Christopher Tuma
In the dormant years of the pandemic, entrepreneurs, visionaries, and innovators across the country were quietly turning their ideas into reality—bringing forth solutions to problems that have plagued consumers, businesses, and industries for decades. And Christopher Tuma is among them. He’s the founder of Churchill Fox, a company on a mission to revolutionize the recruiting industry. As competition for talent is at a fever pitch and companies struggle to find qualified candidates in the wake of the Great Resignation, it comes at a time in which the country is experiencing the greatest explosion of small businesses and startups in its history—and Churchill Fox is leading the charge to help them thrive with a model designed specifically for enterprises with 20 to 1000 employees, built by a man who knows every inch of the industry.
Christopher got his start in recruitment at just 22, and in eight years has held every role in the industry, from recruiter to CEO, working on behalf of over 200 of the Fortune 500s, and just as many small to mid-size companies. His experience gave him a deep insight into the industry. “When it comes to recruitment, I’m not someone who’s just managed a recruiting team or a sales team, I’ve actually done it, and still do it, myself,” he shares.
In 2022, at just 29 years old, Christopher opened the doors to Churchill Fox to not only provide top tier recruiting services, but to save companies time and money by giving them direct access to specialized recruiters who focus on the particular industry of the client company, thus eliminating the need for salespeople and allowing for lower fees. Most of all—he actually made it easy. Client companies simply visit the website and enter information about who they are and who they’re looking for, then book time to talk with a recruiter directly about their specific needs. Christopher’s colleagues, who come from some of the best agencies in the country, get to focus on the industries they know so they can hire based on the nuances and critical details needed for specific industries, and pull from networks built over years of successful recruitment.
We spoke with Christopher to learn more about what inspired Churchill Fox, and how they’re turning the recruiting industry on its head.
Why did you leave a thriving career as an executive to start your own firm?
I started to see how transactional the industry seemed, instead of human—just checking off boxes of skills and qualifications to find a résumé that matched. But it doesn’t end with checkboxes; they don’t necessarily mean a candidate is qualified, and oftentimes they’re not. There are nuances, very specific skills and personality traits that must be considered. I started the company to put the people at the center of it all. And I wanted was to help companies save money and have the experience be more efficient, enjoyable, and personable for everyone, resulting in a long-lasting union that allows both companies and candidates to thrive.
Where did the idea for your revolutionary recruiting model come from? How does it work?
The process is simple. A company can simply go to the Churchill Fox website and click “Hire Now.” This will lead them to a page where they add some basic details about the job they are looking to fill, and access to a calendar to schedule a time to connect with a recruiter about the role. Then they can just sit back and let us head hunt the best talent for them!
My goal is to serve as an extension of their internal recruiting team rather than an outsourced firm. If you post a job on a job board, every applicant costs money, whether or not they’re qualified. And most of the time the candidates aren’t vetted, they just have key words on their resume. Plus, if you go through a normal recruiting firm, there’s typically a much higher placement fee, but since we don’t have salespeople who earn commission, we can charge a much lower fee. We’re not salespeople, we’re recruiters who specialize in the specific industry for which you’re hiring. Time is of the essence in recruiting, and companies need qualified candidates who can hit the ground running. Our clients visit our site and talk with a recruiter that same day. Furthermore, I often show clients both the candidates they can afford, and those they actually need, because often times, the salary targeted and the skillset targeted do not match up. In this competitive market, the best candidates can demand a little more.
How is the Churchill Fox team unique?
I have an all-star team of previous coworkers, some of whom I’ve worked with for years, so I knew exactly who I wanted to bring on. This industry requires a lot of perseverance. It can take patience and creativity to find the right candidate. It takes flexibility and tenacity to get what your client needs, and my team has that. And because we don’t have salespeople, I can use more of our revenue to pay them higher commissions while keeping costs low for our clients.
What do you enjoy most about your work, Christopher?
First, it’s a cool feeling when you find someone their dream job and help them advance their career and help a company find that perfect person they’ve been looking for. Then there’s the relationships. I’ve had some clients for years, so I understand how they hire and what they really want. We go golfing, have dinner. I meet their families, and introduce them to mine, so this is not just transactional for me. This business is personal, and I treat it as such.
Christopher Tuma
Founder — Churchill Fox
Website: www.churchillfox.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophertuma/
Instagram: c.t.u.m.a
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