Promoting Excellence in Small Business: McGrath Systems

One of the eleven winners of the Chamber's 27th annual Excellence Awards Honoring Small Businesses is featured in this issue: Emerging Business of the Year, McGrath Systems. The Emerging Business of the Year award is sponsored by Bank of America. Be sure to look for additional winners in upcoming issues.

Emerging Business of the Year, McGrath Systems

Mike Wiley
Photo by Douglas A. Lockard Photography

In just four years, Mike Wiley’s business went from a modest start in his parents’ Plymouth Meeting basement to one of the region’s top recruiting and staffing firms.

In that short time, McGrath Systems was ranked twice by Philadelphia 100 as the second fastest growing privately held company in the region, thrice named by Philadelphia Business Journal as a Top 10 Local Recruiting Firm, and, in 2009, Wiley made PBJ’s 40 Under 40 list.

In 2005, after achieving much success at a national firm, Wiley decided to strike out on his own. He invested $150,000 in a start-up human capital business with a niche in placing engineers. Focused on providing the highest level of quality and service on a daily basis, the business soon expanded vertically into information technology, finance, clinical and scientific, manufacturing and professional support services.

Viewing the recession as an opportunity for expansion, McGrath successfully delved into new market services such as green energy and health care, and upgraded its operating infrastructure to align with its rapid growth.

Although there has been a significant downturn in the industry during this challenging economic time, McGrath Systems has experienced a sustained growth pattern. The company continues to make substantial investments in software and capital equipment and is trending for another record-setting year.

With more than 2,000 professionals matched with small start-ups to Fortune 100 corporations, Wiley credits the company’s success to his team of 20 industry professionals’ strategic prospecting and persistent searches to locate ideal candidates. Their objective has been simple: to set a new standard of excellence in the staffing industry by which other services would be compared – one client and one candidate at a time.

Incorporated: 2005 | Blue Bell, PA | mcgrathsystems.com