Afternoon Edition: “Get to Know Them” – Bob Heidlage

Bob Heidlage
Global Recruiters of Cincinnati

Today’s “Get to Know Them” article features Bob Heidlage of Global Recruiters of Cincinnati..  I know Bob only from his kind comments that he passed on to me about his daily reading of Funeral Director Daily.  From those comments I wanted to know more about him and his link to the death care profession.  From what Bob tells us in this interview, I think he would be a valuable person for individuals, company personnel directors, and funeral home owners to know.

Here’s what Bob told Funeral Director Daily about his career:

Get to Know Bob Heidlage

Q1.  What is your position and company in the Death Care profession/industry at this time?

Senior Search Consultant with Global Recruiters of Cincinnati working with owner Mark Jorgensen for the past 7 yrs.

Q2.  Is this your first employment experience in the Death Care profession/industry?  If so, how did you acquire this position and what do you believe are some of your previous work life experiences that may have qualified you for this position?

If it is not your first employment experience in the Death Care profession/industry, what other, if any positions have you held in the profession/industry?

I am working with my 3rd great company in the Funeral & Cemetery space. I started with The Forethought Group in 1989 after graduating from college. And Batesville, Indiana is my home town, so I came home and worked as a member of the sales team for 8 ½ years. I started as a Sales Coordinator working in the home office for 1 ½ years. Then I was promoted into a Sales Rep position and spent 4 years in central Pennsylvania before relocating to Nashua, NH to cover the Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island territory.

In 1998, we relocated back to Indiana and I was forced to leave the profession temporarily. And then in 2002 I found a great job as a Product Manager with Batesville as part of their new Batesville Interactive team. I spent 10 ½ years helping to build the team, and a products portfolio, as part of their online suite of technology-related products & services. We started with one basic product and I left with a robust group of online tools including funeral home websites, products displays, online arrangement software, and personalization tools for consumers to use online or locally at a funeral home.

And then in early 2013, Mark Jorgensen, a former Forethought colleague, called to see I might be interested in joining Global Recruiters of Cincinnati, his Funeral & Cemetery recruiting firm. I had recently separated from Batesville, and the idea of continuing to serve funeral and cemetery professionals in a new way, was very appealing. I started with Mark in 2013 and have been honored to partner with many great people, historic firms, and wonderful professionals at every level of our profession.

Q3.  How would you describe what you do in your present position?

As a Recruiter, we spend most of our time either on the phone, or sending emails & text messages. We communicate with people in our network to keep up with what is happening in our profession generally, and think about how that information affects our clients, and how we can serve them even better. And I can honestly say that, in addition to the many websites, magazines, and other tools at our disposal, the Funeral Director Daily has been a terrific addition to my daily reading.

We work with 3 separate but related groups: Clients, Candidates, and Referral Sources. Clients are the owners who have an open position that needs to be filled. They partner with us to provide additional horsepower to source and pre-qualify candidates of interest who might do well at their firm in the role available. We learn as much as we can about the firm and the position, and then reach out to our nationwide network of contacts to find candidates who meet the needs of the firm.

Candidates are the individuals who make up the bulk of our network, and are the pool from which we find the right people for each job. Each individual has a different profile for what they are looking for, the job title, locations, responsibilities, etc. that they are looking for. And since we are working with people at every level of experience, skills, education, certification and professional achievement, we at least have a place to start for every search. And then we look for great people who have what is needed. And often it is a friend of friend who turns out to be THE right person.

Referral Sources are people who we know in the profession and can help us identify promising candidates, and are also people that our candidates have identified and can discuss their qualifications for a specific role. Mark and I both have been working in the profession for 25+ years, so we know a lot of people in a variety of companies. And we’re blessed to be able to call on those people to help us find great individuals worthy of consideration.

Q4.  Do you belong to any professional organizations or associations?  If so, which ones?

GRN Cincinnati is a Supplier Member of ICCFA.

Q5.  What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing the Death Care community in the next decade?

Several challenges are obvious to everyone in our profession and have been written about extensively:

  1. The growth of cremation, loss of “traditional” services & related revenue, and how to deal with it
  2. Changing consumer preferences and how it affects our ability to serve 21st century families
  3. What part will technology play in the future of our profession
  4. Generational planning, succession, what does acquisition look like going forward for interested owners

Maybe the one thing all of those issues, and many others, have in common is the need to identify and support forward-thinking leaders to help those of us in the profession to understand the issues, communicate clearly, propose bold solutions, and take decisive action. And from my perspective as a professional Recruiter, I believe I can be of most assistance to the profession by helping others achieve their professional goals, and find the right role for them at the right time in their careers so we are constantly building a strong base of knowledge, experience, and potential. 

Q6.  What are the best words of advice you received about working in the Death Care community?

When I was a young sales trainee at Forethought, I was given the following advice from my 1st professional mentor, Bob Newton, my Regional Director and the man who hired me: “Customers do not expect any more of you as their rep than their families expect from them”. I have never forgotten that, as it sets a standard of service that is second to none. To this day, 31 years later, I wake up every morning ready to serve the funeral & cemetery professionals who serve families on the front line. I am not a licensed Funeral Director, and I am one step removed from taking that 1st call, but I do understand the level of service expected in this profession.

Q7.  What would you advise those thinking about entering the Death Care profession/industry?

Our profession is made up of some of the most caring, wonderful people I have ever met. I have been blessed to call so many of these people friends and professional colleagues. And I have maintained many of these relationships over my 30+ year career. So if you are truly committed to serving families at the highest level—that never changes—then jump into this profession with both feet! And since death happens 24/7/365, you must be committed to being prepared to step in when needed. Not every night, every weekend, and every holiday, as funeral professionals need to get away to re-charge the batteries and maintain their mental and physical health. But generally speaking, your commitment to your community will be rewarded with relationships built over time and under difficult circumstances. And those relationships will in turn sustain you during your most trying times and circumstances.

Q8.  Tell us a little about yourself and what you enjoy doing when away from work.

I married my wife, Julia, when I was just starting out as a young Forethought Rep, and we have been married for 28 yrs. We have 4 kids: our oldest daughter was born in “the Sweetest Place on Earth”, Hershey, PA, in 1994. Our next daughter was born in Nashua, NH in 1997 and after moving back to Batesville, we had our son in 2000, and then our youngest daughter in 2001. Fast forward to 2020, our 2 oldest daughters are married, while my son & youngest daughter are both college student-athletes. Julia & I enjoy spoiling our only grandchild (so far), traveling to our kid’s college baseball & soccer games, watching basketball on TV, reading our favorite novels, and enjoying time with friends and family.

Editor’s Note:  If you would like to be featured in our “Get to Know Them” column, please contact us via the Contact Us link below.  We will get questions to you and go from there.



 

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