This week, in our series of HR expert interviews, I had the pleasure of talking with HR expert Ralph Chapman. Ralph is an HR recruitment expert and founder of HR Search Pros Inc, an HR specific search firm based in Texas, which also operates internationally. HR Search Pros Inc specializes in HR recruitment by providing talented HR professionals with their next HR opportunity.
“I wanted to be part of a firm where Integrity, Honesty, and Service were not mere words spoken to please someone, but are values that were lived by. Out of this desire sprang HR Search Pros. We are here to serve both companies and candidates with the highest level of integrity, the utmost honesty, and impeccable service.”
In this interview, Ralph and I discuss HR recruitment, by talking about his career, how he recruits the best HR talent, and the evolution of the HR industry through HR software.
Ralph, could you tell me a bit about yourself and how your career evolved into what it is today?
I went to college to be a computer programmer on a Navy scholarship, but by the time I got out of the Navy four years later, the languages had all changed and I wasn’t sure what to do so I kind of fell into recruiting for a logistics trucking company, and did that for several years. Then I moved into a search firm where I stayed until around September 11th. We were placing people who just got out of the military and there were no new candidates because the military wasn’t letting anyone out. So because I love HR and wanted to pick a niche, I started a firm that specializes exclusively in HR recruitment, because I didn’t see a lot of firms doing that at the time. I’ve had my own firm now for thirteen and a half years. We’re based in Texas, but we work predominantly all over the US. Our focus is on placing HR professionals more at the senior level, but also at any other level in any industry. It’s funny when I look back to when I first started recruiting I was recruiting truck drivers and now I’m recruiting CHRO’s and CPO’s- so it’s certainly been quite the evolution.
I see that you have a lot of experience working in the field of HR, what made you seek a career in HR recruitment?
When I first started recruiting to help companies hire for the military, we’d call companies and they’d often say we were just like everyone else, but if we had a niche, maybe they’d listen. It was funny because all the training I received advised against contacting HR, claiming they were tough to work with, yet I always had great experiences. So, I began assisting companies with their HR roles, and that allowed me to build many valuable relationships. Often, we’d reach out to companies or they’d reach out to us, saying they didn’t need help with HR recruitment at the moment, but asking about trends in HR. This led to valuable conversations, and we developed relationships that way. By being a reliable resource, answering questions—even ones outside our direct scope—we earned trust. It became clear that connecting with HR managers was the key, as we could always discuss topics like salaries, the industry, the economy, and HR trends. It worked out better than expected, and over time, we’ve built long-lasting relationships. Some companies we’ve partnered with for over 15 years, and we continue to add new clients.
Can you tell me a bit more about what you do at HR Search Pros?
We’re not just an HR recruitment company, we do a little bit of everything. Our main role is to assist companies with difficult-to-fill HR positions by offering guidance, insights, and helping them find the right candidate. One of my goals with my own company was to maintain control over the process. Often, when working with larger firms, multiple people are involved—one calling the company, another reaching out to candidates—and it can complicate things. That’s why I intentionally kept our company small, so I can stay hands-on and involved in every HR recruitment search. This also ensures that I serve as the final point of contact before any decisions are made. It benefits our clients too, as they only need to communicate with me, eliminating the need for multiple calls to different people.
“Our company spans everything from business development, candidate sourcing, interview prep, advising companies on what’s happening in HR, etc.”
With everything that’s happening with covid, there are a lot of questions and uncertainty, which is really interesting for us to be able to have a lot of conversations with people who need help or advice with certain things. So honestly we do a little bit of everything. Although our focus is on HR recruitment by filling HR roles, we’ve also been blessed because we’ve partnered with people that do background screenings and people that do relocations and so we have some good trusted resources that if the company needs some help in any other areas, we can help them there too. Our role is all-encompassing HR help, but the main role of our company is filling difficult-to-fill HR roles through HR recruitment.
What would you say is the most important thing you’ve learned through your HR-related work experiences?
No day is the same. When you think you’ve seen everything, the next day something happens and you realize you’ve never seen that before. There’s a lot of changes occurring, a lot of things to do with covid that have affected people’s lives so much. This shows how critically important the HR sector is to a company, and the impact it can have caring for employees and caring for the business.
“The most important thing is to be flexible. Because it’s a job working with people, not just systems and numbers. There are a lot of times when extenuating circumstances come into play, if a person’s going through something tough and they need an extra vacation day or things like that. So I think it’s predominantly about how you can support your employees.”
How do you find and recruit the best HR talent?
It goes back to relationships. I’ve been developing relationships throughout the US and also internationally for fifteen plus years. I’ve got connections with people that I’ve known for fifteen to twenty years, even before I got into HR recruitment. Years ago I came up with a system (that I’m constantly tweaking) that we use. It involves a series of questions and things we do to make sure the person possesses certain character traits and experiences. Then we tweak those questions to a particular company and to the particular role they have open.
Another important thing to mention, when I first started working in HR, it used to be that an HR manager was an HR manager and a director was a director, etc. Now we’ve got business partners, people leads, etc. You’ve got all these different terms that are being tossed around and there’s a lot of confusion out there as to what they mean. Now an HR director of one company could be a manager at one or a VP at another. So for us we really get to know the client, get to know what’s really important.
“It all goes back to the same thing about building those relationships with people and getting to know them and getting them to trust you, so we can help them out in different ways. A big thing for us is we don’t just send in resumes, we ask what is the culture like, what do you really want the person to do, etc.”
It’s often challenging when companies post job ads and receive a flood of responses, but not all of them are a good fit. However, getting to know the person behind the application is key. You may find someone with an impressive background, but if they’re not a good cultural fit, it can be a disaster. The same applies if they have a great cultural fit but lack the right qualifications.
“Finding the best talent is a lot deeper than finding a good resume, you need to know who the person is, and what makes them tick.”
Because the ups and downs over the last several years have awoken people up to what’s most important. And it’s just as tough as it is hard to tell all that from a resume.
Have you had any experience working with HR software? If so, what are your thoughts on the importance of it?
I think it’s critically important. My main concern is that sometimes we’ve lost the “human” in human resources, but I still believe it’s essential. Over my 15-year career, I’ve profiled and spoken to thousands of people, and while I have a good memory, it can only go so far. That’s where software becomes crucial—it helps track everything, from compliance to applicants’ timelines and sources, providing valuable data. So, while it’s important to use software, it’s equally important to use it wisely, not just as a tool to say no to everyone.
“Of course, with companies that are hiring, you look on their website with 300 people applying, you’ve got to have some sort of software in place to help you with that. So yes I think it’s critically important, we’re now beyond the stage of paper and pencil, you can’t do that anymore you need software.”
How do you think HR software has transformed the sector?
It’s changed tremendously. I was talking to a gentleman the other day and he used to recruit in the past. And we were talking about when he first started filing folders and faxing resumes and all that kind of stuff and now you have emails and at the click of a button, you can present resumes. So I think it’s drastically changed, certainly from a staffing perspective, but also from benefits to compensation to learning. Now we have massive systems that make all these processes so much easier. It’s changing incredibly quickly. Now especially I think we’re going to see a lot more of that through AI and things like that.
“It’s to the point where you can’t survive if you don’t have the right software for sure.”
Does HR software improve businesses growth?
Almost definitely. From staffing to learning and development- everything. You’ve got to be able to impact all these things. In HR, it’s often challenging to demonstrate our value because many of the things we do are hard to quantify. We can track hires, training progress, and sales, but there are many aspects that don’t have clear metrics. That’s why having HR software that tracks goals, highlights impact, and provides tangible data is crucial.
“You have to have software and technology in order to grow. Period. Otherwise, you just can’t compete.”
Compensation is a big space. If you’re not keeping track of what’s going on out there and have a good system for that then you’re going to get lost. We’ve seen that a lot over the years in which I’ve been doing this. Companies just don’t have good data to go off of, they’re making offers, but they don’t get accepted and they can’t work out what’s going on. The data is bad. So you really want to keep track of that. And it makes it so much simpler, and really allows HR professionals to do HR. Being able to do these things online, makes it so much easier. You need it, but it’s also important to choose the right one for your company, whether it’s a small business or a large corporation.
“I think as a smaller company HR software really allows you to compete with the bigger ones.”
We’ve worked with several startups where they have a CEO, CFO, and other key roles, but no one handling HR. It’s surprising and can be risky, especially when there’s a lack of awareness about compliance and legal requirements.
Thank you for the valuable information this blog is very helpful.