in the future. “We don’t want to be just a recruiter; we want to be your partner and become your company’s in-house hiring department.” Also, according to Travis, Bronwick Recruiting has attained success by using what they call their “Two Prong Approach.” 

“One – we respond faster to communication with candidates than our clients. Not because our clients are slow to respond, but because normally our clients are trying to manage a lot of other things and they may not have the opportunity to respond right away.”

“Two – we cold call candidates. We scour job boards looking for candidates, and we reach out to them. We do not wait for them to come to us.”

They also have a what they refer to as an MPC (Most Placeable Candidate) campaign. If a strong candidate comes to them seeking a position within an area where they don’t have clients at that moment, they will cold call shops in that area trying to find an open position for that person. That being said, Bronwick Recruiting doesn’t place anybody just anywhere. They have a 3-step process to ensure that the right person gets placed with the right company.

One: Their business gets to know and understand your business. They get a feel for your culture and document your needs.

Two: They do an extensive candidate search that includes market research, advertising, networking, and screening for top talent. 

Three: Bronwick ensures proper placement and longevity by advocating for your company, overcoming any obstacles, and securing top talent for your business. They have a team of researchers and recruiters dedicated to this goal. It is in their culture to think of themselves more as matchmakers than recruiters. To that end, they have a very specific strategy on placing only the best candidates with their clients. 

The Bronwick Strategy

Most recruiting companies take on as many clients as possible in order to fill their bottom line. The extent of their recruiting work consists of posting job availabilities on public boards and passing along resumes without ensuring the candidate has the potential to be a good fit. Bronwick takes a more personal approach with their search strategy, finding candidates that you would never find through a simple job board.

Here’s how it works:

First, they build a potential candidate pool by networking, resume mining and internal research. They find the candidates with the exact experience client shops are looking for.

Then, they contact each potential candidate to make sure they have the skill set needed and will fit into the company culture.

After vetting, they narrow the list down to 3-5 top candidates and present them to the shop’s hiring team with resumes, references, and notes.

When it’s time, they aid in the interview process by helping to schedule initial and follow up interviews, and helping to facilitate a personal introduction to the hiring team or manager.

Having come to the realization that the offer stage is one of the most critical and often a very awkward phase of the hiring process, Bronwick works to overcome any obstacles and enhance communication between the client and candidate.

Then, Bronwick guarantees the new hire will fit in with your company and culture or they will work to replace that candidate at no extra charge. (Within the first 90 days.)

Bronwick Recruiting doesn’t just fill full-time staff positions. They also fill temporary staff positions. If you have a temporary need such as a big job or a sudden surge in production, they can help you with those needs as well. 

According to their website: “Bronwick is a full-service recruiting and staffing firm working with companies across the nation. From upper management to temporary staff, and anything in between, Bronwick comes alongside your existing recruiting efforts to help you quickly fill any open positions.”

Bronwick Recruiting, LLC fills a niche in the hiring and staffing of the stone industry. They have their eyes on the future with their experience and know-how. Yes, there are their fees to consider, but look at this way: by the time you pay job boards, pay someone on your staff the time it takes to comb through them, contact people, then vet and interview candidates, good and bad, you might just decide that experts are the way to go. If that’s the case, Travis would be more than happy to talk to you. Email Travis@bronwick.com
or visit the contact page on their website:  https://bronwick.com.