Community Highlights: Meet Vanessa Garcia of Performant Scout

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Garcia.

Hi Vanessa, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am first generation Dominican American as my parents were born in the Dominican Republic.  I was aware from an early age the magnitude of the sacrifices that my parents made to provide more opportunities for my younger brothers and I as we were growing up.  We were an Air Force family.

After graduating college, I started working in the social work space which provided unique challenges to cut my teeth on.  My biggest takeaways from working with families in crisis was the strong development of empathy, the understanding that perspective matters and the importance of having a strong mindset in gratitude.  I was introduced to the recruitment space by a friend in 2007 and the rest was history!  Outside of a quick 2 years working in the luxury goods industry on cruise ships in the Caribbean, the recruiting industry has held my focus due to the diverse challenging projects that we get to work on for our clients.

After 4 years working together at another firm, my business partner and I launched our company, Performant Scout in August 2015.  We can’t believe we will be celebrating 8 years this year!  The timing of our launch was right after I had my first child so I definitely look back fondly at this time in my life and without a doubt acknowledge having 2 babies that year!

We have had the privilege of growing our business with a focus in the Agribusiness, Food & Beverage and other professional services industries and are now a team of 6!  I attribute our success to our focus in quality and relationships.  We truly believe we are an extension of our clients and take every project seriously, we care and want to bring value to our clients.  We get hired to identify A players in their field and it’s no easy feat!  We are tenacious, collaborative and have a big picture mindset in teaming up with our clients to ensure we are aligned every step of the way.

Being a part of my community serving organizations such as the Phoenix Children’s Hospital, American Cancer Society, TGen, Amanda Hope Rainbow Angels, Social Venture Partners of Arizona, Seed Spot, Goodwill Excel Center, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Valleywise Health Foundation has given me such great connection to others who want to do good and do more outside of themselves.  Working with likeminded professionals in the Phoenix valley provides incredible motivation and drive for me to keep pushing the envelope in all that I do.  I’m humbled to know and call some of Phoenix most dynamic leaders my friends and colleagues.

I am a proud mom to a 7 year old daughter and 5 year old son.  They are my center and the reason for everything good in my life and career.  I hope to be a small part in inspiring them to contribute in ways that far exceed anything I’ve been able to accomplish.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It certainly has not been a smooth road! We are grateful for the bumps though as otherwise there is no growth.

Stacey Rouse and I will celebrate 8 years in business together in August 2023. Launching the business in 2015 came with the challenge of leveraging our combined skill set and starting over from scratch. We had no clients and no candidates to kickstart our journey of building something that would make a difference in the industry we have so much passion for – food! We had the hunger and drive; slowly but surely, we were able to secure the business needed to become established and it’s been an exciting ride ever since while still full of twists and turns to keep us on our toes. The day-to-day challenges of the recruiting business have become second nature to us. Thick skin is a must. These are the aspects of the business that become strengths only through time and experience. Being a good recruiter and client manager has a bit of a 6th sense feel.

From a client perspective, delivering enough candidates to solidify a road to an offer, and from a candidate perspective, developing enough trust and rapport to know whether they will accept the offer or not. The skill of communication is put to the test on both sides every day. Over time, it’s the tenacity that has stayed with us to help navigate through job requirement changes, offers declines, counteroffers, and much more. We are energized by what we do. It’s especially when the career opportunities are truly life-changing for people and the value they bring is transformative for our client’s business. We view ourselves as an extension of our clients, a true partner in the up and downs and we’re grateful for the dynamic partnerships that provide so many opportunities for Performant Scout to make an impact.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Performant Scout?
Performant Scout is a boutique executive search firm based in Phoenix, AZ. We connect premier talent to mid-to-executive level positions in produce, agribusiness, and food & beverage throughout North America. We are fiercely committed to partnership and service. Our clients don’t look to us to provide endless options for talent for their companies. Quality is our reputation. I’m most proud of the stories our candidates share with us after we’ve placed them with one of our clients. Stories of their successes, growth, and ultimately their and their families happiness. It can be an exciting business, nail-biting at times…and we feel we are consistently stretched; we welcome and seek ways to be better all the time.

The partnership Stacey and I have is something I’m extremely grateful for and proud of. It’s a highlight of my career, meeting her and having the opportunity to learn and build a business with my mentor.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
There are three main trends that have stood out to me recently and that I feel will continue to persist.

1) Balancing remote work and hybrid flexibility with the needs of the organization.
2) Promoting a commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs
3) Having a solid sense of community within the company’s culture.

Of these 3, we have seen the biggest shift in the employment/recruiting industry being the drastic uptick in remote-based roles. The challenge for our space is that many of the roles in a manufacturing environment require onsite responsibilities. The conversations we’re having with clients are collaborative in creating solutions and are ever-evolving.

“26% of U.S. employees now work remotely as of 2022. Additionally, 16% of companies are fully remote. These numbers will likely increase, as 59% of workers report being more likely to choose an employer that allows remote work rather than one that doesn’t. Since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the number of people working from home, voluntarily or involuntarily, has increased dramatically. Further, despite the fluctuating threat of the Pandemic today, remote work only seems to be growing more popular.

Knowing that we’ve gathered all of the latest and most essential remote workforce statistics. According to our extensive research:

26% of U.S. employees work remotely, as of 2022.

There are expected to be 36.2 million American employees working remotely by 2025.

40% of workers believe that they’ve been more productive while working at home during the pandemic, as opposed to the office.

16% of U.S. companies are fully remote. Remote jobs now make up 15% of work opportunities in the US.

Zippia. “25 Trending Remote Work Statistics [2023]: Facts, Trends, And Projections” Zippia.com. Oct. 16, 2022, https://www.zippia.com/advice/remote-work-statistics/

(Let me know your thoughts on how this reads or if I should make any adjustments…I provided the source as I wanted to back up my thoughts with numbers).

Contact Info:

• Website: www.performantscout.com
• Instagram: @performantscout
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/performant-scout/?viewAsMember=true

Image Credits
Sarah Hoag Photography