“Sometimes you gotta create what you want to be a part of.” ― Geri Weitzman
Starting a business is an act of faith in any economy, but that faith was certainly tested when the pandemic hit in March while we were planning to open the doors to XPG Recruit on April 2 in 2020. Everything came to a halt. Businesses were hunkering down, laying off staff, and seeing sales plummet. It took an extra special belief in what we were doing to open one month later on May 4. But we felt we had a vision that was strong enough to succeed, even in the middle of a once-in-a-lifetime crisis.
We were right.
And just two years later, we were proud to be named one of Jacksonville’s Best Places to Work for 2022. We were in the Extra Small category, with just 15 employees plus a couple of contractors who contribute specialty skills, but we were the youngest company of any size that was selected. We’ve hand-picked a team that would be successful wherever they landed. We’re grateful that they chose to land with us.
Performance, Accountability, Trust – and Fun
As the market slows down, we reflect on how we arrived here. I spent a long corporate career managing teams, and I’ve seen how much culture matters. When I decided to leave and start my own firm, I wanted to create a workplace culture that combined the most important aspects of work: performance, accountability, trust – and fun. I wanted to work with people I trusted to be good at what they do and who cared passionately about excellence.
One of the things we’re most proud of as a Best Place to Work award recipient is that you’re nominated by your workers. Technically, they rate criteria like benefits and the work environment. But we know – and so do they – that it’s our people-first priority and a strong culture that keeps our team together.
Let’s Go Find Our Smile
Lots of companies say that their people are their number one priority, but for most of them, it’s a slogan rather than a policy. I’ve worked in companies that prioritize performance over people, and most everyone there was miserable, even if they were hitting their goals. We had a mantra while planning to launch XPG Recruit: Let’s go find our smile.
We believe that you can be focused on performance and be people-centric at the same time. We have to be successful, sure – but we can also have fun while we’re doing it. When you choose the right people and choose to treat them right, they thrive.
Doing the right things for your people isn’t as hard as companies make it seem. I learned a lot from my corporate career about what to do to help people thrive – and what not to do. Together with business partner Ann Schulz, I wrote a book that’s designed to help leaders and managers get the people part of performance right. For more information, or to get your copy, click here.
By the way, we’re hiring. If you’re a candidate in the staffing industry, we’d love to work with you. You deserve to work with a top-tier recruiter who values your experience, understands the staffing industry inside and out, and has the connections you need to achieve your definition of success.
We are the staffing industry’s premier recruiters, and we are ready to find you exactly what you want from your next move.
If you’re a top performer and ready to work with a company that values your experience and knows how to have fun, we are interested in talking to you about our team. Get the conversation started by emailing me at rthompson@xpgrecruit.com.