How agencies can win in this hyper-competitive hiring moment

In 2005 I decided that my industry was broken.

There was high turnover, profits that flowed exclusively to top management and exorbitant waste on expenses like fancy offices. And most importantly, for an industry with a high degree of female participation, there was a huge percentage of women who dropped out of the workforce after having kids.

Due to a combination of inflexible workplace norms and burnout, women who had options said, “forget it.”

Much has been written about this topic. The McKinsey “broken rung” research is most notable for how women lose out over time. But even back in 2005, before the more recent exploration of the gender gap, I knew I wanted a better option. I started something new, built from the ground up to serve the people I was lucky enough to call my team.

We built a virtual team that put a focus on people and talent versus geographic location and traditional schedules. Being shackled by existing workplace norms wasn’t only frustrating, it was stifling the opportunities created by advancements in technology and growth of knowledge work. So, we built a new kind of environment where talented, ambitious people could come together and own their work experience.