Leadership

Bob Williams

Bob began his human resources career at Storage Technology in Louisville, Colo. He then worked for GTE Semiconductors and several years at Intel before coming to San Diego in 1990 to work for Brooktree Corporation. In 1993, Bob began consulting, with a primary focus on contract technical recruiting. He has personally provided services to Broadcom, Nokia Mobile Phones, Motorola, Titan, Maxwell Technologies, Wavecom, Kokusai Communications, Wireless Knowledge, Front Porch, AirEdge, RF Magic, Sequenom, and the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). His industry experience has covered computers, semiconductors, internet appliances, wireless communications, internet companies, biotechnology and defense electronics. Bob is Co-Founder of Williams & Sewell and a Vietnam Veteran Bob has a BA Liberal Arts from the University of Texas at Austin.

Bill spent the first 12 years of his career at Hughes Electronics where he was the HR Manager at a semiconductor R&D Center with 500 employees. He then pursued a career in talent acquisition consulting, working directly with clients including Sony Electronics, Titan Corp., DENSO Wireless, Wolfson Microelectronics, Broadcom, and Bitfone to meet aggressive staffing growth plans. Bill’s contract with Sony involved leading the staffing activity for San Diego operations, resulting in 900+ hires in one year. Titan hired him as a consultant to lead their corporate-wide staffing efforts during a time of fast growth.  DENSO Wireless became the first client of Williams & Sewell with outsourced staffing for their R&D center from our firm for several years. Bill was the on-site project manager. He has a BS degree in Business Administration from Rochester Institute of Technology, and a Certificate in Employee Relations Law.

Bill Sewell

Companies We’ve Worked With

Wireless/Telecom

  • Belkin
  • Broadcom
  • DENSO Wireless
  • HM Electronics
  • Hughes Network Systems
  • Leap Wireless
  • Nokia Siemens Networks
  • Open Mobile Alliance (OMA)
  • Sierra Wireless
  • TrellisWare Technologies
  • ViaSat

Analytics and Big Data

  • Alteryx
  • Klatu Networks
  • Lytx
  • Rubicon Project

Semiconductors

  • AMCC
  • Broadcom
  • GLOBALFOUNDRIES
  • Inphi
  • Marvell
  • Nextwave Broadband
  • Semtech
  • RF Micro Devices
  • Texas Instruments

Government / Defense

  • Booz Allen Hamilton
  • City of Carlsbad
  • Daylight Solutions
  • L-3
  • LinQuest
  • Maxwell Technologies
  • TrellisWare Technologies
  • ViaSat

Software

  • Bitfone
  • Del Mar Databases
  • eAssist
  • Mitek Systems
  • NTENT
  • PacketVideo
  • RoyaltyShare
  • Reaction Design

Life Sciences

  • Allergan
  • Covidien
  • Dexcom
  • Inova Diagnostics
  • Thermo Fisher Scientific
  • Volcano (Phillips)
  • Leica Microsystems

Healthcare

  • Artemis Institute
  • Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
  • Dignity Health Corporate Office
  • St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center
  • St. Mary Medical Center
  • St. Rose Dominican Hospitals
  • Continuing  Life

Energy

  • Advanced Energy
  • Maxwell Technologies
  • Reaction Design
Common Questions

1) Why should I outsource or contract any of my human resources functions or projects?

Outsourcing or contracting human resource functions or projects is fast becoming an attractive option for employers. HR needs in your company may be sporadic, internal resources may be fully loaded, budgets maybe don’t allow for a full time person, or there is simply not enough work to justify hiring a dedicated HR professional. Outsourcing allows you access to the HR expertise you need without hiring him/her as employees. Having an HR professional on-call is a valuable resource at an affordable cost.

2) What is a contract recruiter or contract sourcer?

A contract recruiter is normally paid on an hourly basis as a consultant to a company. Candidates are not presented to any competing clients. A contract recruiter can generally recruit for every type of employee that your company needs. Our contract recruiters will develop strategies, define the process, train hiring managers, source and evaluate candidates, schedule interviews, drive the internal candidate evaluation process, check references, extend offers and close the procedure of hiring candidates. Contract sourcers are often “work from home” recruiters, focused on direct sourcing of passive and active prospects to create a pipeline of qualified candidates for HR or management to further evaluate.

3) When is a good time to use a contract recruiter or sourcer?

When you are hiring multiple people, someone needs to implement or lead the recruiting process and generate candidates. Some companies may not have the resources available to handle these tasks. If your company is growing fast and needs to hire multiple employees in a reasonably short period of time, a contract recruiter or sourcer may be the best resource and cost effective method to achieve your hiring goals.

4) Why not use a headhunter?

Sometimes engaging a search firm is the right answer, but in many cases, using a contract recruiter will provide better results at a more reasonable cost. A headhunter or search firm is normally paid on a contingency basis. Payment of a hiring fee is contingent upon the candidate being hired. The normal fee is 20% – 30% or more of the starting annual salary. As a practical business approach, search firms will “shop” that candidate to other companies with similar openings to improve the odds of getting a placement.

5) What is a contract HR Generalist?

An HR Generalist is a human resources professional experienced in multiple areas of HR such as employee relations, performance management, employee development, compensation, benefits, staffing, employment laws, organizational development and training, HRIS, policies, procedures and reductions in force. A contract HR Generalist will often work on projects or is an outsourced provider of HR services to companies that do not need a full time professional, or fills in on an interim basis.

6) What is outplacement and who should be provided with this service?

The intent of our outplacement program is to provide valuable assistance to individuals or groups of people that are involuntarily leaving their job, such as a layoff or termination for cause. Our workshops focus on developing and implementing a strategic approach to the job search. We cover the important basics of conducting a self analysis, market analysis, resumes, cover letters, networking, interviewing techniques, and negotiating. We also cover the latest methods of using the internet and understanding how recruiters and managers find and select candidates to hire.

7) Why should we provide outplacement assistance to our departing employees?

It’s a good business practice that achieves a few objectives for both the company and the former employee. It demonstrates to the remaining employees that their employer cares about their well-being during a difficult time of transition between employers. Outplacement is often part of a severance agreement, along with a continuation of other benefits, such as health care, retirement plans, and severance pay. Our instructors are trained to deal with employees who are experiencing a wide range of emotions, lack of confidence and concerns for their future. Workshop participants will walk away with the tools and a greater level of confidence to conduct an effective job search.

8) What is an assessment tool?

The primary purpose of assessment tools is to provide managers and human resource professionals with additional insight on candidates for employment or current employees. Through the use of an on-line questionnaire, the information gained can assist with hiring decisions, coaching for professional development, succession planning and team building. The Prevue Assessment measures work-related characteristics and motivations of people. It is particularly effective when used in relation to benchmark job descriptions. A benchmark is a composite of the abilities, interests, and personality traits of successful people in a specified job.

9) What is the range in size of your clients and industries you serve?

Our clients range from small startups to Fortune 500 companies, particularly for our recruiting services. Clients for our general HR services and outplacement services tend to be companies less than 500 employees and many are under 100. Our clients cover a wide range of industries such as high tech, biotech, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, defense, municipalities, information technology and others.

10) How is pricing determined?

Pricing for recruiting and general HR consulting work is priced by the hour. The scope of work, length of contract and experience required will drive the bill rate. Outplacement services are priced on a project basis. Our assessment tool is priced on a per use basis.

11) Where are your clients located?

The majority of our clients are in California, but we have projects with clients worldwide. We have supported companies from Hong Kong and the UK setting up operations in the US. We have provided recruiters for companies on the east coast and Canada, for positions located around the country. We are supporting a large healthcare organization with hospitals throughout the Western US states, as well as high tech companies with facilities throughout the nation.