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Aaron
P R O F I L E
Conference call: Aaron Roseth President of ESG (Hot Firm #36 for 2017), a 120-person architecture and design firm based in Minneapolis.
By LIISA ANDREASSEN Correspondent “W e have a small SWAT team that focuses on networking and about 75 percent of our work comes from that,” Roseth says. A CONVERSATION WITH AARON ROSETH. The Zweig Letter: What’s the best way to recruit and retain top talent in a tight labor market? Aaron Roseth: Word-of-mouth has been our main recruitment tool. We offer employee incentives. If a new hire that is referred stays a few months, the employee who referred him/her receives between $1,500 and $2,000. Our senior leadership also does a lot of “professional dating” or networking. It took me about two years to court one of our hires – it’s about perseverance and communication. That per- son is now one of our top performers. Our reten- tion rates for people who have been here for three or more years is great. We have more difficulty in the one- to three-year time frame. The millennials
tend to be soul searchers. They need to experience things on their own. We had one person who left in the one- to three-year category, but ended up com- ing back. “People are rewarded for what they produce for ESG. The leadership here put a great deal of trust in me early on and I delivered. Entrepreneurship is at the heart of who we are. We reward people who ‘bring it.’” TZL: What is the role of entrepreneurship in your firm? AR: We’re a 100 percent meritocracy. People are re- warded for what they produce for ESG. The leader- ship here put a great deal of trust in me early on
Aaron Roseth, President, ESG
THE ZWEIG LETTER Aug
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