February 13th, 2002.
That’s the exact date Wellington Steele & Associates began its quest to connect talented people with great companies.
Twenty years later, our website looks different, there are some new faces, and we’re in a new office, but our mission remained the same, and that’ll never change.
As we sit back and think about the past two decades, we want to take the opportunity to celebrate you, our customers, colleagues, families, and friends for all we’ve accomplished together.
So, let’s take a trip down memory lane and a glimpse into what the future holds for all of us.
Looking Back at the Past 20 Years
It seems like yesterday we picked up the keys to our first office, about a 20-minute drive from the heart of downtown Rochester.
What was a monumental day in the history of Wellington Steele & Associates actually started in possibly the most insignificant way possible: On the back of a napkin.
That’s right.
The genesis of WSA began on something designed to be thrown away.
Obviously, we didn’t throw the napkin away because we knew we were on to something that would diversify recruiting options in Rochester while improving the connection between clients, candidates, and recruiting firms.
So, that’s what we set out to do—and thanks to our first clients who trusted us, including some of Rochester’s longest-running legacy employers—we’ve been able to do that.
For 20 years, Rochester and the Greater Upstate NY Region have been our utmost priority. We’ve sponsored local and regional events such as Honor Flight, Rochester’s local professional sports teams, ALZ walk, and multiple charities.
The RBJ has even named us as one of Rochester’s Top 100 on more than one occasion, and for that, we couldn’t be more proud.
Throughout it all we stayed in our swim lane, mastered our craft, outworked the competition, and kept it incredibly simple; we understood our identity and what we were trying to accomplish, and we went all in.
This is the foundation from which we built Wellington Steele & Associates and the same one it sits on today.
Well, technically, the foundation moved a bit. After spending about 13 years in the suburbs, we packed up and headed to one of the most iconic parts in Rochester: East Avenue, where we continue to help companies—now across the US—hire the best and brightest in their industries.
Looking Ahead to the Next 20 Years
Before we look ahead, we must look back once more.
The past two-plus years have taken an unimaginable toll on every business and person on this planet. The pandemic has disrupted our way of life forever. While it has been the furthest thing from easy, we want to thank our people and the continued support of all our customers during these times of uncertainty.
And reinforce that we’re more committed than ever.
We’re sticking to our roots and humble beginnings, but we’re doing so through a different lens; one that takes the shifting sands of the staffing and recruiting world into account.
As we continue to walk hand-in-hand with our clients to help them navigate the new normal, our approach has shifted from helping them hire right-fit candidates for in-office settings to working with them to source those destined to thrive in a remote-first world.
The same nimbleness that kept us in business for the past twenty years will continue to help us help our clients navigate the uncharted waters for decades to come.
With all that said, it’s time to move forward and look toward the future of recruiting and staffing. We’re proud of our achievements thus far and have certainly enjoyed celebrating with you all, but now it’s time to get back to work.
Here’s to another 20 years.