As Community Relations Director at an executive search firm, Megan McQuade’s expertise lies in driving external people strategy. TruPath’s mission is to provide organizations with culturally aligned talent, with an external focus on the communities, partnerships, clients and job seekers that the firm support. Megan’s position is critical in building these relationships to continue providing exceptional service to others.
We checked in with Megan to learn more about her role at executive search firm, TruPath, and her thoughts on community.
What’s your story? How, when and why did you join TruPath?
I was previously a TruPath client! I really valued TruPath’s communication (rare among the staffing world) and maintained a professional relationship with them even after I left my organization. The positive relationship I built turned into a job opportunity over two years ago. TruPath offered me a role that was outside of my “norm”, hoping to leverage my skill sets. I come from the HR world and am now in Community Relations. Leave it to a Recruiting Firm to assess and place talent quite well!
Growing a business is hard. Looking back on your journey with TruPath, what has enabled you to be successful amongst stiff competition with staffing agencies?
Honestly, we don’t talk about competition…We are so focused on partnership and continuing to evolve as good partners. People do business and refer clients to those they like and trust. Many clients and partners come to us in the investigation phase – they are looking at several different agencies trying to decide who they should partner with for staffing support. We encourage them to vet out several and pick the one that will complement their style best. We excel in building relationships that enable us become an extension of our partners’ teams. It helps us find candidates that are truly the best fit.
You are a big believer in “community.” How does community help support marketing initiatives?
Our team is community-minded to the core! So, it is naturally one of our TruPrinciples (core values). Being a positive member of the community not only builds a positive brand, it helps us attract and retain our own talent. We support the causes that are important to our team, our families and our business. We pride ourselves on providing value to our communities – through Board seat contributions, philanthropy or simply with value added free content. Paying it forward not only makes us individually feel connected to our environments, it pays off 10 fold in the long run from a business perspective. People know they can count on us and we will always show up.
You became a HubSpot customer awhile back. Can you please share your experience with HubSpot? What do you like, love, and dislike?
I am a HUGE Hubspot fan! Hubspot’s functionality is very easy to use and customizable, which I appreciate. As a leader that oversees Marketing and Business Development, I love how I can easily flip back and forth from one dashboard to the other. It is seamlessly integrated for optimal success between Marketing and BD. I feel tight-knit Marketing and BD team’s create the best recipe for success. Like all great things, it comes at a price. However, it allows us to integrate all of our social platforms and email, so we were able to decrease spend in other areas.
What marketing advice would you give to other Business Development, Community Relations, or Marketing Managers?
Don’t allow what has “always been done” to get in your way of innovating and trying something new. Additionally, learn about your customers and begin interacting with them where they hang out – online platforms, in-person, etc. Lastly, consumers want answers fast! Think about how you can provide your potential buyers answers to questions without them actually having to speak with a human. This not only provides transparency but encourages loyalty with a positive buying experience. By the time these customers get to you (the human), they are ready to buy and are grateful that the process was easy.
Raquel Thoesen is a Digital Marketing Manager at Markitors, an SEO agency that connects clients with customers…and has a good time doing it!
