Alternative/Renewable Energy

Executive Recruitment Case Study

Recruitment Research Energizes Solar Industry

REC Solar is one of the top 3 commercial solar contractors in the United States, with over 20 years of experience building solar projects across the country.  REC Solar Vice President of Operations, Dan Alcombright, had successfully teamed with Duffy Group, Inc. for executive recruitment at two previous companies.  When he arrived at REC and evaluated the openings and the extensive length of time it was taking to fill them, he referred Duffy Group to HR Director David O’Grady.

Before partnering with Duffy, David was skeptical of the more traditional executive recruiting model due to multiple bad experiences.  He had grown cynical of recruiting firms and their all too common claim of having candidates no one else had access to.  David ’s impression of recruiters, from working with them in the past, was most of them were unprincipled and lazy.  Based on this experience David had serious doubts, he gave Duffy Group a chance, and he is glad he did…

“Duffy Group is doing something quite different and it won me over, and I’m not easily won over,” says O’Grady.  “It was refreshing to have a recruiter who would actively partner with me rather than send over unvetted candidates.”  “I still get calls and emails daily from more traditional recruiters and when I tell them about the Duffy model, the conversation usually ends quickly as they do not have a product that is remotely competitive.”  “Plain and simple Duffy has the model HR professionals have been looking for and they flat out work harder than anybody else.”

Practice Leader Eden Higgins is passionate about renewable energy recruitment and emerging technologies. She has fostered relationships with top-tier talent through her executive search experience with solar energy recruitment, green energy recruitment, and alternative energy recruitment and more.  According to Eden, “REC had several key positions to be filled in a short period of time. We prioritized the positions with the hiring leaders and developed a unique strategy to recruit quickly and effectively in several areas of the United States.  We targeted their competitors nationally and regionally first.”

David indicated the market data collected by Eden and her team helped REC’s hiring leaders understand the competitive landscape within the industry.  REC has stellar standards and only hires exceptional candidates.  Using their unique recruitment research model, Duffy Group was able to show what kind of candidates their competitors were employing, their educational background and professional experience, along with their compensation.  As a result, the hiring leaders flexed on their requirements, accelerating the process which resulted in quickly filling positions.

“Eden spent the time listening to our hiring needs; she was an arm of my department,” says O’Grady. “When I think about the number of candidates we hired, Duffy Group’s fee structure was very cost effective.  They were a true partner and helped us build a candidate data base we could leverage to fill positions for other hiring leaders.  A traditional recruiter would never have shared candidates without demanding a full fee.”

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“Duffy Group is doing something quite different and it won me over, and I’m not easily won over”

David O’Grady - HR Director