A brief history of our business on our 20th anniversary...

In October 2024, JP Smith Recruitment and Human Resources celebrates 20 years of service. In actual fact, it goes back further than that, when I started up my first psychological testing business called Jamieson P. Smith Psychological Testing in 2002. My then business partner and I started our business, a full recruitment and HR service, underpinned by psychological profiling in October 2004 under the name of Ambition Human Resources. Unfortunately, due to us not doing our research properly at the time, that name was fraught with disaster, because we had actually registered a name whose intellectual property had been registered elsewhere. We were very quickly brought to heel by the legalities of this and we had to change our name. Very quickly. It ended up being quite an amusing story, that one, so next time we talk, remind me to tell you about it. The business then became McDougall Smith Human Resources from the end of 2004 to the end of 2008. In 2006, we moved to 14 Bowen Street in Toowoomba where we are currently trading from, to this day. My business partner and I, (who was a very good operator and I have the highest regard for), decided we had different goals and decided to go our own ways. We then became JP Smith Recruitment and Human Resources and trade under this name, to this day. The business has survived the obvious name changes and evolutions as above. It has gone through the global financial crisis (GFC) and it has ridden through the challenges of the gas boom in this area. We then had the 2011 floods (and the 2012 floods) where our office got pretty much wiped out, the roof gave in and we lost a lot. And then it happened again to a lesser extent next year. Peaceful times after that and then we went through Covid. You know how that one went. One of my favourite sayings that I got out of my stint in the army was “adapt and overcome”. Never truer during these times. We have got through the other side of all that and have reached a milestone that we are all very proud of. I'm proud to say we have clients who we work with today, who we worked with on the first day of our business. So our relationships stretch back to the day we started. Of course, there have been ups and downs along the way, but to those clients who have been with us all the way - you know who you are - thank you very much for your continued support.

An amusing anecdote from when we released our JP Smith Recruitment & HR branding: when we did this branding, we needed to have a slogan in those times. It was pretty much a mandatory thing, according to the marketing people. So, enthused by our emphasis on psychological testing and getting the best people for our clients, we brought out the slogan "the brightest and the best". In my head, it was referencing our ability to get the best people for our clients. However... I'll never forget a certain client who sat in our boardroom and saw that slogan for the first time and he looked at me with a sardonic grin and said, "you've got tickets on yourself, haven't you mate". It dawned upon me that his impression was that the slogan, "the brightest and the best" was referring to me/us. No!!!! A little bit of market research after that revealed that there were a few people who thought the same. So we were quick to change it to "bringing you the brightest and the best". From that moment on, I was pretty careful about what we put out there.

“There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” - Aldous Huxley.

We’ve always been a good team and whilst staff come and go to seek the brighter lights of the big smoke, I’ve been very fortunate to keep in touch with a lot of them who’ve gone on to have wonderful careers. It’s been very rewarding working with ambitious and driven people and those who like to be up for the challenge. I’d particularly like to make mention of Rach Norley who has faithfully and enthusiastically been part of the business for nearly 8 years. Same with Gladys who is coming up to 7 years and never fails to start the day with a big smile and a good dose of positivity. Shane is a relatively new addition to our business but has grabbed it with complete gusto and has definitely earned her jersey. It's also very pleasing to see that both my daughters, Sophie and Jemimah, have spent some time working in the business on school and Uni holidays.  

I've always hoped and dreamed of a business that stands the test of time and one day the baton will get passed on, with any luck. But for now, I see 20 years as a starting point and there is so much more that we can do and so much more that can be done. So we won't rest on our laurels and expect to see good things from us over the next 20 years and beyond.

As a little bit of a teaser, we have a new web page coming soon where you will be able to “choose your own adventure” with your psychological profiling needs for your candidates and staff. It will be very user-friendly and interactive.

So there’s a little bit of history and more than a little bit of pride with what we’ve accomplished with our clients. Onwards and upwards.

Jamie

P.S. Guessing we should probably have a proper party for our 21st!