FROM CALIFORNIA HEADQUARTERS
TO SOUTH BEND, INDIANA
Satisfying Client Needs Anywhere in the Country
Bill McAlpine, Senior Tax Manager
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
"A highly valued client had a Director of Tax position that they
needed to replace quickly and it was in a unique location: South
Bend, Indiana. I spoke with the VP of HR and the CFO at my client's
company and they mentioned that several other executive recruiting
firms had determined that there was no tax resource available
either in South Bend market or someone who would relocate. I recommended
that they call Pro-Tax Executive Search. I had known the president
of Pro-Tax, Paul Yroz, for several years and was aware that he
and his firm had incredible contacts in the tax industry. But,
this would certainly be a test.
The main challenge was finding a candidate interested in the opportunity
and the prospect of relocating to South Bend. The ideal solution
would be for Paul to find a candidate in the South Bend area.
My client called Pro-Tax, and engaged Pro-Tax Executive Search.
Within a few days, Paul faxed three resumes for qualified candidates,
all located in the South Bend area! I knew Pro-Tax had extensive
contacts, but had no idea just how extensive they were.
Paul's reach extends far beyond his California headquarters. He
finds the people who aren't necessarily looking, who are often
the best talent available. This example is a testament to Pro-Tax's
ability to quickly execute a targeted search, even in South Bend,
Indiana."
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SPECIALIZING
IN TAX: THE DIFFERENTIATING FACTOR
Colleen Dooley, Human Resources
Patricia Busse Oganavich, Human Resources
Ernst & Young
"Pro-Tax Executive Search, with Paul Yroz at the helm, brings
us knowledge of the tax industry that we clearly needed. In trying
to identify new energy for our firm, Pro-Tax's pure tax industry
knowledge exceeded that of other firms we considered. We believe
it's Pro-Tax's specialization that is the differentiating ingredient
needed to conduct the highly targeted searches we require. Paul's
awareness of tax professionals in the industry avoids time wasted
interviewing candidates with skill sets divided between audit
and tax, which we have often found with general accounting search
firms.
Another challenge we face is changing the perception of how candidates
view public accounting firms due to the lack of life/work balance
that existed in the past. Many outstanding candidates were not
aware of the changes until hearing Paul explain how the culture
has improved. We had a candidate recently that was not interested
in taking a position in the public arena, until they talked to
Paul. Since Paul began his career in public accounting, he understands
the full spectrum of improvements and can attract outstanding
candidates that otherwise would not have been open to the idea
of working for us.
Finally, due to Paul's time investment in learning about our firm,
he has been able to service multiple E&Y offices throughout the
country. This streamlines our processes by allowing us to use
his executive search firm for various needs in the tax area."
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MARKET-BASED
COMPENSATION COMPARISONS
An Extra Value to Pro-Tax Clients
Don Slome, Director, Corporate Taxes
USG Corporation
"At USG Corporation, we had used a local recruiter for about 14
years. I had been familiar with Pro-Tax Executive Search, however,
since the president, Paul Yroz, made it a point to stay in touch
with me over the years. I knew Pro-Tax offered services beyond
recruitment to a few clients, and last Fall when we needed a market-based
compensation comparison, I called Paul.
Our goal was to analyze the compensation packages in our geographic
area to ensure that USG's offers to new hires and the salaries
of its current employees remained competitive. Our HR folks compiled
their data using HR consulting firms, but with tax being so specialized,
I questioned the accuracy of their data due to its general nature.
Since the data had been pulled from a variety of companies and
then summarized, it lost accuracy in the translation.
But Pro-Tax used a more targeted approach. They asked us to specify
in detail USG's search parameters. Paul Yroz used our data to
compare compensation packages of individuals at similar companies
in similar positions. When he delivered the salary survey, it
was hard to argue with the facts. The survey that Pro-Tax prepared
told us in no uncertain terms what tax professionals were making,
and the data was not summarized. This information captured the
true picture of today's market-based pay scales, and gave us an
exact comparison of where we stood among other organizations.
Another very important part of working with Pro-Tax involved their
unique approach to the search process. After taking the time to
get to know what made our tax department tick, they directed that
knowledge toward finding the kind of a person that would be successful
working at USG. Paul raised questions that I wasn't necessarily
thinking about such as personality, motivations for leaving a
current position, and future goals. These questions helped draw
important information from candidates, and as a result, we could
identify whether a person would be successful working in our department.
With Pro-Tax, there was never a shortage of excellent tax professionals.
For a typical search, Paul presented 10-12 resumes, and I would
interview two thirds of the group. Interestingly, almost every
one of the candidates could have done the job; they were a very
heterogeneous bunch. At first I relied on my judgement entirely,
but today we rely more on Paul's expertise. He has done a great
job pulling together people, checking references, and gathering
very candid input on their strengths and weaknesses. All of this
information goes a long way in the decision process to hire someone
new for our tax department, particularly when you only spend about
2-5 hours interviewing a candidate. The added insight that Pro-Tax
offers is extremely important to helping us choose new talent
at USG."
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VALUE ADDED SERVICES
BEYOND THE EXECUTIVE SEARCH
"Pro-Tax is a full service staffing firm."
Rich Fabrini, Vice President of Tax
Lane Industries
"Unlike typical search firms, Pro-Tax Executive Search invests
significant time and energy into understanding a company's culture.
We were extremely impressed when Paul Yroz scheduled individual,
1-hour meetings with our staff to become familiar with their objectives,
and learn what is unique about how we do business. He then met
with me to understand my objectives for the department as a whole,
and from this starting point, he went to work.
Over the past five years, Pro-Tax has placed 11 tax executives
with Lane Industries in virtually all types of tax positions including
federal, state, local, and international. Although we had used
recruiters before, only Pro-Tax provided the caliber of talent
we really needed to achieve our goals. Because Pro-Tax made the
necessary time investment in understanding our business, they
now serve as a double-check when we outline new positions. Paul
is not afraid to ask the hard questions that he believes will
lead us to a better end result, even if it means more time invested
by his firm. He takes each search personally, as if he were placing
someone in his own company.
In addition to finding great people, Pro-Tax has excellent insight
into how a tax department operates. Paul Yroz has a lot of information!
At any given time, he can start at the top of a company roster
and name all the tax professionals working there. Also, because
he is so informed, he can connect with that great person sitting
at their desk working away. It expands the list of candidates
we can choose from to a much larger universe, not just the ones
looking for new positions. And he remains informed on trends that
dramatically effect the tax job market.
Pro-Tax covers our staffing needs from many different angles.
We've used the firm as a resource at performance review time to
get up to speed on market-based pay because there is so much variation.
In a nutshell, Pro-Tax is a full-service search firm that can
offer solutions in almost every area of tax professional staffing."
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CLIENT
SERVICE SECOND TO NONE
Jim Dite, Director of Tax
Tellabs, Inc.
"Paul's reputation preceded him before we ever worked together.
I had heard from my colleagues in the tax industry that Pro-Tax
was an excellent resource for multi-level staffing and recruitment,
and also had the latest market information regarding compensation
and trends.
Before I had a search assignment to give Pro-Tax, Paul Yroz came
to Bolingbrook, IL to get acquainted with me and with Tellabs,
Inc. He told me about the services Pro-Tax could offer, and took
the time to understand my style so he could make appropriate matches
in the future.
When I needed to fill a position in my tax department, I called
Paul. The work went very well and Paul provided excellent candidates
with skill sets that matched what we were looking for.
There were several benefits to working with Pro-Tax. Paul Yroz
and his staff provide a level of client service that is second
to none. They have an incredible amount of integrity, and know
a lot of the people in public accounting and in the industry in
general.
And Paul knows more than just candidates. He knows people who
know the people you're considering hiring. It's more extensive
than the average background check.
Pro-Tax can conduct very specific, targeted searches. On one of
our searches, we required local candidates only. We did not want
to include relocation in the package. Paul was willing to present
a lot of candidates adhering to this requirement.
Paul also offers non-resume feedback that you could only know
by working with someone that knows a lot of people in the industry.
If someone has a shining record, we will have that confirmed.
And if there are issues to weed out, that becomes obvious, too.
After our first contact with the candidate, if they aren't a right
fit, we discuss what wasn't right to further refine the search
process. We do our homework on the front end and find the person
with the right motivation for leaving their current position and
joining Tellabs, Inc. You really feel you're working together
as a team.
Essentially, we rely very heavily on Pro-Tax to provide professional,
effective searches for our company. We feel there is significant
pay back from working with Paul Yroz and his firm. The value that
the Pro-Tax team brings helps us find people with an array of
talents, interests and motivations, rather than limiting ourselves
to the pool of candidates found using conventional hiring methods."
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CREATING
A BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP
"A firm that treats both candidates and clients with the
same level of professionalism is unique in the recruiting industry."
Jeffery Young, Vice President, Income Tax Director
Fleet Business Credit Corporation
"It is my professional opinion that Pro-Tax Executive Search,
Inc. is one of the premier professional search firms in the tax
industry.
Paul Yroz has brought another dimension to the job search market.
His recruiting process helps to build a business partnership with
the client that is not unlike the relationship a corporation would
build with its bank or public accountants. It is this commitment
to providing clients with the best possible professional services
available that holds Pro-Tax Executive Search, Inc. head and shoulders
above the competition.
This business partnership is fostered by Paul's technique of taking
ownership of recruiting engagements. By treating a search as if
he were filling positions within his own company, he helps provide
clients with employees who are looking to build a long-term career.
The comfort level that you get working with Pro-Tax is attributable
to the complete professional job that Paul Yroz will provide."
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THE
SEARCH PROCESS
"A total solution, from A to Z"
Jeffery Young, Vice President, Income Tax Director
Fleet Business Credit Corporation
"I've known Paul Yroz for about nine years, and during that time
our relationship has changed from potential new recruit to a client-based
business partnership. I've use the term "business partnership"
because it best describes the relationship Paul strives to foster.
He develops a partnership through the recruiting process he uses
which is what sets him and his firm apart from other professional
search firms.
Paul begins the recruiting process by garnering as much information
as possible about the position, and the company. Paul truly takes
ownership of the search process, and treats each recruiting engagement
as if were a position at his own firm. After acquiring a thorough
working knowledge of the position to be filled, he begins the
screening process with potential recruits. During these interviews
Paul learns the recruit's requirements for a new position, and
also their long-term goals. By understanding the requirements
of both client and recruit, Paul can fill the position with someone
that will fulfill the needs of the client. Simultaneously, he
provides the recruit with valuable long-term career path input.
After narrowing the field of potential candidates down to a group
that provides the best possible fit for the position, Paul begins
the interview process. At this time the client is provided with
a critique of each potential recruit to use for internal screening
to determine which candidates will be interviewed. Since Paul
has taken the time to get to know each of the candidates, he is
able to provide invaluable insight to the client about each potential
candidate. At the same time, Paul provides candidates with as
much information as possible about the corporation, the position,
the personalities of the department, the potential career paths
available, and his own personal assessment of the candidates fit
with the corporation.
In my candidate-client experience, Paul's insight is the most
valuable information in my decision making process. His assessments
are always accurate, concise and on point. As the actual interviews
begin, both sides are comfortably familiar with the requirements
and needs of all parties. Throughout the interviews, Paul continues
providing information and insight to both sides to get closer
to identifying the best fit for the position.
Once the field has been narrowed, and the client agrees which
candidate is the best fit, an offer is extended. At that point,
Paul's knowledge of regional tax markets, the client's compensation
and benefits parameters, and the recruit's expectations come into
play. Paul reviews with me benefits packages that will be competitive
in the market, while keeping within our compensation limitations.
He works with the recruit to evaluate their compensation expectations
and ensure they are in line with the recruit's experience, education
and knowledge base.
At the conclusion, both the client and the recruit are comfortable
with knowing they have made the best decision. This comfort is
based upon complete knowledge of all available information regarding
the position and the recruit, as well as knowing that all steps
in the interview process have been thoroughly completed. Pro-Tax
offers a total recruiting solution, from the beginning of the
search to bringing the candidate on board."
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Pro-Tax Serves Multi-Level
Staffing Needs
Susan Clifford, Director of Tax
GE Capital Auto Financial Services
"In the past, I have worked with Pro-Tax and Paul Yroz to locate
and recruit staff at multiple levels in my tax department. I am
most impressed with the personal level of service I have received,
and the counsel that Paul provides during the search process.
He has filled positions from the staff level all the way to tax
director level positions. Paul offers a level of integrity and
trust that gives me comfort that I don't waste my time interviewing
candidates that won't "work out".
He makes it a point to visit our office, and he brings a great
network of tax talent. Although there are several recruiting firms
that stay in touch with me, I have chosen to work with Paul because
he has been not only a resource for great people, but for additional
job market information. His knowledge of other positions and salary
levels in my market has given me the concrete supporting data
I needed to obtain salary adjustments for those people that were
key performers and that I wanted to make sure stayed with the
company. Paul was able to locate similar job descriptions and
then ferret out the details of their compensation package.
Because he is a very pleasant, professional person, I have developed
a level of trust with Paul that makes me feel comfortable enough
to rely on Pro-Tax exclusively for my tax placements. I am pleased
to report that Paul Yroz found the best associate I have ever
worked with: a senior federal income tax manager. This, again,
tells the story of how well Paul executes the prospecting process.
He knows what I am looking for, and he delivers candidates of
that caliber with the right personality and skill set."
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From Candidate
to Client
"Staffing a Tax Department with Pro-Tax"
John Mann, Director of Tax
Dean Foods
"Having known and worked with Paul since 1988, as both a candidate
and client, I am very familiar with his level of professionalism
and integrity. From the candidate standpoint, Paul spent a significant
amount of time getting to know me, as well as my career aspirations.
At one point Paul conducted a skills assessment which allowed
us to closer pinpoint the type of organization I would fit well
in.
In addition to assessing my skills, Paul offered input that challenged
some of my thinking regarding the position I was then seeking-federal
tax manager with a publicly traded firm. We discussed opportunities
that became available over the next year, and as we explored various
opportunities, we discussed the pros and cons in detail. Until
we actually got to the best position for me, however, I did turn
down offers that would clearly have been money-making propositions.
But, in keeping with his very high level of integrity and honesty,
Paul would make it known when he felt that perhaps the position
was not necessarily the best fit for me. In the same vein, on
the hiring side, as I work with Paul as a client, he also steers
me away from decisions that he believes are not the best fit for
my department- even if it means delaying the placement.
I have used Paul and his firm solely for every position I have
hired at Dean Foods where I am currently Director of Tax. Paul
and his staff have helped us hire the right people and examine
the role that new staff will play in the department. We work with
Paul to modify job descriptions, due to his excellent understanding
of tax department operations. We also tap into his insight in
career tracking and compensation packages.
When I first joined Dean Foods, Paul pointed out after a salary
analysis, that several staff needed to be adjusted upward. With
Paul's guidance, we handled the situation over a two-year period,
and got staff up to the competitive levels that would allow us
to keep the good talent we had in the department.
The thing that makes Paul different is that he clearly is in it
for the long haul. This is obvious in the way he takes time to
understand the culture on the client side, extending that knowledge
out to how a particular hire will impact the company for the long
term.
Also, as a testament to Paul's talent for seeing through the hiring
authority's eyes, at times if he feels completely confident that
he has the right candidate he will not deluge the manager with
a number of resumes, but present only one. In my case, I was that
single resume. And for the past three years, I have been Director
of Tax at Dean Foods."
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