I owe you an apology.

But first, some context.

There is no more critical challenge facing this agency than our ability to attract and retain the very best people in our industry. It’s our lifeblood, and in a highly competitive marketplace, we have to be among the very best not only at keeping our people happy, but also in keeping those who want to work for us happy.

Fast Horse routinely earns spots on “Best Places to Work” lists. We’re proud of those awards.

I suspect, however, that we wouldn’t land on too many “Best Places to Apply” lists.

I have not heard specific feedback confirming that, but knowing what I know about our priorities over the past 12 to 18 months, I can tell you that if the shoe were on the other foot, I probably would not be thrilled with my experience as a recent Fast Horse applicant. And we have to fix that.

Going forward, we’ll need more designers, developers, brand strategists, digital media buyers, SEO/SEM experts, event managers, content creators, media relations gurus, among other marketing professionals. We’ll also need financial, HR, IT, admin and other critical business skills to help us run a profitable, growing business while maintaining a compelling, people-centered culture.

In the coming weeks, we’ll announce an initiative intended to dramatically expand our network and deepen our relationships with the people who want to be a part of this agency in the future, and have the talent, drive and experience to thrive here. This will be part of an effort to strengthen and broaden a practice that has served us well in the past: We should always know who our next hire is going to be. And we’ve lost our way on that front.

I apologize to those who have reached out to us in the past only to hear that we did not have any open positions or were too busy to begin an exploration. We absolutely should have found a way to begin a conversation with you, and our failure to make it a priority do so is unacceptable and short-sighted. We owe it to you and to ourselves to try to make a meaningful connection with every single person who expresses an interest in being part of this place. I take personal responsibility for not have the structure and resources in place to make that happen, and I commit to you that future employment inquiries will be handled differently.

As we begin to formalize and expand our recruitment efforts, we’d like to hear about best practices. Who does it well? What have you seen as you contact potential employers that you’ve found impressive about how they have handled your inquiry? What are the things you look for as you assemble your shortlist of future employers, and what can we do to make sure that Fast Horse stays on it after you contact us? And if you have specific feedback about your experience in reaching out us, please email me directly at jorgp@fasthorseinc.com.

Give it to me straight. We have to get better at this. Our future depends on it.

We hope yours does too.