STAMPSCO Credits Technology, Social Media for ‘Fastest Growing Companies’ Listing

By Ashley Willis

OKLAHOMA CITY — For the second consecutive year, the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce has placed STAMPSCO on its Metro 50 list, which acknowledges the 50 fastest-growing private companies in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.

The Metro 50 Award recognizes businesses that show revenue growth, an increase in employees, creativity/entrepreneurship, and business development through the expansion of facilities, customer base or markets. To qualify, for-profit organizations must generate at least $1 million in annual revenue and have operated for more than three years.

Founded in 2002 by President and CEO Rodney Stamps and his wife, Vice President Paige Stamps, Oklahoma City-based STAMPSCO, which brings in more than $2 million in annual revenue, specializes in fire/life-safety, access control, audio/video, and IT systems design and installation. Last year, the company formed a new Fire Systems Design Group (FSDG) division in response to the increased demand for complex fire alarm and mass notification systems to meet Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC). The new division has greatly contributed to the company’s growth, Rodney Stamps tells SSI.

“It’s becoming a larger part of our business, and although it hasn’t been established for very long, it’s definitely adding to the bottom line,” he says.

The use of smartphones and Web-enabled tablets has also played a role in helping STAMPSCO grow its business. For example, mobile phone apps have helped employees handle their workloads more efficiently, according to Stamps.

“The RapidWeb app by Rapid Response Monitoring is very useful to us,” he says. “With the touch of a finger, we have the ability to place systems on or off, test, retrieve signals, view signal flow for any issues for fire alarm testing, inspections, etc. This type of technology also benefits our customers by reducing service and inspection time.”

Stamps also credits his employees for the company’s continued success, although he notes that recruiting talent can be tricky. So, STAMPSCO searches for qualified candidates through social media, recruitment firms and local advertising, such as mail outs to industry technicians.

“You can actually go to your state licensing board and get the list of the licensed technicians in the state,” Stamps says.

With as many as 20 employees, Stamps also relies on the referrals of his workers to increase the workforce. As an incentive, employees will receive a bonus if the technician they referred stays onboard for more than 90 days. The company has a high employee retention rate, which Stamps believes is a result of training.

“We are big on training, and we offer to pay for it to keep our employees up to speed,” he explains. “Since a large portion of our revenues comes from fire and life-safety, we are big on NICET certification, and we offer a pay increase for every level our employees pass. We also send them to manufacturers’ trainings and as soon as they finish, they’ll get a bonus.”

STAMPSCO not only relies on social media to recruit employees, but also to market to prospective clients. The company utilizes Facebook and Twitter, but Stamps says that he’s seen the most success with LinkedIn.

“LinkedIn is better for business than any other platform. I’m connected to every top customer that we have in this business,” he explains. “I usually use that interface to interact with my clients. They don’t use E-mail; they hit me up on LinkedIn.”

While Stamps admits that it’s difficult to earn a spot on the Metro 50 — or any “fastest-growing companies” list for that matter — he encourages all industry companies to participate in programs offered by their local chambers of commerce.

“It’s a great marketing piece. We use that to target potential customers and especially other Metro 50 clients. Those are some top companies, so we definitely market them, the same way they market our company,” he says.

Ashley Willis is associate editor for SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION magazine. She can be reached at (310) 533-2419.

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