LeafFilter North is proof that there’s strength in numbers. With 38 offices in the U.S. and Canada, the sprawling company did 37,000 jobs last year.
“Either you continue to grow or you die,” says Matt Kaulig, company founder, owner, president, and CEO. “We feel more stable than companies that are just trying to hold onto the past and maintain market share.”
Growing at a clip of about 30% a year, Kaulig is doing anything but maintaining. Through it all, the company has managed to maintain its commitment to customer service, which has its own dedicated department. “That’s a big reason we’ve continued to grow as fast as we have,” he says.
But Kaulig is running into a potential roadblock to all that growth, one that even the smallest companies are facing: being able to find enough workers.
Here again, Kaulig says his company’s size provides an advantage. “We’re the biggest company in the industry and everybody wants to work for the biggest and the best,” he says. “Aside from that, we just create an awesome place to work.”
Still, Kaulig knows that he can’t take employees for granted, so he’s focusing on recruiting new hires from within whenever he can.
“The bottom line is, treat your employees like gold,” he says. “There are jobs available out there, so you’ve got to take care of your own people or else they’re going to leave. Your top people have your secret sauce, so you have to hold on to them.”
