Adapted from a real OPS Staffing article originally posted by Mitchell Riley (Sep 2026).
Treat the search like a file. Working with a restoration staffing company works when you scope the role, tell the recruiter your real file volume and culture, stay in the weekly loop, and hold them to a replacement guarantee. Rapport is not the product. A shortlist of people who have done this work is the product.
You do not hand a recruiter a job title and wait. You give them the same picture you would give a new PM on day one: what good looks like in your shop, what the last person did well, where they failed, and how fast the seat has to be filled. Then you answer the phone when candidates are live.
OPS Staffing is a contingency, direct-hire recruiting firm for insurance restoration and construction — not a high-volume temp desk. The relationship is simple: we screen for restoration fit, you interview the shortlist, and every placement is guaranteed for 60-120 days. Read the restoration recruiting page or the full process before you kick off.
| You provide | They should deliver |
|---|---|
| Role, pay range, on-call / travel truth | A written search brief you can correct |
| Loss types and software (Xactimate, your stack) | Screening questions that mention those tools |
| File volume and who the hire reports to | A first-candidate timeline, in days |
| Why the last person left | A shortlist with a reason each name made it |
| One decision-maker who can interview this week | Weekly written updates without you chasing |
If you cannot state pay, on-call, or what good looks like, the search will collect resumes and waste your interview calendar. Pay transparency is how restoration candidates decide whether to take the call.
Ask for a standing update: who was reached, who is in process, who died, and why. If a week goes by with no names and no explanation, that is a process failure, not the market.
Your job on feedback is equally specific. Not a fit teaches nothing. Cannot walk a water file or will not do on-call lets the recruiter change the search the same day. Be flexible on hometown or exact title. Do not be flexible on loss-type experience for an estimator or PM seat.
A 60-120 day replacement guarantee means if the hire does not work out in that window, replacing them becomes the firm’s priority at no additional placement fee. It is not a promise that every personality will be perfect. It is a promise the firm does not disappear after the offer.
Ask who owns the replacement search, how fast it starts, and whether the original fee is credited. If those answers are vague, you do not have a guarantee. You have a brochure line.
No. Employers scope a seat and pay the fee. Candidates submit a resume at no cost and stay confidential until they say a company can see it. Do not mix those conversations in one intake.
Posting collects applicants. A restoration recruiter runs a search against people already in the industry — including those who will not apply on a board. That is the difference between partnering with a recruiter and refreshing an Indeed tab.
Schedule a call or call (888) 482-6019. Have the role, pay range, and last hire’s story ready.
Updated September 2026 by the OPS Staffing recruiting team. Employee-owned. Based in Pasadena, TX. Placing restoration and construction talent nationwide since December 2015.