984. A Day in the Life: What’s It Really Like to Be a Contractor and Real Estate Developer?

“We were having trouble early on finding the right employees who would help our business scale. I read a book by Steve Jobs about a program he used at Apple called ‘community hiring.’ Here’s how it works. Every employee we are considering joining our company, at whatever level, must be interviewed by four different members of our team. Once all four interviews are completed, all four team members get together and compare notes about our direct experience with the employee being considered from every possible perspective. Using this hiring model our retention rate has more than doubled over the last few years to 85%, because we empirically track it. The ‘community hiring’ model has been outstanding for us and equally as positive is that when a candidate is actually hired and joins our team from the first day they feel like they are already a part of our culture because they have each gotten to know our key leaders and learned from each of us something unique about our goals, values, vision and mission. This is a true win-win: for the employee, our company and the clients we serve.”

Eli Marcus Smith founded and runs successful businesses in construction and real estate development with offices in Washington, DC, and Syracuse, NY. A committed and energetic entrepreneur, he is following in the footsteps of his parents who were successful business owners for over 40 years. Eli has been recognized by Governor Cuomo for his entrepreneurial spirit and achievement in contracting. He continues to give back to his community by mentoring students at area high schools and colleges including Syracuse University and Onondaga Community College. He also hosts a yearly event to recognize, honor and empower established and rising minority and women-owned businesses.