Smart hire gives new life to Halifax production company
When entrepreneur Byungjun Kang decided to hire a new project manager, succession planning was the last thing on his mind.
The company was growing, revenue was doubling every year and he needed an extra pair of hands — and a strong set of skills — for his non-profit video production company.
Three years later, Kang is handing the leadership of PLANifax Productions to Lauren Weseluck, who he had hired fresh out of university.
“The pandemic hit our small business hard: we lost 90% of our revenue. We would have shut down operations if it wasn’t for Lauren’s commitment. We thought we had had a good run and then there she was basically saying we should keep going on. It’s too early to give up,” says Kang, a co-founder of the company.
The move saved four jobs and the outlook for the business is stronger than ever.
“It’s important to believe in, feel passionately about the work you do,” says Weseluck. “I told the board that I wanted to continue, stay on as long as possible and if they could help me in doing so then it would pay off. That’s how the training and transition started.”
A Community Planning graduate from Dalhousie University, Weseluck is now managing finances, writing legal contracts and taking on new projects.
“She believes in the company and I’m happy to hand over the reins to her because passion is important to be successful. She has learnt the tricks of the trade with ease,” adds Kang. “And without GTO, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to hire her. “
Graduate to Opportunity (GTO) provides a two-year salary incentive to small businesses, start-ups, social enterprises and non-profits who hire a recent grad within 12 months of their graduation.
Employers like PLANifax can receive 25% of the first year’s salary — or 35% if the grad is a member of a designated diversity group — and 12.5% of the second year’s salary from the provincial government.
“Pre-pandemic the company was growing and we needed to hire more staff,” says Kang. “We wanted to hire recent graduates but the board didn’t want us to take the risk of investing in an inexperienced person. Then we learned about Graduate to Opportunity. We had such great success with our first GTO hire that we recruited more youth. Lauren is our third recruit through GTO.”
Graduate to Opportunity has helped hundreds of employers and 2,000 graduates get permanent jobs in Nova Scotia. Click here if you are interested in learning more about the available funding to hire talented grads.
