Congratulations to Ian bond, the winner of D&B's building trust award for 2022
11 months ago By Emily Harris
Following on from last Friday’s End of Financial Year festivities, we wanted to put a big hand together for Lead Consultant Ian Bond, who was awarded Design & Build’s much heralded Building Trust award. This award is decided on by the D&B leadership team including Managing Director Andrew McGregor and is awarded based on the individual’s ability to live out Design & Build’s mission and values; building trust and doing the right thing by our candidates, clients and colleagues. Ian was certainly faced with some challenges this year when he started a new desk in a brand-new market for Design & Build, but through the care he has shown and by prioritising honest communication in all his interactions, he has done an incredible job to date in establishing D&B in the WA market. Paired with his willingness to help and mentor his fellow teammates in the Perth office, Ian’s a very deserving winner for this year’s Building Trust award.
We caught up with Ian to learn what his goals are for next year and what his highlights have been over his time building and growing the construction desk:
Congratulations on being the D&B Building Trust Award winner for 2022! What does winning this award mean to you?
Being recognised for any award is always a great feeling, however, the building trust award is chosen by the directors of the business, and is not based on financials, so to be recognised for all of the other components we do day-to-day is very humbling.
This last Financial Year (F2021 – 2022) posed some challenges – particularly for the WA team who were managing a new office and market. What were your goals when starting out in the WA space and how did you keep on track with these goals despite the challenges?
Building a desk in any market is tough, but when both Andy (the WA State Manager) and I sat down, the goal was very simple; it was to establish the Design & Build brand in WA, as we have successfully done in other states. Some days were tougher than others, but I always went back to trusting the process and ensuring that I was always doing the right thing by those I was interacting with.
The key mission for D&B is to ensure we’re doing the right thing by our clients, candidates and colleagues -it’s also a key criterion for the Building Trust award. What do you think is the most important thing you can do as a recruiter to live out this mission?
It sounds quite simple (it can be harder in practice) but in recruitment, I think it’s important to focus on being honest, transparent, consultative, and most importantly, doing what you say you’re going to do. When I first started in WA, the majority of the relationships I was building were brand new so this gave me an amazing opportunity to really deliver the company mission of doing the right thing by each new client and candidate I was coming into contact with. Effectively demonstrating this proved that they could trust me and ensured the relationship was built on a strong foundation.
What’s your favourite part about working in recruitment?
I don’t think you can beat the feeling of ringing a candidate to let them know they’ve been successful and secured the job they wanted. A lot of time the processes we run can take a couple of weeks if not longer, so there are a number of touch points you have with candidates along the way, where you really get to know them and what the job means to them. So, when you make that call knowing it’s going to make a huge difference to their life, after 9 years it never gets old!
“Bondy (one of the many nicknames he has depending who you speak to) has been the rock of the WA office for the past year. Always leads by example and is happy to help with guiding less experienced consultants through their recruitment journey. It is great to see a man that bleeds blue and white get the recognition he truly deserves. Congratulations!”
Andy Williamson - WA State Manager
On the flipside, recruitment is a very changeable industry; while there are many highs there can be moments of frustration when variables change last minute. Do you have any coping mechanisms that help you when you feel discouraged?
I think just speaking to people and hearing another perspective helps. It’s also important to remind yourself not to take it too personally if things don’t work out.
The Australian job market is busier than ever right now! What opportunities does this pose for recruiters and how do you aim to utilise these moving forward?
If I look at WA in particular, over the last year we’ve seen huge economic growth, particularly within the residential market, with thousands of people relocating from across the country. So, for our WA team, there’s a great opportunity to utilise this momentum and foster strong relationships with a number of new clients and candidates. Part of achieving this will be investing time into learning what is happening in the market; what projects are happening, which areas are under-resourced etc. Knowing this puts you in a better position to provide a service that is relevant to your client's needs and helps you build genuine relationships.
What does career success look like to you?
Design & Build is seen as the go-to recruitment agency in the Residential/Commercial construction space in WA.
What motivates you to work hard – and what do you think helps to motivate your colleagues?
Ultimately, if you love what you do and work with a team that you care about, you’ll want to perform your best – you don’t want to let yourself down or your teammates.
It also helps that at Design & Build we offer a lot of incentives (not just financial) for those that have achieved or surpassed particular milestones, so that’s always a good motivator and creates some healthy competition between colleagues and other offices.
What do you like to do outside of work to switch off?
Smoking meat on my smokers at home or jumping on my Peloton bike and working up a sweat!
Looking forward, what are your goals heading into the new financial year?
To continue the success we’ve had in the Residential sector, solidify the relationships I’ve built in this sector and mirror this in the Commercial Construction space as well.
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To find out more about the current opportunities Ian is working on within the WA Construction space, you can contact him at:
0424 150 536
