What the Intake Call With a New Institutional Client Should Actually Accomplish
Most intake calls collect the basics but miss what actually shapes a strong search: the operational context behind the opening, what success looks like at 18 months, the institutional navigation landscape, and the internal process the timeline has to work around. Matt Lesher explains what a well-run intake call should accomplish.
Hiring Facilities and Construction Leaders for Sports Venues and Stadiums: What Makes This Search Category Different
Sports venue and stadium facilities leadership is one of the most operationally demanding and least well-understood search categories in the built environment. Real8 Group explains what makes the candidate profile distinct, where the talent pool actually sits, and what compensation benchmarks look like in 2026.
The “Culture Fit” Trap in Construction and Facilities Leadership Hiring
Culture fit is the most frequently cited and least well-defined reason for declining a candidate in construction and facilities leadership searches. Real8 Group explains how the criterion operates in practice, where it causes the most damage, and how to evaluate organizational fit in a way that actually predicts performance.
How to Evaluate a Director of Engineering Candidate: What Most Institutional Searches Get Wrong
The Director of Engineering is one of the most consequential and consistently underappreciated roles in institutional facilities management. Matt Lesher of Real8 Group explains what effective candidate evaluation looks like and where most institutional searches go wrong.
How to Build a Structured Interview Process for Construction and Facilities Leadership Roles
Most organizations have formal interview processes for VP and Director-level construction and facilities searches. Very few have structured ones. Real8 Group’s step-by-step playbook covers how to build a process that actually produces the information needed to make a confident hire.
How Poor Interview Process Design Costs You Strong Construction and Facilities Candidates
Poor interview process design is a leading cause of failed searches and weak hires in construction and facilities leadership. Real8 Group covers the specific failures that lose strong candidates and produce poor hiring decisions, and what effective process design looks like.
Data Center Construction and Facilities Executive Compensation: 2026 Talent Market Benchmarks
Data center construction and critical facilities management is the most competitive executive talent market in the sector in 2026. Real8 Group covers compensation benchmarks for VP and Director-level roles and what hiring organizations need to know before starting a search.
Why “Project Executive” Means Something Different at a GC Than It Does on the Owner Side
The Project Executive title appears across GC, owners’ rep, and owner-side resumes, but it describes three meaningfully different roles. Matt Lesher of Real8 Group explains what each profile actually looks like and what it means for how you should evaluate candidates.
The 30-Day Onboarding Playbook for a New VP of Facilities or Construction
Most organizations spend more time selecting a VP of Facilities or Construction than preparing to integrate them. Real8 Group’s week-by-week playbook covers what a well-structured first 30 days looks like for VP-level construction and facilities hires.
Hiring Real Estate and Facilities Leaders in University Campus Retail: A Vertical Where the Rules Are Different
Campus retail and university auxiliary real estate leadership is one of higher education’s most overlooked hiring challenges. Real8 Group covers what makes this vertical structurally different, what the right executive profile looks like, and where institutions consistently go wrong in these searches.
Why Your Reference Check Process Is Not Telling You What You Need to Know
Most reference check processes for construction and facilities executive hires produce confirmation, not information. Real8 Group explains why standard processes fail and what effective reference development actually looks like for VP and Director-level searches.
How to Evaluate a Superintendent Candidate: What Most Hiring Processes Miss
Superintendent hiring is one of the most technically specific and consistently misjudged searches in construction leadership. Matt Lesher of Real8 Group explains what effective evaluation actually tests, and what most interview processes miss in institutional and owners’ rep contexts.