Most hiring managers have worked with recruiters. Fewer have been placed by one first. Colby Jackson has done both and his experience on both sides of the process gives him a perspective worth hearing.
As Infrastructure Manager at BrightView Landscapes, he’s building a department from the ground up, and RennerBrown has been a consistent partner at every stage.
In this conversation, he reflects on what it was like to be placed by RennerBrown, his impact for the client, how that experience shaped his decision to hire through them, and why their pre-screening process has become an essential part of how he builds his team.
How did you first connect with RennerBrown?
Right around the time I was thinking about a job offer from another company, Gregg Chaillet, Sr. Technical Recruiter at RennerBrown, reached out to me about an opportunity. He and I had a conversation, then he introduced me to Michael Petrisko, Chief Technology Officer at BrightView Landscapes, and three interviews later, they decided to hire me.
Tell us about your work for Brightview?
As the infrastructure manager, I’ve been focused on maturing the IT department since joining in mid-November. Drawing on my experience working with large companies, where robust policies and procedures are the norm, I’ve been working to bring that same level of structure and process to Brightview.
Working with our CTO, who I report to, has really been a blessing. It’s a breath of fresh air. He has given me full reins to pursue strategies and solutions I know will align with the company’s goals while keeping things cost-conscious.
Our largest current project is a full data center migration. That involves everything from initial configuration to physically racking servers, switches, and storage. We’re also moving our disaster recovery site, which is currently in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, which is no longer functioning, and our production site in Arizona, to our Allentown location, which will then become our primary site. We’re also in the process of implementing a new phone system to receive calls from our call center, which will have some AI components on the front end.
In most organizations I’ve worked at, we had to show thorough justification for headcount. There were a lot of hoops to jump through showing employee time management, ticket counts, and incident reports to be in a position that I could justify that headcount. Since I’ve been in this field for so many years, I know how many people it takes to run a successful IT infrastructure department. At Brightview, they see that value and have given me full rein over getting the talent we need in place.
How has your experience been with RennerBrown?
I really enjoy it; it’s been a great opportunity, and everyone has been incredibly welcoming and supportive. I also have worked closely with them to bring in additional resources for my team.
In fact, about half of my current staff came through Renner, which gives me a good opportunity to get a real sense of candidates and make sure they’re the right fit for the organization. We hired a network engineer and two system engineers through them. We’re currently interviewing one additional person for an Azure resource, and then we’re looking at a DBA who would report to me as well.
What does RennerBrown do differently that allows them to turn around candidates so quickly?
One of the things I really appreciate about working with Renner is their thorough pre-screening process. They cut through a large pool of candidates to identify the right fit for the organization, vetting people on skills, salary requirements, and all the other heavy lifting that would otherwise fall on my shoulders. By the time a candidate reaches me, they’ve already decided they want to move forward. It really takes a significant burden off my plate.
For the most recent Azure resource role, it was nice to have RennerBrown set up the interview. It was an eye opener on certain candidates that are out there. One in particular was asking for the sky. And I know a lot of candidates don’t want to commute, they prefer to be remote, which won’t work since driving into the office five days a week is mandated. But Renner has gone through and set expectations with candidates from the beginning so I’m not wasting my time.
That’s true for skill sets too. Renner goes through and weeds out those instances of people who don’t fit by having an in-depth preliminary discussion with candidates. So, a lot of time and energy are off my shoulders knowing that they have a solid pre-screening and get a good understanding of the candidate before they go to me.
RennerBrown has really streamlined the hiring process. They thoroughly vet the potential employee, simplifying everything from start to finish. They handle everything from salary negotiations all the way to dealing with benefits and vacation time.
If you’re building a team and want a recruiting partner who does the heavy lifting before a candidate ever reaches your desk, reach out to the RennerBrown team to start the conversation.
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