TCR | Cx Search Partners. Executive search in CCaaS, Conversational AI, and Customer Experience Technology. Founded 1993.

TCR Cx Search Partners
RECRUITMENT AND SEARCH · CX AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE TECHNOLOGY
"My success isn't measured by the start date... but by the outcome."

I operate as an independent recruitment and search partner. My execution is precise, personalized, outbound, and relationship driven. I don't rely on job postings or availability-based recruiting. I don't advertise the roles I'm working on because my time is best spent researching, messaging, and talking with the people who precisely fit them.

Targeted recruitment and search when applicant flow and job postings are not delivering who you want to consider.

Many leaders have a strong peer network but have a difficult time reaching down into the layers below them through their own connections, even when they know exactly what they want. That's where I come in.

I work with functional leaders and executives. My work typically sits across Sales, Presales, Customer Experience, Solutions Architecture, Professional Services, Engineering, Marketing, and Talent Acquisition. I also partner directly with founders, CEOs, and private equity firms when execution, delivery, and durability of the hire matter more than speed driven by volume or forced timelines.

My work spans Contact Center Solutions, Conversational AI, Generative AI, RPA and Intelligent Automation, Workforce Engagement, Compliance, Analytics, and adjacent Customer Experience platforms.

When you want to meet qualified industry professionals, not just the most visible ones, let's start a dialogue.

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How I Work With Clients

Precision direct recruitment grounded in forensic research and pattern recognition... backed by the experience, judgment, discretion, and market intelligence required to deliver hires that hold.

It is not in my makeup to wait for the right candidates and companies to find me. I spend time researching candidates and organizations: how they are structured, where their customer-facing functions sit, and whether they are growing organically, have raised capital, or have made leadership changes at the VP level and above.

That is where pressure builds, whether it is visible yet or not.

I understand how the industry is structured and how top talent moves inside it. My real work is knowing, and eventually working with, the people where there is genuine mutual alignment.

To do this work purposefully, I often sit in as an observer early in the interview process. I am not there to assess whether a candidate is qualified. By that point, they already are.

Sitting in on those interviews gives me context I can't get from a job requisition or even early conversations with Talent Acquisition and the person the role reports to. By hearing the role discussed live, I understand more clearly what my client is actually optimizing for.

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"What I bring to the work is the same in every conversation: judgment and honesty about fit, messaging that lands, and the patience to do this right. The right people reply when I reach out."
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Dennis Young

How This Works

How I'm Different

I sit in on interviews. Not to assess whether a candidate is qualified... by that point they already are. I listen to how the role is actually discussed, what gets emphasized, what matters to the people in the room. I stay engaged past the start date because I define success as a hire that holds under real pressure... not just an offer accepted.

How I Engage

I don't wait for inbound. I research companies before they know they need me... tracking leadership shifts, growth signals, and the pressure points that create hiring urgency. I go directly to the people who are already performing. Thirty years in this market means I know where to look and who to approach before the conversation starts.

How I Work With Clients

I'm not a volume operation and I'm not transactional. I take on searches I can do well. My fees and structure are flexible depending on your situation... early-stage, established company, retained or engaged. If there's alignment on the search we'll find a way to work together that makes sense for both sides.

How To Start

A short note is enough. No formal brief, no commitment, no submission, no exposure. Just a private conversation to find out if there's alignment. If there is I'll tell you quickly. If there isn't I'll tell you that too.

"I pursue the companies and roles where the outcome matters years from now, not just at offer acceptance."

Durability of Hire

In my experience, relationships start with commitment and align around a single, important outcome: a successful hire. I work with companies from fewer than 25 employees to organizations with more than 10,000. Scale is not what matters. Whether the hire holds is what matters. Producing durable outcomes shapes everything that follows.

Outcomes

Across different companies, roles and situations, decisions get easier and outcomes hold up better once the work is grounded in what is actually happening in the market and in the room.

The examples below reflect what that looks like in practice.

International CX and Conversational AI Company Entering the U.S. Market
Situation

An international CX and Conversational AI company needed to enter the U.S. market where early hires would define perception.

Constraint

Inbound and referrals were limited, and hiring generic U.S. sales profiles risked activity without credibility in front of the right partners and enterprise buyers.

How I Engaged

I began with ecosystem mapping, then ran discreet outreach to senior operators who already carried U.S. market credibility, understood the CX and AI landscape, and could open the right doors quickly.

Result
They entered the U.S. with early credibility, channel relationships began to accelerate instead of stalling, and leadership had a clearer template for what strong U.S. hiring should look like.
Executive CRO and VP Competitive Displacement
Situation

A company with strong technology had seen revenue flatten for several years under the same leadership approach.

Constraint

The market was hearing an unclear story: positioning lagged competitors, peer comparisons were muddled, and the existing leadership profile could not shift how the company showed up in deal cycles.

How I Engaged

I started with the market, not the role. I reset the story, the peer comparison set, and the leadership profile before approaching candidates. Then I deliberately targeted executives known for reframing how their companies compete.

Result
Growth restarted, positioning improved, and executive credibility with customers and the board returned, giving the company a clearer narrative and leadership that could carry it with confidence.
VP of Worldwide Sales... Understanding the Role by Being in the Room
Situation

A CEO needed a VP of Worldwide Sales for a critical role that could not be fully captured through intake conversations alone.

Constraint

Leadership style, decision-making expectations, and what would truly resonate in the role were still evolving, making a traditional one time intake risky.

How I Engaged

I sat in on first-round interviews, handled a brief introduction, listened closely, and debriefed in depth with the CEO after each conversation. That allowed us to refine the target profile in real time.

Result
An offer was made and accepted, and the CEO felt confident not just in the individual hired, but in the decision itself.
Extended Warranty on Senior and Executive Hiring
Situation

Leadership had worked with firms that delivered start dates and then disappeared, even when the hire struggled.

Constraint

Durability mattered more than speed, but once a placement was made there was no practical accountability if the hire misfired or needed course correction.

How I Engaged

I structured an extended warranty on senior and executive work so responsibility continued until performance stabilized. I stayed close enough to surface issues early and intervene, instead of treating the start date as the finish line.

Result
The hires held under real pressure, leadership felt supported beyond onboarding, and future searches began with trust instead of second guessing.
Helping Founder-Led Companies Hire With Real Market Context
Situation

A founder-led company was hiring with limited objective perspective on compensation, competitor talent, and role scope.

Constraint

Compensation had drifted, the wrong competitor set was being targeted, and expectations no longer matched what strong operators in the market would actually accept.

How I Engaged

I paused the search briefly and reset expectations before outreach. We grounded the role in real compensation ranges, relevant competitors, and a right-sized scope, instead of pushing a spec into the market that nobody would accept.

Result
Hiring got cleaner, false starts dropped, and the founder made decisions with context instead of guesswork.
Supporting Lean Internal Recruiting Teams With Targeted Market Engagement
Situation

Internal recruiting was capable but stretched across too many roles at once, with priorities driven by urgency rather than importance.

Constraint

Critical roles were stalling not because talent was unavailable, but because focused outreach to those roles meant visible delays on everything else... a tradeoff leadership was unwilling to accept.

How I Engaged

I stepped in alongside internal recruiting and took full ownership of targeted market outreach for the most critical roles. Internal teams did not have to choose between moving those searches forward and meeting broader organizational demand.

Result
Leadership saw progress where searches had been stuck, internal recruiters regained credibility, and hiring decisions felt deliberate rather than reactive.

Operating Realities

Common questions and where I land on each.

Most teams I work with already have Talent Acquisition in place. That is usually a sign of maturity, not a problem to solve.
Most leaders have experienced a handoff after the start date with no follow-through if the hire struggled. I define success as durability and stay engaged past the placement, including extended warranty work where it matters.
Most outreach is volume driven. It has to be generic to scale. Mine is informed by sitting in on live interviews and direct conversations with hiring leaders, so when I reach out it is for a reason.
At early stages, one hire carries disproportionate weight. Sitting in on live interviews provides signal no intake conversation can replace.
Urgency is real. Volume does not create speed. Speed comes from signal.
Clarity rarely exists before conversations begin. I treat early interviews as discovery... listening, debriefing, refining in real time.
Even when a hire does not close, the market, role, and benchmark are clarified. Pausing with clarity is better than forcing a hire that will not hold.
I reduce cycles, not increase them. Teams spend time only with candidates who are close. Fewer conversations. Better ones.
I work behind the scenes with the hiring leader and Talent Acquisition. The team sees a coordinated process, not multiple voices competing for attention.
I align roles and boundaries upfront. TA retains ownership of process. The work is quieter, not louder.

What Clients Have Said

Independent feedback collected over three decades.

"There is no one else in the recruiting industry who knows the telecom industry as well as Dennis does."
Telecom Industry Executive
"Dennis understands what you need to succeed in the CCaaS industry and has a vast network to pull from. His experience in this industry is unmatched."
Professional Services Leader, CCaaS
"I have known Dennis for over 30 years. His no BS style worked perfectly for me and he helped me land my dream job at Mitel."
Senior Business Development Manager, 30+ year relationship
"His thoroughness, honesty, and refreshing style made our entire process an absolute pleasure from start to finish."
Business Continuity Manager, CCaaS
"Dennis is more than just a recruiter. He is a career building resource."
Industry Professional
"Dennis knows the recruiting business inside and out. One of the best, in a business where your reputation is everything."
Industry Executive, Telecom

For Hiring Leaders

If you're hiring now, stuck on a role, or want clarity before moving forward, a short note is the best place to begin. If there's alignment, I'll suggest next steps and timing.

If you're not hiring yet but expect to in the future, you're welcome to send a heads up. Roles repeat and timing matters. I'll reach out when it makes sense.

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For Professionals

If you're not actively looking but open to the right conversation, you're welcome to introduce yourself. I work best with people already performing who value discretion and timing.

Most of the people I work with first come into view while I'm filling roles for clients. Those conversations happen around real opportunities. Sometimes someone is interested. Sometimes they're not. What matters is that I learn how they think, how they talk about their work, and where they tend to be effective.

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