A Buffalo-based technology staffing firm has diversified and expanded services to continue growth during a challenging time for the national tech industry.
JMS Technical Solutions, headquartered at 686 Main St., Buffalo, has actively grown into more industries and about a year ago launched a staffing solution to become more of a “one-stop shop” for employers.
“That diversification, I would say, is key,” said Joel Shapiro, CEO and founder. “Otherwise, we probably would have taken a step back this year.”
The company, which employs 10 Buffalo- and Rochester-based employees and three remote workers, doubled its year-over-year revenue in 2023 and expect to do the same this year.
Recent large deals include the company last year signing a contract, valued at at least $1 million dollars, to recruit at least 150 Salesforce technical professionals for a U.S.-based Salesforce implementation partner. The business completed that contract, which was its biggest deal in its 15-year history, late last year.
This year, the staffing firm landed a deal with one of the largest travel retailers in the United States. Shapiro said he couldn’t disclose the company but that the contract would likely be valued at about $5 million for the business by the end of the year. Rather than a set hiring number, the firm is recruiting positions for the client as needed.
"They’ve needed a lot of resources in a lot of key areas,” said Jacob Lamos, JMS president.
Along with the retail client, JMS has been growing in the manufacturing industry, partnering with over 20 locally within the last eight months, along with some in other parts of the country. Currently, the firm is in talks with a handful of renewable energy companies, since it’s an industry there’s a lot of traction in right now.
Another key part of the company’s growth: launching JMS RecruitNow in June 2023.
The staffing solution allows businesses to utilize JMS recruiters on a week-by-week basis, to provide a flexible and cost-effective resource as an alternative to long-term recruitment commitments.
For example, a standard staffing fee could be 20% to 25% of a person’s base salary, which gets expensive when hiring multiple people. With JMS RecruitNow, employers pay a flat fee per week and can shut off and restart the service per week, while still using the same recruiters they’ve worked with before, who know their business, culture and what they’re looking for in talent.
Over 90% of clients have come back to use the service multiple times since it launched, according to Shapiro.
“It’s great for the client because they get access to our top recruiters with what would be a fraction of the price, and it’s good for us because it’s a more recurring revenue model and it also ultimately ends up being good for candidates,” he said. “It’s a really high-touch service for our candidates, who sometimes don’t get that when they’re applying to some smaller companies.”
