TRS Opens New Office in Mexico City

November 5, 2010 | Leave a Comment

On August 5, 2010, TRS celebrated the opening of its new branch in Mexico City.

Joe Brennan, (ICA Fluor Director of Operations) joined Martin Foulser (TRS Director of Operations), Matt Evelt (Regional Director) and Toni Montes (Mexico Branch Manager) for the ribbon cutting ceremony at the ICA-Fluor offices in Mexico City.

The new branch, opened to support the growth needs of the ICA-Fluor joint venture, will provide both contract and direct hire recruitment services, along with a full agency management programme.

“We are excited to have TRS supporting our efforts in Mexico and look forward to the value they will bring. I believe TRS’ involvement will bring a new dimension of flexibility that will allow us to manage our business cycles more efficiently than in the past,” said Brennan.

“The development of this office is in line with TRS’ growth strategy in the region, and we look forward to supporting the staffing needs of both ICA-Fluor and other clients,” said TRS President Taco de Haan.

As well as supporting ICA-Fluor’s joint venture in Mexico, the new office will further enhance TRS’ international capabilities as a specialist engineering recruitment firm.

New Recruitment Technology

October 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment

With information technology advancing at an ever increasing pace, there are inevitably going to be new products on the market to help recruitment specialists do their jobs more efficiently.

At a recent Recruitment Technology conference several new products were launched and a couple of them caught my eye.

One product I was impressed by essentially aggregates all public information about a candidate or client so it can be viewed easily in one place. The information is gathered from a variety of social media sites and other online channels (such as reviews on Amazon). The software also automatically removes any data that might contravene EEOC or OFCCP regulations.

Another product which interested me was one that allows companies to utilise the social media connections of its employees with an automated process of ‘viral job marketing’. The product has been on the market for a year now but it has recently been enhanced with graphical metrics, hundreds more channels for job-posting and a further degree of automation.

Only time will tell if these applications make the impact that their developers hope, however products such as these certainly indicate an intention by developers to tap into the vast and growing amount of data that is available on Social Media. Long gone are the days where you had to network extensively via phone to find out where the best candidates and potential clients were. New technologies will never replace traditional methods of networking (speaking over the phone etc) but they may automate the more mundane tasks and allow us, as recruiters, to work more efficiently and creatively for our clients.

Author: Owen Stride, TRS

The Road to Customer Loyalty

July 30, 2010 | 1 Comment

Most successful businesses recognise that a crucial part of their strategy for achieving long-term business growth is through nurturing their key accounts, thus ensuring that they become and remain committed loyal customers.

Long-term commitments derive from building relationships with our customer contacts that strengthen and deepen as a result of actions (improve service quality or provide the customer with recognised added value) we take. You can think of this process as being analogous to depositing positive value into a “trust and confidence account” that we have with the customer concerned.

The Client Review Process

TRS apply a Client Review process or tool (designed and managed by E.G. Insight ), which provides us with a statement on the trust and confidence accounts for customers who TRS bring into the review program. The Client Review process is a straightforward concept but is one that requires excellence in execution.

The review process provides us with the detail of our “withdrawals” (weaknesses, failures to meet customer expectations) as well as the “deposits” or strengths (areas of service quality excellence) for the customer concerned. The bottom-line balance on the statement is a measure of the overall confidence (percentage measure) that the customer has in our service. The tool also helps us to better understand the customer’s future needs as well as changes affecting their organisation and industry.

How it Works

To carry out the client review process TRS conduct face-to-face interviews with our important customers. Interviews are typically one hour long and interviewers use a structured interview guide.

During a review interviewers must be confident and competent in the following skills; they must listen attentively, question effectively, and record the client’s conversation accurately. Following the review interviewers must also show skill in identifying actions that can be taken to address the client’s issues and they must be committed to ensuring actions are implemented.

Most important of all, interviewers need to provide feedback to the client reviewed. The feedback includes thanking the client for taking the time to participate, communicating what we have understood as issues to be addressed and our intentions for resolving them. The follow through is to then take measurable and observable actions which close out the issues identified and then provide further feedback to the customer so that they link the action and improvement as an experience that has resulted from the review process. In this way we successfully make further deposits into our trust and confidence account with the customer.

The Client Relationship Hierarchy

Over time the accumulating deposits in our trust and confidence account change the way in which our customer sees us. Within the client review process this is known as moving up the client relationship hierarchy.

Where we choose to be on the above hierarchy is intentional. It is impractical and impossible to resource all accounts at the same level. Strategy and thoughtful planning dictate which customer accounts should be treated as transactional relationships (price driven and therefore in the lower-half of the hierarchy; a defensive strategy) and those which are or should be relationship-driven (value driven and therefore in the top half of the hierarchy; an offensive strategy.)

In the end, no matter what resources we apply, the customer determines how they perceive us and our service. A customer’s attitude may change adversely if our service becomes more expensive due to an adverse economic climate, and the customer may consequently choose to go elsewhere for the service.

For our most important customers, we want to build relationships that reflect high levels of confidence in our services. To do this we need to move from meeting and / or exceeding customer expectations into the upper part of the hierarchy above, where we are seen as a solution providers and / or a trusted advisor. Moving to this stage of the relationship depends on the customer’s behaviour towards us changing as a result of the positive experiences they have in their trust and confidence account with TRS.

We use the review process to trigger significant experiences (actions and resultant improvements) that a customer then associates as a result of participating in the review. We:
1) talk to the customer and discover TRS service strengths and weaknesses,
2) take appropriate improvement action and then through continual feedback to the customer, and,
3) ensure that the action taken and resulting improvement, is linked by the customer as an experience or benefit derived from the review.

No Shortcuts!

There are no shortcuts to moving up the hierarchy. With each new customer we start at or near the bottom, i.e. meeting our customer’s requirements then intentionally work our way to the desired level of relationship with the customer. It’s hard work all the way, but with the right tools, such as the Client Review process—integrated with effective business processes and supported by competent, enthusiastic and committed staff—TRS are confident of continuing to achieve their goal of long term growth supported by loyal customers who are happy and confident to rely on TRS as their partner and trusted advisor.

TRS Staffing Solutions global strategy to be boosted by Australasia market entry:

June 17, 2010 | 1 Comment

To support the expected business growth in the Asia Pacific and Australian engineering and project management markets, TRS Staffing Solutions is set to enter Australia with a full recruitment offering on 1 September 2010 operating from Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.

TRS Staffing Solutions has been matching people and projects for more than 20 years. The TRS Australian business is part of the worldwide TRS Staffing Solutions Group which has representative offices in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, The Netherlands, Puerto Rico, the United States, Canada, South Africa and the Middle East.

TRS Staffing Solutions was established in 1982 to supply staff to a leading United States EPCM contractor for its own international projects.

Since then we have extended our network of clients and candidates and we are now actively supporting project sites across Australia, the United Kingdom, mainland Europe, the United States, the Middle East, Canada and South East Asia. TRS currently has more than 4,500 contractors around the world and we manage over 270 agency suppliers around the world.

The TRS Australia business will be established to provide a further platform to help TRS source and supply skilled personnel to clients both in Australia, Asia Pacific and internationally, providing direct access to a global pool of experienced technical, engineering and professional services talent.

We have skilled and experienced teams of recruiting professionals that enable us to align our recruiting processes and global databases to meet our clients’ corporate visions.

The TRS Australia business will provide the following services for clients in this region:
- Contract placement
- Direct-hire recruitment
- Managed agency
- Search and selection

Author: Jayson Eichstadt, TRS

$ale$ Manager$ – The Sign of an Improving Market.

June 14, 2010 | Leave a Comment

For months, most recruitment companies have been convincing their consultants and candidates that the engineering recruitment market is improving with stories of approved projects and future investment, but little has been seen on the job boards. Until now…

Generally when a market starts improving, and a cost efficient company wishes to take advantage of this, the first positions recruited for are Sales / Business Development Managers, followed by General Managers for the regional and project offices that follow.

In the last 3 weeks, we have received more requests for talented engineers with BD / Sales Experience than I believe TRS has received in the last 2 years.

What type of candidate makes a good Sales Manager?

The first mistake people make is thinking that ‘Sales is Sales’ and not engineering… Wrong!

Operators want to be able to discuss technical issues and often base their solutions around best technical fit, not just best price. Often the best Sales Managers come from Project Management and Project Lead backgrounds, because at the end of the day, the most important task for the Sales Manager is to understand the customer’s needs and to be able to communicate them to the engineering teams.

Another misconception is that Engineers cannot communicate or sell effectively. Wrong again! Engineers enjoy going on site, dealing with the operator, suppliers, sub-contractors and so on. Indeed a large percentage have worked as independent contractors, been self employed or worked for small consultancies, and have had to sell their expertise and understanding at every interview and meeting they have been to. Engineers on the whole are excellent sales people as they understand their product or service and are selling to someone who wants to hear about it (gauging your friends reaction to you explaining the joys of cement down the pub whilst watching Liverpool V Real Madrid as an indicator of whether you are a good sales person is probably not recommended – chances are they are not interested).

Also, most engineers will have been to university and have had an assortment of jobs. For example, one individual we recently placed had been a magician, double glazing salesman, security guard and so on. This gave them the ability to communicate and understand a wide variety of peoples’ needs. Again, this is key to being able to sell.

So what happens to the Sales Manager next? The typical direction for a Sales Manager would be to establish a territory, for example Brazil. You would then create a client base in Brazil, and before you know it, you are the General Manager of the Brazil Office. It may often be difficult to see a progression from Piping or Process to being General Manager, but the easy route is through Sales.

TRS currently have roles including Renewable Energy in Argentina, Brasil, Mexico, Bulgaria and Romaina. Also, Water in Egypt and Cabling in Italy, Spain, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. To see a selection of TRS Staffing Solutions current job vacancies, click here.

For more information about TRS’ engineering recruitment service in the UK, email: info-uk@trsstaffing.com

Author: John Rowlands, TRS

LNG 16 and the Volcano

May 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment

In April I was fortunate enough to be able to attend LNG 16 in Oran. LNG conferences are known to be the who’s who of the gas industry and as part of my market focus I was very excited to be going.

As you can imagine, my first concern was the eruption of a volcano in Iceland the day before my travel. I am lucky enough to live in Madrid, and so took a quick jump to Alicante and a flight from Alicante direct to Oran. I arrived two hours late, giving me time to savour the olives available in the lounge!

From touch-down in Oran airport the whole event was fantastically organised. We were shuttled to a separate terminal to be rushed through immigration, before a group of pleasant hosts and hostesses guided us to our transport. Mine took me to the bank to help me change my Euros into local currency, then escorted me to my hotel bus. I tried to tip but she refused. I sat on the bus until the rest of my hotel contingent joined (we were about 6 people) – then our police escort joined us! We were guided by 4 police motorbikes to our hotel.

My journey was a breeze compared to other people – one senior manager from a well known EPC flew from Houston to Japan to Dubai to Senegal to Algiers to Oran – he was obviously keen to attend!

The conference in general had a 25% turn out which I found helpful – most of my Northern European and US based competition couldn’t attend, leaving senior management (basically those who have no problems changing flights) unharrased and with time to talk. I managed to achieve more business than usual.

Oran itself turned out to be a surprise – I felt welcomed and at home. I was invited out for diner by some locals who just wanted to dispel Oran’s unfair international reputation. I went night clubbing and saw the sights. I managed to attend two tours, one of the city and castle led by a guide called Souad (organised by LNG16). We enjoyed another police escort (so avoided traffic jams) and spent about 2 and a half hours visiting and learning about the historic sights. My second tour was organised by Fatima who was working on the Repsol stand. She guided me around town and the shopping sights in a one-to-one tour, for which I am extremely grateful, enabling me to buy presents for my family. Again, no one would accept tips. The guides just wanted to show people Oran, it’s history and it’s people.

So, would I go there again? I am planning on it. Is there work there? Yes. There are many major companies with operations in Algeria, including GDF, Repsol, BG and many more of TRS’s clients.

For more information, visit the TRS website at http://www.trsstaffing.com/ or contact us!

Author: John Rowlands, TRS

Algeria in Focus

April 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment

TRS Staffing Solutions are attending LNG 16. TRS have a long standing history with the LNG / GNL Conferences.

Maria Macein (Country Manager Spain) said “LNG 16 is probably the who’s who of the liquid natural gas market place. TRS have to be present to keep up with the technologies in place and also to maintain contact with a number of its clients. Due to our locality and the ever increasing business links between Algeria and Spain, LNG 16 will be particularly important for us”.

Further information about LNG 16 can be found at:

http://lng16.org/index.html

Virginia Ortun, Consultant at TRS Spain commented “Algeria is one of the up anc coming markets. Not only for Gas, but also for renewable Energy and Water. Indeed we are currently looking for experienced Construction Managers for 3 locations in Algeria to work on desalination and water storage facilities. Water is a fundamental resource in any industrial process and as such is becoming a more and more important skill set in the engineering recruitment market.”

For more information on our Algeria based construction management roles contact Virginia.

To meet with a TRS representative in LNG 16 (Oran) contact John Rowlands.

TRS Staffing Solutions (UK) Receives ISO 9001:2008 Certification.

February 9, 2010 | Leave a Comment

TRS Staffing Solutions UK office has been awarded ISO 9001:2008 Certification for the provision of engineering and technical personnel on temporary and direct hire to a range of industries including rail and infrastructure, energy and chemicals, and power.

TRS focused on adjusting it’s quality policy manual to be in line with both Fluor’s Operating System Requirements (OSR) and the ISO requirements. Supporting practices were developed and will continue to be updated and improved to allow TRS to demonstrate consistency in the execution of their work, wherever they do business in their 13 office locations around the world. TRS President Taco de Haan believes that this provides TRS offices with a solid foundation to further enhance their management system and ensure that continual improvement is at the heart of the TRS client satisfaction culture. It will also allow TRS to have an even stronger value proposition towards their growing external client base.

“The establishment of an ISO certified TRS quality management system allows us to emphasize and enhance service delivery to our clients and candidates,” said de Haan. “Furthermore, TRS offices can now pursue service excellence recognition by benchmarking their policies and practices to international standards of quality recognition such as ISO 9001.”

In June 2009, under the management of Mike Innes, the UK office launched the ISO initiative. The objective was to enhance the competitive position of TRS among commercial competitors and realize the effectiveness of their recruitment practices.

“Our vision has always been the delivery of excellence in all that we do for, not only our clients and temporary staff, but our candidates and vendors alike. We want to use this ISO certification to help demonstrate to our current and future clients that TRS delivers quality and value at the highest professional level,” said Martin Foulser, Director of Operations. “This award is the result of a lot of hard work and dedication by everyone involved.”

For more information about TRS’ engineering recruitment service in the UK, email: info-uk@trsstaffing.com

Author: John Rowlands, TRS

TRS Staffing Celebrates it’s Silver Anniversary!

October 30, 2009 | 1 Comment

TRS Staffing Solutions Inc. celebrates its 25th anniversary this week. TRS began in Greenville, S.C., as DanPro in 1984 and was created to address the contract engineering needs of the Daniel International Corp. In the following 25 years, TRS has grown into a global player within the engineering staffing industry, supporting clients worldwide.

“I believe this is just the first of many milestones TRS will achieve, and we are anticipating a bright future as markets grow and opportunities emerge,” said Alan White, TRS president. “I want to thank all of the employees who have helped make TRS the leading technical staffing provider that it is today.”

TRS supplies high-quality talent to projects of every size and complexity, bringing engineers, designers, project managers and other technical, professional and administrative staff to Fluor and other leading industrial specialists around the world. Working across the entire life cycle of projects, TRS supports the five major business units of Fluor.

“Over the last 25 years, TRS has grown from a single office in Greenville to a network of 14 offices that spans the globe and has developed the ability to supply any project Fluor is engaged in,” White said.

TRS currently serves clients in North America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In addition, a number of associate partnerships extend its global reach across the Far East, Australia and South America. An established presence in the Middle East gives TRS direct access to emerging talent markets in India, Philippines and the Pacific Rim.

For more information, visit the TRS website at http://www.trsstaffing.com/ or contact us!

Author: Martin Foulser, TRS

Welcome to the TRS Staffing Blog!

June 3, 2009 | 2 Comments

TRS Staffing Solutions have over 25 years of experience as an engineering recruitment company supplying designers, project managers, engineers as well as many other professional and technical personnel to a huge variety of industries around the world.

With 17 recruitment offices around the world, we feel that our specialist local knowledge and experience of the engineering recruiters market makes us ideal to find the right person for the right role.

We offer a superb resourcing service to both employers and candidates. If you are looking for details on how we work and how we can help you wherever you may be based, please check out the country list to the right.

So what sets TRS Staffing apart from other engineering recruitment specialists? Our primary goal is to make sure that the job that we find for you is exactly the one that you are after.

The clients that we work with are well known market leaders in their specialist industries. On top of that we have access to a worldwide network of recruitment contacts that have been built up over the last 25 years. We always have hundreds of quality Engineering Job Vacancies available over a large variety of sectors and markets, meaning that we can find you a new job however niche your chosen career path may be!