Mark Garrett is the President of Mackenzie & Associates.  Mark has over 20 years of experience in both I.T. Marketing and Recruiting and is responsible for Client Development for Mackenzie & Associates.  He keeps in close contact with both I.T. Managers and HR staff to determine staffing needs and the best way we can fulfill those needs.  In addition, Mark communicates with the IT Managers to assess the performance of our I.T. consultants and permanent placements, and helps out should problems arise. 

Process for determining skills and abilities of employees:

We initially conduct a prescreening of an employee, in which they are asked to describe their current role, their ideal role, how far they're willing to commute, salary history and future salary requirements, their reason for leaving their current employer, their availability to start a position, and their future goals.  A follow-up behavioral interview is conducted to assess how the candidate would react in stressful situations, how they resolve conflict, etc.  If we are satisfied with their answers to these questions, we proceed to a reference check.  We check 3 references from current or previous supervisors and co-workers to determine the candidate's technical, analytical and personal skills.  In addition, we use our network of contacts to do some reference checks from previous co-workers that the candidate did not list as a reference.  After gathering positive information from these assessment tools, we send the candidate's resume to the client.

We measure quality from our clients level of satisfaction. Our success depends wholly on our clients satisfaction of our service and the candidates that we present.

Our goal is to develop a thorough understanding of each client’s environment. This knowledge helps us narrow in on "soft skills" required and avoid candidates that won't fit in the client’s culture. Thorough understanding of each job spec enables us to provide the best quality candidates. We keep our overhead/costs to a minimum and feel we can provide quality candidates at a price that no one can beat.

We utilize 4 full-time recruiters which enables us to provide our clients with quality candidates.  We do not compromise on quality, and strictly adhere to a hiring philosophy of meeting everyone in-person, asking tough questions and probing when we see a potential problem, and checking references.  We make sure that our resumes are easy to read and that the manager can quickly recognize how well the candidate fits the job description.  We keep in close contact with the candidate before, during and after hiring and identify potential problems and resolve them before they become a problem.

Why we are different:

Many of our candidates and clients tell us that we’re very different from other placement agencies they’ve dealt with.  We are honest and open with our candidates and follow through with what we’ve promised.  We try very hard to make them feel that they’re a person, not simply a source of profit.  We want everyone we come in contact with, whether they're pursuing contract work or direct hire placement, to feel that we have their best interests in mind and that they are an important individual.

Mackenzie & Associates has very low overhead, and we are able to pay our consultants well, while at the same time offering low bill rates to our clients.  This creates a win-win situation.

In addition, we strive to make our consultants feel that they are part of our company and a valued part of our organization.  During our initial hiring process, we ask detailed questions about the employee’s interests, hobbies, etc.  Based on their answers, we periodically give our employees gift cards to their favorite store or favorite restaurant.