Kforce Employee Spotlight: Marc Hehmsoth
Client Relationship Partner Marc Hehmsoth was recruited by his college roommate 11 years ago and has been with Kforce ever since. Learn how Marc uniquely works with clients and why he dances every time he sees MJ Ferris, Casey Jacox and John Hunter.
Congratulations on being with Kforce for nearly 11 years! Why did you choose Kforce?
I was recruited to Kforce by my college roommate. He started in the Tampa office and in five years, he was promoted five times and ended up leading a team in Dallas. I knew I wanted to be a part of an organization that offered those opportunities.
What is your favorite memory at Kforce?
My favorite memory so far would have to be while traveling for a client charity event. I went to a Blues hockey game in St. Louis with MJ Ferris, Casey Jacox and John Hunter. We saw a guy doing a unique dance, and we all started doing it, and by the third period, our entire section of the arena was doing the dance. That was over five years ago, and we still do that dance when we see each other.
Tell me about your current role? How does Kforce allow you to get more done?
I support labs nationally for one of our clients. This role allows me to work and collaborate across regions, offices and markets with people in Seattle, Atlanta, New Jersey, Dallas, San Ramon and a few other key locations. I do some travel, but the real joy is the opportunity to create a team mentality and maintain a singular vision on how to create value and build partnerships. We all do things together and better with the consensus of the team in ways that none of us could alone. We all share knowledge and successes together.
What’s your favorite part of your role and why?
Seeing people realize success, be it managers getting the right team together and successfully meeting their goals, people getting a job that elevates their career and puts them on a new path, colleagues achieving milestones in GP or headcount, or even things outside of work, like children getting into the college they wanted or consultants buying their first house.
We recently released our new brand elements! Did you submit any words? If so, what were they and why do you think they represent Kforce?
The focus on relationships and “uniting professionals on a personal level” is something that resonates with me deeply. As I have grown in my role and realized the potential of “what we do,” I have begun to realize that if we merely put forth a small amount of interest and effort, we can get much more meaning out of our day and make a much more positive impact on people’s lives.
For example, when I meet a Java developer, instead of saying, “I have an opening where my client needs five years of JavaScript,” I can say “I’m lucky enough to help people in your skill area advance in their careers, and I’d like to do the same for you, so let’s look at what you want and try to find that together.”
At our core, we meet people, figure out what they want to happen and help them make that happen.
What is your favorite motivational quote?
For the past 30 years, my father (a retired programmer) has sent a daily quote to about 3,000 people. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but here is one:
This resonates with me as we role play and prep for important calls, meetings and how we present talent. It’s motivated me so that when it’s “game time,” we’ve gotten our reps in and plan ready to execute.
When you’re not at Kforce, where can we find you?
My wife and I like to explore new places and cultures. We’re both foodies and like to hike and rent the blue bikes and ride around places. We just spent five days in Chicago, exercised, went to baseball games, ate food, went on a hike and saw some of the touristy spots. I also like to golf!
There are a lot of great shows on Netflix at the moment. Do you have a favorite?
I really liked ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Better Call Saul,’ plus the Fargo series is amazing, too.
When you’re having a challenging day, what do you do to keep yourself positive and motivated?
Many of the true partnerships and success stories I’ve been lucky to be part of were almost entirely built off how adversity was faced. It’s easy to be someone’s advocate and friend if they always are growing and hiring; however, it’s much harder to differentiate us from others if it’s always that way.
I’m surrounded by people that pick me up when I need it, and I try to do the same for others. When I begin to feel sorry for myself, I put my issues aside and go try to help someone else. This gives me perspective on my own life.
If you could choose any Kforce office to work out of, which would you choose and why?
I like Seattle quite a bit. The people (both in and out of Kforce), the food options, recreation and the culture of the town all jive with me. Although I love all of those things, my roots are deep in Austin, and I’m in a perfect location for my role and the travel it entails.