1511 – A Path to Success with Mark Pointe’s Tim Bridges

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0:54With us right now, it's Tim Bridges. Tim, you are the CEO of MarkPoint. You're found on the web at MarkPoint, with an E at the end, MarkPointe.com. Tim, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you for having me, Josh. I really appreciate your support and I look forward to the interview. Heck yes. All right. So what does MarkPoint do? Well, we are a recruitment and staffing service. We were focused namely in midstream oil and gas. And during the downturn, we shifted into downstream and supporting oil and gas construction and maintenance projects with temporary staff. so it's been a it's been a journey coming through this economy but we've shifted a few times and you know stayed afloat and and we're still here today and we have a few other sectors that we've touched in like IT and telecommunications here recently and most recently we're also approaching health care because it seems like there's a big need for that.

2:12And we're looking to support busy business sectors is what our claim is. So, yeah. So we're recording this in March 2023. Give us a quick state of the union on where we are with oil and gas right now, the energy sector. How's the economy doing there? Well, I am also a member in the Houston Pipeliners Association and San Antonio Pipeliners Association. So, you know, attending events and meetings, we, it seems like the bid packages are all starting to come out more this year, which is good, because, you know, the past year, too, it's been, it's been pretty hard, as far as midstream goes. And with the rest of the economy and energy, usually it kind of follows oil and gas historically.

3:10And so as these projects pick up, you'll usually see other sectors and things getting more busy as well. But there has been a big shift into other sectors like solar and wind energy. And so we've tried to approach those things. And given the opportunity, I think we could really give them some new labor support there. But we hadn't been able to really break into those sectors yet. Yeah. And so share where you fit in. So what is the gap that a potential employer has? And how do you help them with that? Yeah, yeah. Well, for us, you know, recruitment is recruitment. And so companies to stay afloat have to have the right employees and the right talent experience.

4:12And a lot of times they have their own atmospheres that they create. And so where we fit in is instead of our competition likes to just throw a ton of resumes at you. But where we fit in is rather than give you a mountain of resumes, we're just going to recruit for your atmosphere. And so whatever the role is, we're going to dial into that, create a job description and a profile, if you will, and go hunt down that specific character with the right expertise and a humbleness about them and the eagerness to do the job, which has really become a hard thing to do here these past few years with the great resignation and everything else.

5:02However, we've been able to really help out some clients and bring them talent that not only does the role that they've recruited them for, but they generally move up pretty soon afterwards and get some pay increases as well. because we provide the right. If I'm in the energy sector or, you know, because I know you've got so much familiarity with that, or, you know, I would say the same thing to the other sectors that you're working in. And I want to be a really attractive employer to future team members. What are some of the things that you would recommend today to meet the, I would say, expectations of today's job seeker?

5:46Yeah, yeah. Um, well, probably even prior to this timeframe is, uh, lining up a, a good, um, a good, uh, showing them the way, you know, showing them how they're going to come in and do this job, but what's, what's next, you know, what, what, what can they move up to, to do? Um, uh, how can they better themselves and their family? That's what everybody's looking for is a lot of people are just hunting more money, of course. But most people that I talk to are really just looking for a path, you know, a path to success for them and their family. And so I like to just say, okay, well, if I'm going to recruit this guy for this role, in the field, is there going to be a path to an office position one day?

6:47Are they going to be able to become a foreman in the field? Are they going to be able to become a supervisor? Are they going to be able to become a project manager eventually? What's the path that this character is going to go on this journey with you? And so I think if companies can do that and line up a good path for their new hires. I think that that's where a good amount of retention comes in. And that's why it's a good service for us to provide is because we carry our candidates through that path, that journey. And heck, I still have guys calling me years down the road after they hired on and said, Hey, Tim, I'm actually a supervisor now.

7:33And I'm like, yes, that was the point of this, you know, or, or, you know, a sales lady who was assistant to, to a VP of sales, who is now leading, you know, senior salesperson, and, and really well known in the industry. So, So it's just, you know, here's the path that you're going to take. And here's what you can do if you apply yourself and listen to the words that come out of my mouth. When we think about the energy industry and where the jobs are or where the demand is. Um, so obviously, you know, it, it takes a, it takes an entire community, uh, you know, to be able to do, you know, what an energy company needs to done.

8:26It's not just, you know, the jobs aren't, well, you're going to be out on a rig or you're going to be out in the field. And there's some, yeah, I mean, there's some roles out there for sure, but there's a lot of everything that needs to be filled. Right. Yes. And so that's why I didn't want to just focus on the field service aspect of it. You know, we've actually hired accounting people and things like that as well for organizations. organizations and so um for me it's just i want to help the most people that i can and that was really the point of all this you know you don't just step away from a 150 000 a year job to come build this company for zero dollars you know just and you know you're not building it really for yourself.

9:17You know, I don't know that people build companies just for themselves. I feel like you have this, you have this need to maybe help a lot of people. And, and that's kind of why I did it was, I always loved recruitment, and I wanted to help a lot of people. And I had a big network, And I wanted to use my network to help other people get jobs. And, you know, because I've been through, you know, 2008, 2009, where it's just almost impossible to get a job. And it's very similar to what we're going through now. And so I wanted to build something so that I could help out during times like now and help people in their careers.

10:08and uh you know and that's that's really been a blessing uh but it's been a lot of heartache as well going through this economy as a new business so yeah so where does like doing what you do um where does growth take place like how do you network and like how do you grow your business in in staffing i i would imagine relationships are right it's all about your relationships, right? Exactly, exactly. Yeah. So yeah, it's about building relationships. So a lot of sales have come from past co workers that now run their own companies or past companies that I've worked with, or worked for. Also, you know, just utilizing the networks, you know, like I had mentioned earlier, networking, attending events, having booths at events and, you know, networking with other people showing in things like the PPIM was just last month.

11:20And so networking with those events are also looking for good talent. So, you know, just finding the busy business sectors and building relationships face-to-face with people. You can try it over the phone. It just doesn't work as well, which is kind of why I made an initiative this year to get on camera a whole lot more than I have in the past. Because people want to see you. People want to see how you behave and treat other people. And you can't really do that over the phone as well. Yeah. Well, Tim, who should be reaching out to you? And how can you help them? Yes, sir. Well, anybody really that's looking to hire.

12:16It could be a small to medium-sized business. Most large businesses already have a recruitment department. but we can help large businesses as well for, let's say, tough to recruit roles. And we do. We have a few large companies that we work with as well that are nationwide. So, you know, nationwide, the U.S., if you are busy and needing some good talent, you know, hire us. It doesn't cost anything unless you choose our candidate. And then it's just a percentage of their annual salary is what we bill. So it's a real simple program, simple agreement. And, you know, anybody looking to hire, we can help.

13:08Yeah, right, right. Who, like, what are some organizations that you've worked with historically? And how have you, like, what success have you co-created together? um well um i don't usually throw my well you don't have to you don't have to specific names but uh yeah so a company that you know yeah be as generic as you like yeah yeah um well uh like i said we've started in midstream and so you know a lot of oil and gas i'm familiar with the process from upstream to midstream to downstream. And yeah. And could you make sure to explain what those three things are in the industry? Cause we're talking about like three different, you know, kind of operational sectors to this.

13:57Yeah. So, you know, upstream is, is you're pumping and drilling out of the ground and, and getting, let's say oil and gas out of the ground. And so it's a whole process there, But once it's out of the ground, it has to be transferred to across the U.S. to a central location. And so that's the midstream part of it. So pipeline. And so transferring product is is midstream. And then your downstream is where they're processing it, maybe turning it into different petrochemicals or what have you. So the plants are mostly downstream, the processors. And so I've bid billion dollar projects cross country pipeline.

14:45And so there's a lot that goes into that, you know, for welding and and stringing out all this pipe. you're dealing with a ton of vendors you're dealing with a ton of services and you know I've also managed some multi-million dollar projects so a lot of moving pieces a lot of players a lot of vendors and suppliers and consumables and so I understand the process of cross-country construction really well. And so really it's a big help to understand that so intimately because it involves so many different moving parts and players and dealing with your vendors. You may deal with accounting or you might deal with the project manager or the owner of a company.

15:42And so I've dealt with a lot of different people along the way. And so now what we're focused on now is the recruitment piece. And so I've dealt with all those people at all these different companies along the way. And so I usually generally get the last interview before we present a candidate. And so I'm really good at sizing people up. So, you know, understanding the organization that we're working with and so many different sectors of focus. And then getting that final interview, it generally gets the client a really good candidate. And that's what we call the right candidate. So that's our claim there.

16:28Awesome. All right. Well, again, Tim Bridges, your website is markpointwithane.com. So it's markpoint.com. And again, it's M-A-R-K-P-O-I-N-T-E.com. When somebody goes there and they're like, well, you know, we're definitely looking to staff up. Sure. Tim can help us. I'd love to have a conversation. Like what, what do they do next after hearing this conversation? Yeah, there's a, there's a contact us page and there's a form on there. And as soon as they fill that out, it comes in and generally I'll just grab the phone and give them a call and talk it out and see if we're a good fit or not. So try to simplify our processes down to a button click of a mouse.

17:16So all the way through. But for people that are looking for open roles, we also have each of the sectors that I mentioned, there's a page on our site for them to go and see what open roles we have and, you know, put the resume in. So, you know, we, we market to the candidate as well as the client. So, yeah. All right. Well, again, Tim Bridges, markpoint.com. Tim, thank you so much for the conversation. Thank you, Josh. Good to visit with you. Thank you for having me.

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