Building Automation Systems (BAS) Executive Hiring
Hiring executives is difficult. Many of the best candidates are not actively looking. Of those that are identified, determining if they are a good cultural fit is critical to their success at your company. What complicates matters even further is if you’re in need of specific industry knowledge. Building Automation Systems (BAS) industry executive hiring is an example of this.
Per Persistence Market Research, the Building Automation Systems industry is valued at nearly $50 billion and is expected to reach $141 billion by the end of 2025. That equates to an 11.1% compound annual growth rate, with North America having the largest share of the market. BAS includes HVAC, building energy management, lighting solutions, security and surveillance, among others. And is segmented into commercial, residential, and government applications.
This growth is being driven in large part by increasing energy regulations. Reducing energy usage and waste to meet new compliance standards requires leadership, management, and technicians who understand new technologies that enable companies to meet these new criteria.
Security is also playing a significant role in the growth of the industry. Surveillance and access control along with fire detection drive significant revenue in the industry. Looking forward, the use of IoT, drones, and robotics will increase the need for and use of security.
Like most other industries, BAS is moving to the cloud. Whether new construction or through retrofitting, aging proprietary systems are giving way to “Smart Buildings”. Using open architecture, facilities managers can manage all of their systems (HVAC, security, lighting, etc…) from a single interface, anywhere in the world through their mobile devices.
BAS executive hiring is most often handled by existing senior leadership tapping into their own personal networks. This is effective to a degree. They are reaching out to people they know, have worked with, or have been referred to them by other colleagues. The challenge with this approach is that their reach is small and they are relying on their internal recruiting team to handle the process.
With HR departments handling up to 50 open reqs at any given time, adding an executive hire to their workload does not give it the focus and due diligence required for such an important position. The cost of making the wrong hire can quickly add up. It’s common for these executives to manage $20 million of business or more. If you assume a 30% margin on $20M, and an extra quarter to find the right person using internal processes, you’ve potentially compromised $1.5 million from your bottom line. And if it’s the wrong person, that number doubles or triples when you have to start the search over again.
At Sheer Velocity, our BAS hiring practice is led by Todd Cowles, a former industry executive who understands the demands as well as the needs of BAS leadership in today’s technology driven environment. Unlike BAS specialized firms, our client list doesn’t block us from reaching out to many of the industries best and brightest talent. To learn more about our BAS expertise, send us a note.