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Helping Companies Hire Smarter and Grow Faster with Dylan Werner of Elevate Talent Advisors 8-3-26
00:11:52
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- [00:01]
A
When you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there's no room for slowdowns. With Grainger's vast selection of high quality motors, sensors, belts and hard to find parts, you can get what you need fast and all in one place. So nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [00:30]
B
This is Scott Becker with the Becker Business and Becker Private Equity Podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by a founder, Dylan Werner. Dylan with his brother Brett run a talent firm, a recruiting firm, search firm, Elevate Talent Advisors. Fantastic entrepreneurs. There's so much I admire about them. And Dylan, let me get started and have you introduce yourself and tell us about Elevate Talent Advisors.
- [00:59]
C
Well, first of all, thank you for having us on again. You have been an absolute blessing to us since we started about two and a half years ago and I sent you that random LinkedIn message and you're having us on the podcast the other things. And just getting to know you has been fantastic. So thank you. But yes, I am Dylan Werner. I am the founder of Elevate Talent Advisors, which is a full time permanent placement recruiting firm. We always say our niche is that we don't have a niche and I know that that doesn't ring well in today's world, but really we have found that the way we operate and the way we do things works well in multiple industries. And that's kind of what we've been doing. We're in law, we're in construction, we're logistics and really any industry that gives us the chance, Brett and I are or two guys that have to win and our backs against the wall and our clients love that type of attitude. We're coming in to prove who we are and what we can do and there's no BS on our side. All systems go.
- [02:05]
B
Take a second and tell us sort of what does a typical engagement look like for you? Whether from a company or an individual trying to place somebody or a company trying to play to find somebody. What does that typical engagement look like and how do you go about it?
- [02:21]
C
Yeah, so Brett and I have decided to split into two roles. Brett is doing mostly our business development. So he is out in the world networking. He is one of the best networkers can go into a room and leave knowing everything about anybody there is, you know, and I was just telling Scott a little bit before this that I Had him sign up for us for some, you know, insurance luncheon, insurance panel. We know nothing really about insurance. And you know, I ended up not being able to make it. Brett said, don't worry, I'll go and, and do it myself. And he sat down with guys he's never met before, networked and ended up leaving with some clients. So that's what Brett's doing. He's going out there and turning on new logos for us. He passes that over to me and I kind of run the rest of the shop. I do the recruiting, the operations, the account management, help the accounts grow. You know, what we do is we get job descriptions in. We, you know, look them over and then go straight to our different technology pieces that we have. LinkedIn recruiter, indeed what have you and go and try to search for the correct person. While we're doing that, I also am talking to all our other candidates or companies that we worked with in the past saying, hey, I got this job. Who do you know? Who do you know that might be a good fit for this role and try to network that way. So we're going at it from multiple angles, trying to find the best person.
- [03:44]
B
And if a company hires you, you know, a small business hires you, a mid sized business hires you, how does that work? What does that cost? What does that look like? You don't have to give me specifics, but give me the general of how that works.
- [03:54]
C
Sure. There's multiple different ways that we run it. And you know, being such a small team, we're able to be flexible and make it work for, for our clients. Not saying that we always just undercut the market and say, hey, we'll give you a cheaper fee. But there's, there's a few different ways if you have a very important role that you say, hey, this is mission critical, we need this person tomorrow. We would say, okay, what we would need is some sort of retainer up front. We need that buy in from you. We are about to drop everything else that we're doing and we're going to focus solely on this role. If you have roles that you're like, hey, we're constantly hiring salespeople, it's kind of 365. We might go with it from a contingent, hey, we're going to go out, we're going to do the work for you. If we find somebody, we'll send them to you and if the interview process goes great and you hire them, that's what you'll pay us. So it really depends. We are Leaning now and I think the industry as a whole for those that are looking for recruiters, are honestly leaning more towards the retainer route because of all the work that we're doing to go out and try to find candidates. And if your company is hiring and they take weeks to respond and it's slow and we've done all that work, we kind of just wasted our time. So I would expect for anybody that's looking for a recruiter to be prepared for that retained pitch coming your way.
- [05:13]
B
Thank you. Got it. And that makes sure that the company's actually serious about hiring and not sort of messing around with it so that you actually. A much better chance of commitment on both sides.
- [05:24]
C
Exactly. And with the contingent too. We did, we charge a certain percent of the first year salary, which is, you know, pretty standard fee there. But yes, it's all about getting the buy in from your company. I'm going to go do this work for you. I'm going to go find the person. I'm serious about this. If you guys are serious about hiring, you know, then let's do it. You know, you would pay that retainer to make sure you get the best service possible. If you're passively looking, you know, then I'm kind of going to be passively looking on my end too. Hopefully something comes up. But if you want the best service, you got to pay for it.
- [05:58]
B
No, it makes a lot of sense. And talk about as you get into the second half of the year, get into next year, what are you most focused on and excited about?
- [06:06]
C
Yeah, so this is a backup business podcast first, but we are. You guys are learning about this first, but we are launching kind of a new subsidiary of our business and this is going to be called the Werner Advisory Group. It's the same thing as eta, but what we have found in is a ton of business owners that are making, let's say 250 grand to 5 million in revenue that can't sell their business and they don't know what else to do. You know, they are, they're doing the marketing, they're doing the sales, they're doing the operations. They might have a small team, but they are their backs against the wall. They're pulling their hair out. They're saying, PE doesn't want to buy me. I'm not that big yet. We have now created a small marketplace for these companies to go and find other companies that they can roll up into. So we have worked on a few deals that we've closed so far this year where we're basically running the recruiting process. But for companies that are looking to roll up into something new and get started that way. And so owners may get a little piece of equity in the new company or some sort of buyout over the course of a couple of years that they get to do what they love, they get to get back into what they started. Let's say it's a law firm that gets back to law and stop worrying about everything else and get back to a better quality of life. You know, that, that is something that we're super, super excited about and seen some success with so far as well as, you know, on the recruiting front. I think I been telling everybody this lately. Turn off the tv, turn off the radio, turn off the news. The world's a great place, people are hiring, the market is still hot. You just have to find what industries are hot right now. You know, whether that's the trades, whether that's focusing on AI. I'm super excited for people to just realize that, hey, there's no doom and gloom out there. If you want it, you can go out and get it. There's a job out there for everybody. Still no.
- [08:02]
B
And I love that because you hear so much about how tough the market is. But at the end of the day, the economy's moving, people are getting jobs, people are trying to make things happen. So I think that just is absolutely great, great advice. And I think that's right on. I could not agree more. I think that's, that just is a great thought process. And talk about for companies trying to hire, what advice would you give to companies trying to hire?
- [08:26]
C
Speed. It's all about speed. You have to have your interview process down, packed before you even have the first call. You know, I couldn't tell you the amount of times where I have a first round interview and then it goes two weeks, two and a half weeks, three weeks before we have that next round interview. Candidates lose interest. People forget about what they even talk about. Candidates are in other interviews that are going faster and thinking, hey, this company is, is showing me who they are in a better way, that I'd rather go and work for them. So speed is definitely something that we have been coaching all of our clients on as well as I think it's very, very important for clients to understand, yes, they are looking for someone to hire, they're trying to get someone to join their team, but candidates are thinking about it the same way. People always forget this. Candidates aren't just looking for whoever's going to hire me first. They are interviewing companies at the exact same time. So you know, if you're, if your process is slow, if it's unorganized, if you're not asking the right questions, if you're having too many rounds for nonsense, candidates are going to lose interest. They're interviewing too. So I think that's very important for everybody to know. It's speed. Show them who you are, show them that you're serious. But also understand you got to wow the candidates as well. It's not just a one way street.
- [09:48]
B
I mean it really is. You've got to sell them as much as they're selling you. Particularly to get the right candidates that are hard to get.
- [09:55]
C
Exactly. You know, people are looking for jobs. That doesn't mean they're just going to take the first thing that comes comes their way, you know, so it's, it's really about, it's really a two way street. It's really about showing them, hey, we are the company that you're going to want to come work for. You can, you can do very well here. And how, how you interview is how you operate your business. So if you're interviewing slow and, and it's a mess and all these things, chances are behind the scenes the company's a mask 100%.
- [10:22]
B
And Dylan, how do people reach you? How do they reach Brett? How do they get engaged with you to start working with you?
- [10:31]
C
You can find us on LinkedIn. It's got all of our information on there. If you're a basketball player and you're in the North Shore area, you probably know Brett. He runs a big AAU basketball program and he is the master of networking through basketball and that kind of stuff. But yes, you can find us on LinkedIn, connect with us or if we have mutual connection, ask a mutual connection for our phone numbers. We take every single call. You know, there's a lot of times where I may not be able to help somebody, but I can always point them into the right direction of someone else that may be able to. So there's no role too small, too big. If we can't do it, we will help you find the person that can.
- [11:10]
B
Thank you so much, Dylan. It's always magnificent to visit with you. Who is the better athlete, you or Brett?
- [11:17]
C
Such a great question, you know, so we grew, we played, we played two different sports. You know, he was a basketball player, I was a boxer. You know, I fought in Chicago Golden Gloves. I trained people in boxing and do actively today. So when it became we're brothers, so even golf became physical. When it became physical, I would have the dominant edge. But it only became physical because I was getting my butt kicked by my little brother and everything.
- [11:42]
B
So he might have good hand eye coordination, but we would take you in a fight.
- [11:47]
C
Exactly. He's got the jump shot. Although we've been, we've been doing some three point competitions. I'm getting back at it. But he's, he's definitely got the hand eye coordination, the brains. I'm more of the bronze. You know, I'll, you'll take me in the fight any day. Those are good money.
- [12:03]
B
Bet you got to have some of both. I got to tell you what, Dylan, it's always fantastic to visit with you. God bless you and your brother. I love what you do. I mean, huge fan. Thank you so much for joining us today on the Becker Business and the Becker Private Equity Podcast. Look forward to visiting with you more. A total pleasure.
- [12:19]
C
Thank you so much.
- [12:23]
A
When you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there is no room for slowdowns. With Grainger's vast selection of high quality motors, sensors, belts, and hard to find parts, you can get what you need fast and all in one place. So nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-granger clickranger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.