Chris and I met two decades ago, when he connected me with one of his search clients. Now that I’ve built my own company, Chris remains my go-to partner for insight into the employment market. Through our many years working together, Chris has developed a deep understanding of my homebuilding business’ growth and needs. He recently placed our new director of purchasing, and we’ll continue to trust him for our most important searches in the future.

We have known Chris Hingle for over 10 years and have relied upon his professional expertise in the homebuilding area for advice regarding personnel and placement. Chris is an extremely dedicated and driven individual who has stayed focused and on top of the housing market, while many in his industry have fallen by the wayside. Chris takes a personal and passionate interest in each client and is willing to go the extra mile in meeting their needs and delivering excellence. I highly recommend him for anyone in the homebuilding market looking to find key people for their team.

We’ve had notable success using Christopher Frederick’s new targeted email recruiting for both mid-level and C-level positions. The firm’s extensive network of real estate professionals and Chris Hingle’s recruitment expertise in selecting the strongest finalists helped us discover first-class people at an affordable cost and in a surprisingly short amount of time.

Our firm engaged Christopher Frederick to assist us in the national search for our EVP. We worked directly with Chris Hingle, Managing Principal, who provided us the resumes of more than 30 qualified candidates from companies throughout the country. His personal involvement showed the value of his talents as a recruiter, and Chris never stopped until we were completely satisfied that we had found the right person. With his guidance and advice, we ultimately hired an extraordinary individual to help lead our company’s future.

Three years ago, I was asked to found a property management company to oversee the investments of a private equity firm. In that short period, Merion Realty Management of Wynnewood, Pa., has grown rapidly to encompass 38 communities with 10,000 units in ten states. Our business saw same-store NOI increases in excess of 10 percent in both of the last two years. What’s more, a further $280 million private equity recapitalization and a $50 million foreign commitment have us looking forward to more even growth in the future.

Running a business that now employs 300, the biggest thing I can emphasize is that there are many different successful ways to approach recruitment. What’s important is that you consider recruitment and management together as a system. It is imperative that you carefully define what you want in a candidate, how decentralized you want the position to be, its reporting structure, incentives and the expected career path of the new hire. If you fail to do this, you will not only be fooling the candidate but will also be fooling yourself.

Our recruitment system at Merion is unique. We like to hire managers-in-training immediately upon graduation following on-campus recruitment sessions. We do our utmost to retain an entrepreneurial flavor, and we also believe strongly in promotion from within. By the time an employee has held several positions of increasing responsibility, we know his character through and through.

But no matter how well you plan, there are always times when positions cannot be filled from within or by college recruitment. In that case, we find it most effective to contact an experienced executive recruiter like Christopher Frederick. Such a professional is infinitely more effective than the various job websites. That’s because a talented recruiter’s Rolodex tends to contain the names of many people who are outstanding in their current positions but are not seeking new employment. Without that network, your search may consist of only second-tier candidates.

I’d like to share with you a true success story about our company, Arthur Rutenberg Homes, and a custom homebuilder who found a career-changing way to break out in the Charlotte, N.C., market.

After 18 years in the business, Mitch Genda formed his own custom homebuilding company in 2007. Unfortunately, the housing market in Charlotte collapsed the next year, and Mitch found himself chasing renovation and remodeling work rather than custom build jobs. He was familiar with Arthur Rutenberg Homes’ sterling reputation in Florida, and in 2010 Mitch and his business partner became franchise owners.

Arthur Rutenberg Homes is the largest franchisor of custom homebuilders in the country. After Mitch began working with the company, he opened a beautiful model home in Fort Mill, S.C., in June 2011 to rave reviews. It was staffed by a sales team trained to use Arthur Rutenberg Homes’ unique, personalized floor plan process and rapid quoting system. The results of his relationship with Rutenberg thus far speak for themselves:

• 15 pre-sold custom homes in 2011, most between June and December.
• 3 pre-sold custom homes thus far in 2012.
• The homes represent 10 different designs – demonstrating the strength and diversity of Arthur Rutenberg Homes’ Southern Design Collection.
• The 2011 gross revenues of Mitch’s franchise, and the total number of homes sold, outperformed all other private custom builders in the greater Charlotte market. Not bad for a start-up in a down market.

Mitch, like all Arthur Rutenberg Homes franchisees, uses state-of-the-industry software to manage his business. The purchasing systems allow his team to make line-item cost comparisons with all other franchises, enabling lower costs. Pre-negotiated national purchasing programs with leading brands also help ensure the use of the right products at the right prices. These services are in addition to many other operating resources that help franchisees grow their successful homebuilding companies.

Arthur Rutenberg Homes continues to expand in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. With the assistance of our trusted recruitment expert Christopher Frederick, the company has recently established new franchises in Charlotte and Raleigh, N.C., and Orlando, Fla.