“I’m looking through the list and seeing all of these powerhouses, these huge companies,” Truitt said.
When she reached No. 37 on the list of 250 top executive recruiting firms, her interest evolved into utter excitement.
“I was like, ‘We’re on the list. We’re on the list,’ and it was super exciting because all of these massive companies were on the list, and then there we were,” Truitt said.
Veronica Ramirez, CEO and president of Joseph Chris Partners likened the recognition to winning a People’s Choice Award for recruiting firms.
Forbes’ list ranks companies based on survey results from thousands of recruiters, employees and human resource managers. Participants listed their choices of up to 10 top recruiting firms. 20,000 recommendations were collected from the survey. Firms that received the most recommendations achieved the highest rankings.
“This is a really great thing for us because that says a lot,” Ramirez said. “This is from years and years of dedicated people on the team who really focus on customer service, the quality of work that we do, always being present and taking care of our team, and doing it with integrity.”
Making it on Forbes’ list of “Best Executive Recruiting Firms” is cause enough for celebration in and of itself; however, the accomplishment’s significance was amplified because it arrived in a milestone year for the firm.
“This was a super awesome birthday present for our 40th year,” Truitt said.
Joseph Chris Partners performs executive recruiting and consulting to the real estate development and construction industries. They do consulting with clients and professionals throughout the industry both inside and outside the United States.
Ramirez’s father, Joe Ramirez, began Joseph Chris Partners in Houston in 1977.
“My dad started it out of his garage and built it up,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez grew up in Kingwood. In 1986, her father decided to bring Joseph Chris Partners closer to home and set up a location at the front of Kingwood. Eventually it moved farther into Kingwood, and is now located at Kings Harbor.
Ramirez worked for her father’s company, learning the ins-and-outs and taking on increasingly greater responsibilities. When her father decided to retire several years ago, she approached him about letting her purchase the company. Her parents decided to sell Joseph Chris Partners to Ramirez.
Over the years, Ramirez has concentrated on building a culture of employee appreciation. In 2012, she incorporated equity opportunity for reliable, longstanding team members.
Erica Lockwood, executive/equity partner at Joseph Chris Partners, believes employee retention rate is one of the company’s exceptional features.
“We have a really high average amount of year tenure, which is very unique in the recruiting and staffing industry, period,” Lockwood said. “You usually don’t find that.”
Under Ramirez, the firm has taken on new concepts to promote team-building through group activities – for example, the upcoming company 40th anniversary disco-themed party.
“We brought a lot of new ideas into the organization just to keep it fresh and really support the next generation of millennials that are coming into the company,” Ramirez said. “We try to create a culture here where you can just be yourself. It keeps good relationships within the team. We work hard, but have fun doing it.”
The firm has extended relationship-building beyond its clients and employees by taking part in community engagement and service initiatives.
“We’re going into our third year of putting on what we call, ‘Turn Kings Harbor Blue,'” Truitt said. “We office here at beautiful Kings Harbor. We are very supportive of our law enforcement community and showing appreciation for everything they do. So, a couple of years ago, Veronica had an idea to put on a community event right here in our back yard to show support for them.”
On Friday, Nov. 10, Joseph Chris Partners will host its third annual Turn Kings Harbor Blue event from 6 to 9 p.m. at Kings Harbor. The community is invited to enjoy the live music and food while appreciating local law enforcement officers.
“This year’s going to be bigger than it’s ever been,” Truitt said. “We’ve got vendor interest. It’s a very well-received and enjoyable thing for all of us to participate in.”
For Joseph Chris Partners’ 40th anniversary year, the firm has set a fundraising goal of $40,000 to go toward building a house for Habitat for Humanity.
On June 3, Joseph Chris Partners team members were actually onsite helping to construct a home for Habitat for Humanity.
“We went out there and actually got to put on the safety goggles and swing hammers and get on ladders and it was a really wonderful experience,” Truitt said.
Moving forward, Ramirez looks forward to expanding the scope of what Joseph Chris Partners has to offer. As she looks back on the last 40 years, she attributes the company’s survival to the dedicated team.
“My family’s been in this business for a long time,” Ramirez said. “Not many family businesses last multi-generations, so it’s an incentive for me to keep pushing hard and keep us together. I keep it family-oriented because these guys are more than just employees, they’re team members. We are all here for each other, and I am looking forward to hitting another 40 years.”
For more information about Joseph Chris Partners, visit www.josephchris.com.
To view Forbes’ “America’s Best Recruiting Firms 2017,”
http://visit https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2017/05/03/americas-best-recruiting-firms-2017/#13a080c330f8