CSG President Tony Bishop—It is About You Interview- with Brad Wolf

In February 2020, Connexis Search Group CEO Tony Bishop was interviewed by Brad Wolf to discuss how Connexis Search Group got started and what makes the company successful.

Connexis Search Groups President, Tony Bishop—It is About You Interview - with Brad Wolf

How It All Started

Brad Wolff: 00:01           

Welcome to the "It Is About You Podcast." Today I'm honored to have as my guest Tony Bishop with "Connexis Search Group." Tony, Welcome to the show!

Tony Bishop: 00:14        

Thank you, Brad. Honored to be here!

Brad Wolff: 00:16           

Absolutely! So if you would please share a little bit about yourself and "Connexis Search Group."

Tony Bishop: 00:22        

"Connexis Search Group." We're a permanent Placement Recruiting Firm, which means we place full-time employees in the Medical Device, Life Science, and Biotech Industries.  We place a wide variety of candidates from sales reps to Presidents.  We employ 25 recruiters, and I've been doing this for two decades.

Brad Wolff: 00:56

Awesome! So, if you would tell me a little bit about your journey that's brought you to where you are today as the Owner of Connexis Search Group.

Tony Bishop: 01:07        

I started my career as a chemist, working in a pharmaceutical laboratory.  It wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be, so I decided to try something else. I spoke to a lot of salespeople and started asking them questions about sales, and it sounded exciting.  I decided to give it try.  I worked for Life Science, and Diagnostic Companies and later moved into sales management.  

Tony Bishop: 02:13         

I enjoy training and developing the people that work with me.  I'm a big Tony Robbins follower.  I was living in Chicago, that's the first time I went to one of his seminars.   After attending the seminar, I realized that I wanted to become a business owner.   I quit a great job as a Regional Vice President working for a diagnostics company and started my career as a recruiter.

Tony Bishop: 03:13        

My wife was like, “ah, what are you doing?” we have two young kids, I’m not working, and you just left a corporate job, with an excellent base salary and company car. But it was my goal to own a business, and it was something I was passionate about.   So, for the last 20 years, that's what I've been doing. I had a partner who owned the company originally who brought me in. He was a great trainer, taught me the business, and became a mentor.  He pushed me to the next level.  I'm very grateful for Tom and his leadership. That's how I started twenty years ago.

What Makes Connexis Search Group Different?

Brad Wolff: 03:57           

Terrific! So the bottom line is you were, you know, very few people go into the Staffing and Recruiting business right out of school and but you were in the industries that you place people in, so you really have a deep understanding of those industries and then you just transition into helping companies hire the people they need in those industries.

Tony Bishop: 04:17        

Yeah! It helps to have industry knowledge.   I have 25 recruiters that work with me. Some of those are industry experts like me, and others are not from the industry.  The recruiters without industry experience; need assistance with learning our niches. It certainly makes a big difference to our clients to know their industry.

Brad Wolff: 04:53            

Right! Because that you’re in a niche and that’s what makes you valuable. So, tell me what excites you the most about your organization?

Tony Bishop: 05:02        

The most gratifying thing is to be a "Value Partner to be a "Resource" for our clients. After you've recruited for two decades, you have worked with enough companies to learn from their mistakes.  We work with small to medium size companies who are introducing new technology. The founders are brilliant people because they have created a unique technology. But on the other hand, many of them don't know how to commercialize a product or a test. The people we like to work with see us as a "Resource" to help guide their business beyond just recruiting. And to me, that's adding value.

Brad Wolff: 06:27           

So, you’re talking about “Partnering” with your clients to grow their business. Can you give me an example of what you would do typically that would really provide value to your clients that are trying to grow?

Tony Bishop: 06:40        

The main thing that we do with most of the companies is to offer advice on how to hire top talent and how to commercialize their business. I got to know the CEO of an early-stage company, and we talked many mornings at 6:30 because he was just an incredibly driven person, and that is when he had time to talk.

Tony Bishop: 07:32        

We recruited all the senior executives for that company.   Five years later, he sold the company for $450 million to Becton Dickinson. The CEO and I are still friends.

Tony Bishop: 08:29        

Currently, we are working with a company that has a great product, but they're not getting reimbursed for their test.  If you run a CLIA lab and are not getting paid, you are in trouble.  So, we offer suggestions regarding their reimbursement strategy.  We connect our clients with consultants that can advise them on the best strategy.  

The Importance of Training

Brad Wolff: 09:24           

Right! And the bottom line is payment isn’t necessarily automatic as it would be in a lot of businesses that you just send an invoice and you get paid. So, we talked about Partnering with your clients to help them grow their business. What else comes to your mind as a thing that makes your firm unique, Tony?

Tony Bishop: 09:40        

Training my staff is critical. My team should know how to hire future employees better than the people they're assisting.  I tell them it's not just a "Shotgun Approach," go get a bunch of candidates and submit them.  We need to know how to interview candidates.  How to figure out who they are and where they excel.  What kind of environment and culture they thrive in. Some people will thrive in small companies, some people medium size, and some large companies. Some people need a lot of autonomy. Some people need a lot of guidance. We spend a lot of time studying books on hiring. We'll pick a book and use it as a reference. Currently, we're studying Lou Adler's book on hiring. We have a meeting several times a month to research and learn new material.

Brad Wolff: 11:00           

So, training the Recruiting Staff on how to really know your candidates below the surface of what they’d be a good fit for or not. So, when you’re recommending people, it’s got a much higher rate of working out well with the client.

Tony Bishop: 11:18        

Yes. I think that's our obligation. If they hire us, then we should be experts at what we do. And the only way to become an expert at anything is to study and learn. It never stops.

Molecular Diagnostics, Life Science and Biotechnology Niches

Brad Wolff: 11:34           

Yeah! Ongoing! And I want to highlight this point, Tony, because I know having been in the Staffing Recruiting Business for 25 years myself, that is not something that most firms do. You are unique in that, and it offers real value to your client and the success of your employees. So, what else comes to mind as a key thing that makes your firm unique? Tony?

Tony Bishop: 11:59        

The niches we serve. We have been in the molecular diagnostics and life science space for 20 years. Many of our recruiters have industry experience.  Some of our recruiters were VP's of Fortune 500 Life Science and Diagnostic companies.  The expertise and knowledge that we have are undoubtedly valuable to our clients. There are many nuances that you just don't pick up overnight.  You must have an understanding of the industries you serve.

 credible.

Brad Wolff: 13:05           

That’s a big deal because a generalist doesn’t know what they don’t know. So they don’t realize some of the nuances of that industry that are important to determine who is, who are the right candidates and where to find them and how to determine if they really are a fit. They’re not going to know that you have, they’re going to think that they get it because they have some keywords on a resume. So that I want to, you know, emphasize that really is a big point, a value to your clients. Anything else that comes to mind that you feel makes your organization unique?

Tony Bishop: 13:41        

Delivering candidates that meet the hiring managers' requirements is critical.  Hiring managers are busy and can't spend a lot of time reviewing resumes.  We only present candidates that meet our client's specs.

Brad Wolff: 14:33           

Well, I do my job for me?

Tony Bishop: 14:35        

Yeah! It's just not fair to the hiring managers --to send them unqualified candidates. They get frustrated with that whole process. Our part is to deliver 3 to 4 good candidates that are right on the money. So that the hiring manager, all they had to decide is, who's a better fit for me?

Brad Wolff: 14:58           

Absolutely! And then is there anything else you do with respect to helping the clients be on placements?

Tony Bishop: 15:07        

On-boarding is also important.  We want to make sure a new hire settles into their job quickly.   We stay in touch with candidates after they have started their new job to ensure they are happy.

Tony Bishop: 15:22        

The candidate guarantee period is one of the components of negotiating an agreement. 90 days is typical for a contingency search. With a retained search, we'll do a six- or 12-months guarantee, depending on the search.   We focus on providing our clients with candidates that will become top-performing employees that stay with them for many years.

Brad Wolff: 16:13           

I never thought that person would last that long. We got lucky this time!

Tony Bishop: 16:17        

There are a lot of bad apples in recruiting--- who just want to take your money, and they don't want to add value. They're out there hustling, and they don't care. I do care about my reputation. So if a client calls me to tell me a candidate is not working out and they are past their guarantee period, we will work with them to resolve the issue.

Tony Bishop: 16:58        

If they’re communicating with me, I give them time to make sure they have hired the right candidate.  During the 90 days, we interact with the hiring manager and the candidate.  We serve as a liaison between the two parties to resolve issues.

We had to intervene one time with a candidate that was unhappy with the company car she received. She was ready to resign because her manager promised her a new car, but the fleet manager gave her a used car.   It as more a matter of trust, since she was promised a new car.

Brad Wolff: 17:50           

These things may sound a little; they can be a big deal, especially because it's the difference that the expectation was a new car.

Tony Bishop: 17:58        

Brad--you are correct.   The Area Vice President told her she would receive a brand-new car. That was part of the deal.  I called the Area Vice President, and I told him the situation. He called Fleet Management and resolved the issue.  Communication was all it took to resolve the issue.

Brad Wolff: 18:40           

Right! Because you know, you don’t want to seem like some ungrateful diva that you got a car but Oh! It wasn’t the car I wanted.

Tony Bishop: 18:45        

Right!

Brad Wolff: 18:46           

These are real value-added because the transition period can be rocky, and you can help smooth that over because people can share with you what's going on that they're not sure how to share with their direct employer.

Tony Bishop: 18:58        

Right!

             Overcoming obstacles

Brad Wolff: 18:58           

Or with the candidate. So Tony, would you share any failure or obstacle, a failure you’ve had or obstacle you’ve overcome that’s been pivotal to your success?

Tony Bishop: 19:12        

Yeah! I have one that's drastic.  I was buying out my partner, and several of my top recruiters decided to leave the firm.  They wanted to be partners in the business but did not want to help me secure the loan.   They wanted ownership, with no commitment or risk.  I did not give in, and they left.  It was hard at first, but I worked harder than ever before and made the business stronger.   Several recruiters stuck with me and are still with me today. Surviving and thriving after this event has made me realize that I can handle anything.  I especially appreciated the recruiters that stayed with me.

Brad Wolff: 22:44           

So as we’re winding this down, Tony, what websites, books, or other things would you like to tell the audience about?

Tony Bishop: 22:52        

Oh gosh! I am a self-development freak. I'm a Tony Robbins fan.  I've watched him for 30 years. Tony Robbins, I love his stuff. I like "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". I started reading his books when I first got into recruiting and learned how to create passive income — buying commercial office buildings and multi-family rental homes.

Brad Wolff: 23:33           

So you didn’t have a rich dad that handed you money?

Tony Bishop: 23:35        

No.

Brad Wolff: 23:36           

So Rich Dad? Poor Dad? One of them would apply, right?

Tony Bishop: 23:40        

Yeah! Poor Dad. I had a good dad, but he just didn't know how to make money. So, I had to read books to teach me how to generate a passive income stream.