We start with a collaborative discovery call to understand your business, team structure, hiring priorities and the role you need to fill.
This conversation allows us to quickly assess how we can best support you, clarify the skills and experience required, and understand the cultural fit, project environment and long-term outcomes that matter most.
Our focus is not just to take a brief, but to align with your business so we can represent the opportunity accurately, protect your brand in the market and target the right professionals from the beginning.
Where possible, we take the time to meet with you directly, either at your office, project location or via video, to gain a deeper understanding of your business, team environment and hiring priorities.
This meeting allows us to move beyond the position description and understand the role in context — the team structure, leadership style, project pressures, commercial drivers, technical requirements and the type of person who will succeed in your environment.
It also gives us the opportunity to understand your culture first-hand, so we can assess candidates on both capability and fit. Just as importantly, it allows you to get to know us and how we work, because when we enter the market on your behalf, we are representing your business, your opportunity and your brand.
As part of this process, we can share relevant market insight, salary expectations, candidate availability and feedback from the talent market to help shape a more informed and successful recruitment strategy.
Once we are aligned, we begin a targeted search campaign designed to represent your opportunity professionally and discreetly in the market.
This includes using our civil infrastructure networks, referral channels, specialist recruitment tools, market mapping, AI-supported search capability and existing relationships to identify people with the right technical experience, project exposure and cultural alignment.
Many of the best candidates are not actively looking and will not respond to standard job advertising. Our role is to approach those professionals carefully, position your opportunity accurately and engage them in a way that protects your brand and creates genuine interest.
Throughout the search, we remain closely connected with you, sharing market feedback, candidate insights and any challenges or opportunities we are seeing, so the process stays collaborative, transparent and focused on the right outcome.
We carefully screen and interview each candidate before presenting a focused shortlist for your review.
Our assessment goes beyond technical skills and project experience. We look at how each person communicates, leads, solves problems, works with others and fits the environment they would be joining.
This allows us to assess not only whether they can do the role, but also whether they are likely to add value to your team, align with your culture, and succeed long-term.
Each shortlisted candidate will be presented with clear context around their experience, strengths, motivations, salary expectations and suitability, so you can make informed interview decisions with confidence.
We will work with you to coordinate interviews in a way that suits your business, whether that is at your office, on-site, or via video.
Before the interview, your consultant can provide guidance on the candidate’s background, key areas to explore, and any specific questions that may help you get the most value from the discussion.
After the interview, we will speak with the candidate to understand their feedback, level of interest and any questions they may have. We will then work closely with you to discuss your feedback, clarify any concerns and support the next steps.
Our role is to provide insight, advice and market perspective throughout the decision process, while ensuring you remain fully in control of the final hiring decision.
We stay closely involved so the process remains clear, collaborative and focused on securing the right person for your business.
Once you have selected your preferred candidate, your Empower consultant will support the offer process to help secure the right outcome for both parties.
We will manage the communication carefully, provide guidance around salary expectations, notice periods and candidate motivations, and work to ensure the offer is positioned clearly and professionally.
Reference checks can be completed before or after interview, depending on the candidate’s current employment status and the agreed process. Where appropriate, we will obtain detailed feedback from people who can provide a genuine account of the candidate’s capability, work style, achievements and reputation.
Because we work closely within the civil infrastructure and engineering markets, we often have existing knowledge of a candidate’s background, project exposure and professional standing. This gives you added confidence that the information provided is grounded, relevant and useful to your hiring decision.
Our focus is to help you secure the right person, manage the process properly and ensure the candidate enters your business with clarity, confidence and commitment.
Our support continues after the candidate starts in your business.
We conduct regular performance milestones with both you and the candidate to ensure the transition is progressing well, expectations are aligned, and any early questions or concerns are addressed quickly.
This aftercare process helps protect the placement, supports long-term retention and gives both parties confidence during the early stages of employment.
We act as a trusted point of contact throughout the transition, helping maintain clear communication, share positive feedback and provide support where needed.
Our goal is not simply to complete a placement, but to help ensure the person you hire settles in, adds value and becomes a strong long-term fit for your team.
