How Highfield stopped guessing on sales talent

How a TRN introduction connected Highfield Professional Solutions and DataX Connect with Paul Waters Associates and transformed how a 45-person engineering and data centre recruiter identifies, hires, and retains sales talent

x (3)-1

HIGHLIGHTS

✓ 5+ years of continuous use: introduced through TRN in November 2020

✓ 45 people across two specialist global recruitment businesses now hiring with SPQ*GOLD

✓ 1 binary decision framework adopted across all final-stage interviews: hell yes or hell no

✓ Measurable improvement in staff retention: fewer early exits from new-to-recruitment hires

✓ 0 guesswork in final-stage assessment: every candidate scored before the panel convenes

THE CHALLENGE

Liam Thomas co-founded Highfield Professional Solutions in 2006, building a specialist engineering infrastructure recruiter from a village in Southampton into a 45-person global operation across two brands - Highfield for engineering and construction, DataX Connect for the booming data centre sector across Europe and the US.

The business had always hired carefully. Culture, values, and long-term fit were non-negotiable. What it couldn't consistently do was identify sales capability before a candidate joined.

"We have always thought we were very good at interviewing and I think we are. But the bit we were struggling with was really finding that sales edge in the interview process. We were recruiting a lot of good people who fit our culture and our values, but we were struggling to identify real sales talent before somebody actually joined the business."

The gap showed up in turnover. When people left, it tended to be those new to recruitment - hires who had presented well at interview but hadn't been able to sustain the consistent sales activity the role required. They weren't leaving for competitors. They were leaving the industry entirely. A signal that something was being missed in the assessment process.

THE INTRODUCTION

In November 2020, Gordon Stoddart at TRN introduced Liam to Dom Waters at Paul Waters Associates. Highfield had been a TRN member since the very first huddle. The trust in the recommendation was already established.

"I've known James and Gordon for a long time and I trust their knowledge and their values," Liam says. "TRN is a very values-driven organisation. If they're recommending a supplier, I believe they wouldn't bring someone into the TRN ecosystem if it didn't align to the values of the business already. That's a really big positive."

They've been working together ever since.

THE SOLUTION

Paul Waters Associates introduced Highfield to SPQ*GOLD, a specialist sales assessment tool that measures the energy, resilience, prospecting motivation, and sales comfort a candidate will bring to a consistent sales role. Across 24 primary scales, it answers the question every recruitment business needs answered before making a hire: will they actually sell?

At Highfield, the assessment now sits at final interview stage. Every candidate completes the test before they meet the panel. The report lands in advance and shared across every interviewer, along with suggested questions designed to probe the specific areas of concern the data flags.

"Having the binary nature of the score gives you that confidence in hiring. One of the final questions we ask ourselves in our hiring process is: is this candidate a hell yes? Because if they're not a hell yes, they're a hell no."

The relationship with Dom goes beyond the reports themselves. "You don't just get the report. You get access to Dom's brain. He's very helpful in giving clarity and context around certain bits and questions." The science and the judgement work together.

THE OUTCOME

The results showed up where the original problem had been: staff retention.

"One of the things we've noticed is that our turnover tended to come from people who were new to recruitment and would move outside of the industry after leaving us. We generally don't lose people to competitors that we want to keep in the business. Having the extra filter of SPQ*GOLD means we can really double down on pressurising sales resilience at the interview process rather than discovering it in the first six months of the role. That has definitely led to an increase in staff retention."

For a business that has invested heavily in developing people from entry level, Highfield holds Platinum membership of The 5% Club, recognising its commitment to earn-and-learn opportunities. The cost of a bad hire isn't just financial. It's cultural. Every exit from a consultant who wasn't suited to the role is a disruption to a team built on loyalty, longevity, and shared values. SPQ*GOLD doesn't eliminate that risk. It meaningfully reduces it.

WHAT THE ECOSYSTEM MAKES POSSIBLE

For Liam, the Paul Waters Associates relationship illustrates exactly what TRN peer-to-peer recommendation is for.

"You're always going to get suppliers selling to you and telling you they're the best thing since sliced bread. There's nothing better than a peer-to-peer recommendation. The great thing about TRN is that you can have any type of challenge within your business and there will be somebody that's solved it successfully. My recommendation: if you're struggling to identify sales capability in the interview process, look to other members who are doing it successfully. Find out what outcomes they've had. Use that to jump ahead a few stages in the process."

For Dom, the TRN network operates as a form of accountability, one that keeps a family business focused on doing the right thing, not just winning the business.

"It matters to us to do a good job for our clients. What is nice is that when we do that, it is recognised and shared among peers."