Essence Recruitment
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Essence Recruitment
Contact Us

Cheers to 15 Years!

When I started Essence, we all wanted to focus on the human:

  • Listening to the client for what they need, the candidate for what they want and matching them together.
  • Focus on the fit and the culture. Then deliver.
  • Focus on the human, not the bottom line and the business will come.
  • Never compromise our values.

It has worked. Our successful fill rate has been high, averaging over 90% over the years, and our retention rate even higher.

It hasn’t come without its challenges and mistakes, though. We have driven off our lane a few times, which has been costly, not only in dollars but in brand reputation and time. 

When looking back, it’s amusing to think now how a really good idea turned out to be a REALLY bad one….so many times. Examples include:

Like when we had strong brand recognition and then decided to change our name from Essence Recruitment to Essence Talent Solutions…why? Because we wanted to offer more than recruitment, to offer HR solutions.  Even worse, we weren’t even good at HR consulting! So, after losing our place in Google rankings and confusing our customers more than once, not providing the service we expected and delivered, we retracted, and Essence Recruitment was once more. Back in our lane, focusing on the exceptional client and candidate experience 

Then we decided to expand, open an office in Calgary, AB, giving our clients confidence we are a national brand.  Then COVID hit, and we dropped 86% of our business. Acting quickly, we added HR consulting to our business AGAIN!! Like we didn’t learn the first time. But at least we didn’t change the name; we just added a division, and we started PeopleCo. And as you can already project, it didn’t go well. Now I have an additional office with higher expenses, an additional division that isn’t working with additional expenses, and I’m rebuilding my client base as we navigate COVID. Fun times.

Looking back at the mistakes, lessons, growth, and challenges, I keep returning to a handful of foundational pieces of advice I received before launching the business. I’ve carried them with me since the beginning.

  1. Cash is king…make sure you have cash flow for at least 3 months; better if you have 6 months. This hasn’t always been the case, but it’s what we strive for.
  2. Get the professionals: lawyers and accountants.
  3. Don’t spend your time on the things you are not good at; it will only hurt your company. I also had a bookkeeper and a marketer from day one. I’m an expert in recruitment and hiring, definitely not either of those.
  4.  Be willing to pivot quickly and, more importantly, be willing to fail. We all know the world is moving quickly, and to keep up, we need to move faster.
  5. Embrace your mistakes and learn. I have made so many mistakes, but I’m stronger because of them. Essence is stronger because of them. I think back on how poor our process was, from how we did not track our activity and everything to how we presented candidates. None of it was professional or high quality compared to the standards we have today. Honestly, I look back and cringe at how unprofessional it was. But with every recruit, I listened and learned. Today, I am confident in our thorough process, communication, and the expertise we bring.
  6. You are your team.  I started Essence with only myself, with zero dollars in the bank. Each day meant one more step toward building a team around me. Each person who has been part of Essence brought value and has contributed to who we are today. Essence’s success and growth are not mine; they’re ours. As we grow, it’s because of their expertise, commitment, and willingness to be part of my journey. I am grateful.

1 person in one city. 15 years later, 7 people and nationwide. We are experts in not-for-profit executive recruitment, and our plan is to help organizations across our great country build their leadership teams. Yes, we changed our name AGAIN to Essence Search Firm, but this time it actually makes sense. We didn’t drive off our lane; we focused on what we deliver: executive search. Taking in all the experiences, failures, mistakes, and successes, I am confident we will surpass our goal and am looking forward to telling you all about it.

By the way, we are hiring…interested in being part of our team? Contact me 

Tracy Arno CEO/Founder Essence Search Firm

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