Hiring success is business success

Scalability, growth and profitability in a business often comes from different aspects including and not limited to long-term goals and strategies, marketing and branding, sustainable practices, and business structure. For waste and recycling management firm, Waste Solutions, the key to their success starts right from their team and a strongly built work culture.   
 
Founded more than a decade ago by Jason Wilcox and Shane Curtis, Waste Solutions has been redefining waste management, recycling practices and garbage disposal to help organizations achieve their environmental goals and reduce costs. Through consultancy with industry-leading experts, innovative technological solutions and management services, the venture provides a holistic waste management solution to companies in multiple industries including hospitality, senior living, manufacturing, government, property management, retail and others. Being in this space for a significant time, like any other business, like many others, this venture has been through business turnarounds and pivots to tackle market changes and ensure scalability through unprecedented times. “We realized that there wasn’t software on the shelf that would suit the needs of both – our people and customers. That’s when we endeavored to build a platform that could be used as our internal Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and offer our clients a dynamic portal. This helped us in automating a lot of processes and improved scalability for a more exponential growth trajectory,” says Wilcox. But that’s not all – Wilcox truly believes that it’s their team and a well-rounded workplace culture that has helped Waste Solutions reach the heights. 

Recognized on the Globe and Mail’s list of Top Growing Companies in Canada in 2023 (for the 5^th year in row), the venture has grown from a team of 18 employees to a mighty team of 90 in the span of the last 5 years.  Looking at a whooping retention rate of 118% in the past year and 160% the year before that, Waste Solutions recognized the importance of having strong hiring practices that align with their business goals early in their journey. “We concentrated on hiring the leadership team first, and then moving onto the recruitment of management-led teams to ensure constant support and effective onboarding,” shares Wilcox. This strategy particularly helped the company in bringing in individuals with years of expertise, knowledge and a fresh perspective. Another move that helped growth came from the switch to internal hiring instead of relying on recruitment firms to find the ‘right fit’ for the team. “When we are hiring, we look for positivity and personality. Having an in-house hiring team ensures that we find more culturally fit people and create more consistency across departments and teams,” says Wilcox.   

Focused on growth, Waste Solutions does not stop at finding the right fit – in fact, this process is just the beginning. For them, a mix of different efforts ensures a smooth onboarding process for the new hire AND existing employees. “We have a 90-day process to onboard a new employee, and this involves cross-departmental training and shadowing, a buddy system and a multi-week training module,” shares Wilcox. An interesting aspect of this 90-day training is the client lifecycle that gives an insight to the new hire into their role and where it fits in the bigger picture. Often, when companies try to integrate a new hire, it comes at the cost of added workload and shifting priorities for the existing employees, but that’s not the case at Waste Solutions. “We walk before we run with our new team members. This is why the onboarding process might also look like a 90+ day process for some to be fully engaged in their positions. Regular check-ins for comprehension, mental health, and determining how they are developing in their roles also helps in managing expectations both for the new hires and existing employees,” shares Wilcox.   

Building a strong work culture with a remote-first policy, open communication lines, company retreats and anonymous feedback systems, Waste Solutions has seen a year over year team member growth of 18% and an overall growth rate of 400% on their employee count in the last five years. Striving to continue building this environment, the company prides itself on being certified as a Great Place to Work for three consecutive years and credits their client satisfaction to employee retention rates. “We truly believe that if you care for your people, they will care for your customers. The more experience that an employee gains working at a workplace helps them get better at their roles and responsibilities which ultimately leads to a better client experience and satisfaction level,” says Wilcox.   

A highly diverse team with 50% of their workforce being women, with key focus on the well-being of its employees, and a leadership team that believes in involving their employees every step of the way, Waste Solutions’ success truly lies in the strength of its employees as they continue building one of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies on shared values and relentless pursuit of excellence.   

To know more about Waste Solutions, visit https://waste.solutions/