Utica staffing firm, M3 Placement & Partnership, grows its ranks and revenue

UTICA — M3 Placement & Partnership, a Utica–based staffing and placement firm, has more than doubled its revenue in the last year and is poised for more growth, according to owner and CEO Mary Malone McCarthy, who founded the business in 2011.

“We’ve been busier than I could have ever imagined,” she says, declining to disclose specific financial figures.

The firm added a fourth employee this fall, and moved into a larger office space situated at 110 Lomond Court in Utica at the end of October, according to McCarthy. The new office is 1,500 square feet, whereas the firm’s former home — located at 4350 Middle Settlement Road in New Hartford — was fewer than 1,000 square feet. The firm simply outgrew the previous location, she says.

M3 Placement & Partnership is leasing the space from Utica–based Charles A. Gaetano Construction Corp., which spent 12 weeks renovating the space, McCarthy says.

“The office part is beautiful,” she says. “It was all in great shape, it was just making it fit to what we needed.” She declined to provide the cost of the renovations.

M3 Placement & Partnership held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 3 at the new office.

M3 Placement & Partnership is the firm’s operating name. Its parent company is M3 Business Services, according to McCarthy.

Coming off a strong 2015 performance, McCarthy intends to keep her foot on the gas pedal, with plans to double M3’s revenue again in the next 12 to 24 months. “I know those are aggressive goals, and we want to do that the right way.”

One reason for the firm’s considerable growth is its certification as a woman-owned business enterprise, which it received two years ago from Empire State Development’s Division of Minority and Women’s Business Development, McCarthy says.

Thirty percent of state contracts are required to go to minority- or women-owned business enterprises, in accordance with efforts by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration to grow such businesses.

In November, M3 Placement & Partnership submitted for a national certification as a woman-owned business with the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, according to McCarthy.

McCarthy was taught by her father to go farther for clients than they expect, a philosophy she believes has greatly contributed to her firm’s growth. “The customers are so pleased when you strive to exceed their expectations every day.”

Some of the company’s clients “are referring us to people outside the area,” which has also aided M3’s growth.

The focus moving forward is to take the model M3 has, continue to improve it, and begin expanding its client base throughout the Northeast, McCarthy says.

Developing a close relationship with clients by thoroughly vetting and understanding what kind of employee the firm is seeking is key to M3’s model.

Most clients are seeking to fill a single position, McCarthy explains. In those cases, M3 speaks with the team members of the future employee, that company’s executive team, its search team, and any other relevant people, to identify the attributes of an ideal hire. And McCarthy says she and her team learn from each of their client companies.

Some customers may come to her firm looking to put together an entire team composed of new hires, and McCarthy’s team has a window of time to assemble it for the client. In addition, M3 Placement & Partnership can also provide help with the on-boarding/orientation processes.

McCarthy sees the growth of her company as a microcosm of the area’s business environment. “It just shows the economic livelihood in our region right now,” she says, adding that a lot of executive-level positions have been or are becoming available, making the region more attractive to outsiders.

“This is a great place to relocate to,” is a line that McCarthy says she frequently hears from prospective hires about the Mohawk Valley.