GA Rogers & Associates: Bend's Search Guy Helps Take Clients to the Next Level

Bend, Ore., May 25, 2022- GA Rogers & Associates was founded to help companies hire top talent to fill mission-critical leadership roles. Quinn Hanson, also known as Bend's Search Guy, manages all things technical and executive recruiting for the organization in Central Oregon. Quinn, along with his colleagues, focus on placing C-Suite, Supervisor, and Management skillset people in the right roles, helping take their client companies to the next level.

We sat down with Quinn to learn more about how GA Rodgers is impacting businesses and job seekers in Central Oregon, and what drives them.

EDCO: Tell us about yourself/background and GA Rogers

Quinn: I'm the Manager of all things technical and executive recruiting for GA Rogers here in Central Oregon. We're about one year into GAR existing as an independent entity, prior to that, our executive search team was fully integrated with PrideStaff (owned and operated by Matt Ertle). We separated the two divisions to have dedicated resources to serve the growing demand in Bend for hiring senior level and technical roles. The business has been around for about 6 years now. Our focus is leadership roles in accounting, engineering, and construction services (always happy to talk about other areas as well).

EDCO: What services does GA Rodgers provide?

Quinn: Executive Search is all about finding the right people, to put in the right seats, to take companies to their next level. The typical process is to meet with a company to understand at a deep level what it is they do, what gap they have on their team, and who the ideal person to fill that gap is. From there, we will build out a strategy to go find the right person. We also wear our consulting hats to help companies define what a role should look like, pay rates, recruiting and retention strategies and tackle any other people-related challenges. For jobseekers out there, whether here in town or trying to relocate here, we provide resources on local companies, resume & interview advice, and will help people define their career paths as well.

EDCO: Who is your ideal client and how can you help?

Quinn: The ideal client for us is a business that takes building its team as seriously as providing its product or service. The right team can make all the difference between a company being mediocre and being excellent. Hiring that team is the challenge we solve.

EDCO: Why operate a business in Central Oregon?

Quinn: The fast answer here is the easy one; lifestyle. What that means, though, is that we want to build a business in a place that people are excited to live in. We want to be in a place that people brag about. Bend, like many mountain towns, is full of people with great entrepreneurial energy, a genuine enthusiasm towards the outdoors and an attitude I can only explain as "win and help win." The lifestyle in Bend is a natural byproduct of the attitude people here have - do good work, spend time outside, love those around you, share smiles. That's the main driver for building a business here in Bend.

EDCO: Can you share any stories of success, challenges, or pivoting?

Quinn: Being in the people business, there are huge swings on a weekly basis; high highs and low lows. To start with the challenges - people can be hard to pin down! There is a literal shortage of people (as in we are not making enough babies) that makes it tough to find the right person. The reward at the end of a successful search, though, is always worth it. Our successes include helping hundreds of people navigate their careers, negotiate salaries, identify new roles, find new industries, relocate to Bend or get into something totally fulfilling. We've helped dozens of companies find the missing link their team needed.

EDCO: Do you have a story of success you’d like to share about your business?

Quinn: Confidentiality is a promise we make to everyone we work with. That said, it's fun to celebrate wins. A couple of big wins recently include helping a local engineering firm bring in a senior technical project manager within days of first talking about the position. Without a finalized job description, we were able to use our existing relationship and knowledge of the business to connect the right person into the role in a matter of days.

Another recent win includes helping a local finance professional get into a more senior role that has the structure and mentorship to take their career to the next level.

Also, GA Rodgers recently received an award given to less than 2% of recruiting agencies in the US and Canada- ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing® Client and Talent Award.

EDCO: What does your future look like and what are some of your goals?

Quinn: One of the goals we have here at GAR is to be writing the lead investment checks for the EDCO Bend Venture Conference. What better way to support local business than fund the next generation of builders, founders, and doers?

EDCO: What else would you like to share with us?

Quinn: As a team, we are able to use the know-how and experience of recruiters all across the country (we have sisters offices in ~40 states).

EDCO: Any recent news stories you’d like us to share?

G.A. Rogers & Associates Wins ClearlyRated's 2022 Best of Staffing® Client and Talent Awards

EDCO: How do you support EDCO and why?

Quinn: Our team is at as many EDCO events as possible! We're members of the organization as well and love what the team at EDCO does.