‘It really opened up the entire United States’

Kevin Gill’s company has helped more than 100,000 people find work in the last 19 years. Thanks to a new collaboration, it shouldn’t take another two decades for that number to double.

At the beginning of the year, Winnipeg-based Staffmax Staffing & Recruiting Corp. partnered with Patrice & Associates, one of the largest permanent recruitment and executive search franchise systems in the United States.

The partnership makes Staffmax’s temporary staffing, contract, health-care and travel nursing services available across Patrice’s 180 U.S. offices. Patrice will focus on permanent recruitment and executive search, which is a boon to Staffmax, which also recruits in those areas, Gill said.

“Now we have a reach of 180 additional offices with individuals there that can help us fill permanent roles across the United States, which is the biggest staffing market out there,” he said.

Staffmax has offices in Australia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The company had 16 offices in the U.S. prior to the deal with Patrice.

“We’ve expanded on our own, but through this partnership with them, it really opened up the entire United States,” Gill said.

The deal includes profit sharing on commercial staffing and health-care staffing roles that are referred by Patrice to Staffmax and vice versa, according to an article published by Staffing Industry Analysts, a global research and advisory firm.

Gill declined to get into specifics about the financials, but said the first 20 Patrice franchises Staffmax onboarded have already outperformed what the two companies projected. “It’s extremely significant for Staffmax and we’re really excited.”

The deal came after the 56-year-old businessman connected with Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Conscious Capital Growth two years ago. The private equity firm backs Patrice, which was founded in 1989, and is also headquartered in Scottsdale.

“We compete against some very big global national providers and we’re known around the world in this industry,” Gill said.

“We’re really an aggressive sales company. We go out there and try and earn our business, because we feel if someone uses us once or twice, we can earn their business long term.”

Patrice CEO Jason Miller did not respond to an interview request Tuesday. In a news release, he said offering Staffmax’s temporary staffing services across his company’s offices will be advantageous.

“Our franchise owners are trusted recruitment advisers in their markets,” he said. “This partnership allows them to deliver a broader set of workforce solutions while staying focused on relationship-driven recruiting.”

Founded in 2007, Staffmax employs 40 people and is headquartered in an office building on Portage Avenue near Polo Park.

The company is budgeting to hire 20 new employees — 10 in Winnipeg and 10 remote workers — and preparing to open a second office in the city.

The new office will be located in the Exchange District on Market Avenue. Choosing that location reflects the company’s commitment to Manitoba’s capital and its core, Gill said.

“We’ve been a business for 19 years, and we’re trying to help downtown with its growth,” he said. “When we decided to pick a location for another office here, we were adamant about making it downtown.”

A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s business administration program, Gill pursued a few entrepreneurial ventures, including running a coupon book business and publishing a golf magazine, until his daughter Jenna was born. At that point, he says, his wife, Shelley, told him to “get a real job.”

Gill landed at a staffing firm, even though he knew nothing about placing temporary workers. Less than a year later, he left the company to start Staffmax.

Today, Staffmax is something of a family business. Jake, the eldest of Gill’s two children, works at the company, as does Jason, Gill’s younger brother.

Shelley, whom Gill met in high school, is the director of finance and payroll. The couple will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in August.

“I owe everything to her for her support,” Gill said. “Being in business, you have to take risks. Some work and some don’t. She stuck with me through all those other (ventures), so I’m very grateful.”

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca