In the last 47 years, we’ve evolved and adapted along with technology. On October 1, 1968, ESP was founded by Gary Brumfield, to support the staffing needs of the IT community. Steve Parker bought the company in 1970, and then sold it to our current owner and CEO, Bob Hildreth in 1986. We’re proud of our history and excited to be three years away from the big 5-0. As we approach that significant milestone, we found our 47th year to be a time of looking back at our recent and rapid growth, and looking ahead to the future of ESP. We’ve avoided a mid-life crisis so far, and have no plans of buying a fancy car, but we do have some big dreams we want to achieve before we turn 50.
It all started with a new vision: Inspire our team to live well, drive healthy growth, and build a culture based on trust.
We know that healthy employees are happier employees. They work better and harder. They spend time with their families. They contribute to the team. That’s part of why we launched our Live Well Program last year—designed to help our employees focus on all aspects of their health—moving, learning, eating, and resting.
We also have continued to rely on our Blueprint—25 Principles for Placing People First—to help create cultural consistency among our team. These everyday behaviors help unify us as a team and keep us striving toward a culture based on trust.
We know that not all growth is sustainable, and that fast growth isn’t always healthy. That’s why our new vision states “drive healthy growth”. Last year, we achieved and in fact exceeded a goal we’d set three years earlier to double our sales and grow our consulting practice, without compromising the quality and integrity of our work. Our goal for 2018 is to double yet again, through the development and growth of our internal team, and by continuing to identify the right IT solutions for our clients, and advance IT professionals’ careers.
In the past year we were thrilled to celebrate several awards and milestones as an organization:
- For the third year in a row, MN Business Magazine named us one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in Minnesota.
- Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal ranked ESP as a top executive search firm in the Twin Cities, and ESP was the top ranked firm working exclusively in the IT market. We also made the Journal’s Management Consulting Firms list for the first time.
- Two national lists recognized our growth for the second year in a row: We ranked 14th on Staffing Industry Analysts’ 2015 list of the fastest-growing staffing firms and were on Magazine’s ‘Inc. 5000’ fastest-growing companies for the third year in a row.
- We welcomed new members to the team to help with our continued growth, including our Controller, Kelli Moretter-Bue, IT Recruiters Alex Webb, Mike O’Meara, and Shannon Paradis, and Staff Accountant Mindi Schlautman.
- We celebrated many employee anniversaries, including Kurt Witschorik’s ESP anniversary milestone of 15 years, and Denise Morelock and AnnaLisa Krupnick’s 5-year ESP anniversaries.
In our efforts to give back to the community, we’re very excited about the new sponsorships we took on this year as well:
We were proud to be a presenting sponsor at the awards ceremony which took place in February of this year. Giving back to the community has always been important to ESP, and in fact is one of our 25 Blueprints. We were truly moved by the stories shared at the ceremony and honored to celebrate companies doing good works in our community.
- MHTA’s Tech Experience Tours
Another aspect of giving back that is important to us is educating young people about the opportunities available to them in the information technology field. In partnering with the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA), we hope to provide students interested in learning more about IT and the high tech business world with opportunities to connect with IT focused companies and IT departments in the Twin Cities. Learn More.
We feel very fortunate to have rung in another year of doing business in the greater Twin Cities market. We’ve enjoyed every one of the 47 years we’ve served the IT community, and thank you for relying on us all these years.
In the next three years, we look forward to serving our clients by being their go-to IT consulting and staffing firm, whether they are looking for the best IT professional on a contract or full time basis to help them complete their projects, or are looking for their next IT gig to gain experience, learn new skills, and advance their careers. We’re looking forward to 50, but in the mean time we plan on enjoying every day of our late 40s. Maybe we will buy that red convertible after all.