The Kforce Story: 50 Plus Years of Great People Delivering Great Results

Chapter 3

Expanding the Team

The trio—Dunkel, Cocchiaro, and Sutter—now had their feet planted on terra firma, and it was time to expand their team even further. Rich Raniere started his Romac experience when Howard suggested him as a candidate for one of Rich Cocchiaro’s Orlando clients. “He was reluctant to take the job,” Rich recalled, “so I had a conversation with his mother about the benefits of working for a large company like my client.” Rich Raniere called the next day to accept the job. A couple of years later, Rich Raniere then joined the Romac team in March of 1984 and the following May, Dick Bramel came on board. Both worked out of the south Florida office; Rich in Finance and Accounting, Dick in Information Technology. Both fit the “professionals dealing with professionals” profile for Romac recruiters.

Dick Bramel interviewed with Howard Sutter over a six-week period and though the job would mean a substantial cut in pay and the loss of a company car, it fed his growing entrepreneurial urges. “I’ll never forget the day I went home and told my wife I got the job; that I was going to work as a headhunter,” he recalled. “She said, ‘Great!’ and then asked how much they were going to pay me. When I told her she started crying. But, it paid off for us.” Both Rich Raniere and Dick Bramel recall a day in the life of a recruiter that’s almost difficult to imagine given today’s instant communication and mobile phones. “There were no fax machines,” Rich said, “just snail mail and the telephone.” Without the Internet, they developed contact lists by going to the library, looking through phone books, and clipping ads out of the newspaper. Without mobile phones for private conversations, most of the candidates were restricted from talking to them during work hours. That meant they had to spend a lot of evenings and weekends making calls.

Bob Bond and Bud Lemay enjoy a relaxing moment during a convention.

26