what we do
Project-based consulting
Hire one of our experienced professionals on a project basis.
About Us
Makena Partners was established in 2012 as a recruiting services firm focused on results.
We figured out early on how to navigate the murky talent acquisition waters to get to the best candidates, and since our founding, have evolved into a full-service talent sourcing agency designed to help our clients build out robust talent pipelines.
Simply put, we source, so you can hire.
We are uniquely positioned to support your technology needs, with a distinct focus on cloud computing and automation.
We put our heart into everything we do. We'll never work on anything we can't ourselves be excited about.
We operate with a "line of force" methodology - ensuring that we deliver results with energy and enthusiasm.
We do this because we strive to add value through ethical and honest work.
Clients
Latest News
What Role Does Sourcing Play in Recruiting?
Recruiting, as with any process-oriented function, is really the sum of all of its collective parts. While the term “recruiting” tends to be used as all-encompassing, generally when people talk about recruiting, they’re talking about one or more specific steps, or phases, in the “full lifecycle” recruiting process. So what does that process look like? Read more about What Role Does Sourcing Play in Recruiting?[…]
Should You Hire a Talent Acquisition Consultant?
Your company is growing fast and you’re struggling to find qualified candidates to fill your pipeline. As a busy HR leader, you’ve got your hands full managing payroll, benefits, employee experience, not to mention helping build and define company culture. The last thing you have time to do is spend hours preparing job descriptions, posting Read more about Should You Hire a Talent Acquisition Consultant?[…]
Candidate Sourcing Strategies for Everyone
A good candidate sourcing model depends on a few key factors. If done correctly, organizations can decrease their dependency on job boards and third-party recruiting firms to generate candidate flow. The following tips should help you determine first if you have the resources in place to run a successful candidate sourcing program, or whether it Read more about Candidate Sourcing Strategies for Everyone[…]
How To Hire Software Engineers
Hiring software engineers can be one of the more difficult challenges any business leader must navigate through: there are simply not enough qualified candidates available for the sheer volume of open positions at companies in the United States and beyond. As such, employers are beginning to consider new approaches to recruiting and hiring, as well Read more about How To Hire Software Engineers[…]
Sharepoint vs Box for Collaboration
Many companies flock to Sharepoint 2013 the way bees do honey – as a Microsoft product, it’s often the default go-to for companies (already using MS products) looking to build and manage collaboration portals. However, there are a few new players on the block, that while lacking the deep integrations with other Microsoft technologies (Azure, Windows, Office, etc.) give Sharepoint a run for their money with regards to pricing, features, and flexibility. Read more about Sharepoint vs Box for Collaboration
Employee Referral Programs – The Good, Bad, and Ugly
There’s a lot of noise in the new category of “social recruiting” software, designed for large enterprises to tap their employees’ social connections to help find qualified, “passive” candidates for open positions. While there is a lot of promise in this space (worst case scenario it creates a new channel for company recruiters, best case it revolutionizes the way companies attract talent), it’s helpful to be realistic about expectations with employee referral programs.
The promise of software is always to automate human processes to make them quicker, better, more effective. Software that makes it easier for people to do their jobs, and makes them more productive, is, in most cases, going to be successful. However, software that expects new behavior from users, specifically behaviors they were not quite engaged in prior to using the software, is tricky. Employee referral programs are a perfect example. Read more about Employee Referral Programs – The Good, Bad, and Ugly
SaaS Conversion Analysis – 4 Key Factors
As a SaaS provider, you are focused on optimizing your customer acquisition channels (at the same time as keeping your current customers happy with new products, features and services.) More then ever, you’re diving into your business intelligence reports to better understand the metrics behind the economics of your company, as well as customer and prospect behavior on your website (marketing analytics.)
One of the commonly overlooked pieces of your business is “conversion analysis” – that is, the who, what, when, where, why and how around prospects hitting your application marketing site and “converting” into a lead, free trial user, and/or customer.
There are a number of key factors that drive any SaaS conversion analysis. Here are the 4 most important: Read more about SaaS Conversion Analysis – 4 Key Factors
5 Key Moving Parts of the RFP Response
After two late nights polishing up responses to RFPs for technology projects, it felt like writing a de-brief of the process and key takeaways would be a cathartic thing to do. Let’s find out.
There are skeptics (like me at times) who believe that the RFP process is really just an administrative checks and balances activity and that procurement has its mind made up on the vendor of choice long before the RFPs are received and reviewed. 
We’ve all thought that one of the “big-guys” had it in the bag before the RFP was issued once or twice, and sometimes, that may be the case, but I don’t believe always, and for one key reason: most projects are highly specialized and sometimes the big guys can’t build as compelling a case or team as a smaller, more nimble and highly specialized firm. Read more about 5 Key Moving Parts of the RFP Response
An Operational/Financial perspective on the Business Intelligence space
Recently I corresponded with a Seattle based strategic Financial and Operational professional, Gary Beebe Jr, who currently serves as a Sr Program Manager for Finance at NCSoft, a global MMO gaming company with a big presence in the Seattle area. Gary and I were talking about BI and he summed up his view quite eloquently Read more about An Operational/Financial perspective on the Business Intelligence space[…]
Do business leaders favor direct communication?
I send a lot of emails each day to partners, prospects, and clients, and often find myself sprinkling my messages with all kinds of formalities. It’s what I see as the icing on the cake (you wouldn’t dare serve a birthday cake without all of that tasty icing, would you?) but I often wonder if it isn’t an unnecessary layer that clouds my messaging and makes it hard for a time-pressed recipient to get to the heart of my message. I also wonder if it doesn’t water down my points and slow down the sense of urgency I am trying to convey. Read more about Do business leaders favor direct communication?