Recruiter Spotlight: How Co-Founder Rob Deck Built a Staffing Firm That Puts People First

When Rob Deck co-founded Engage Partners more than 25 years ago, the staffing industry looked very different. Job boards were just emerging, LinkedIn didn't exist, and most recruiting was done through cold calls and rolodexes. But one thing hasn't changed: Rob's belief that great recruitment starts with genuine relationships.

Building Engage Partners From the Ground Up

Together with Christopher Edwards, Rob built Engage Partners into a multi-specialty staffing firm serving clients across healthcare, IT, finance, administrative, and sales & marketing verticals. But the real differentiator was never the service list — it was the culture.

"We wanted to build a firm where recruiters actually care," Rob says. "Not just about filling a seat, but about whether that person is going to thrive in that role six months, a year, five years down the road."

How Rob Helped a Client Rethink Their Hiring Strategy

A mid-sized healthcare organization in the Northeast had been struggling with turnover for years. They'd hire through various agencies, fill positions quickly, but within six months, nearly 40% of new hires would leave. The cost — in time, training, and morale — was staggering.

When they reached out to Engage Partners, Rob didn't start by sending resumes. He started by listening. He spent time understanding the organization's culture, their pain points, and what their best-performing employees had in common.

The result was a complete overhaul of their hiring approach — focusing on cultural fit alongside technical qualifications, implementing structured interview processes, and building a pipeline of pre-vetted candidates who aligned with the organization's values.

Within a year, turnover dropped by more than half. The client has been with Engage Partners ever since.

A Philosophy That Scales

That same relationship-first approach is embedded in every recruiter at Engage Partners — from the New York office to the Florida team. Rob's leadership has created a culture where recruiters are empowered to slow down, ask the right questions, and make matches that last.

Today, with the addition of AI-powered tools from Click2.ai, that philosophy scales further than ever — combining human intuition with data-driven insights to deliver better outcomes for clients and candidates alike.

Looking for a staffing partner that puts people first? Reach out to Engage Partners and experience the difference that 25+ years of relationship-driven recruiting makes.