For companies that want to get ahead, it’s critical to attract and retain A-list performers. No one knows better than Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies that to get ahead in the information economy, it’s crucial to attract, retain and motivate Grade A employees. Here’s how the PROFIT 100 do it with such success — and how you can, too.

Connect with your local university

Like many companies, Nutrasource Diagnostics Inc. (No. 37 on the 2008 PROFIT 100) in Guelph, Ont., needs employees with specific skill sets and expertise. Yet, president and CEO William Rowe says he doesn’t have trouble finding qualified staff — even without spending money on job postings or headhunters. When Rowe, whose company performs clinical trials and testing of natural products, has a job to fill, he calls the nutritional sciences department at the University of Guelph. “We know first-hand that they’re producing the kind of grads of interest to us,” he says. “And the professors refer good candidates.”

Students start off doing custom scientific writing while still in school. “They get a feel for our organization,” says Rowe, “and we get a feel for how they work.” The more impressive candidates may land a summer job and have the potential for full-time employment upon graduating.

It’s win/win/win: professors find employment for talented students, while students get a paying job in their chosen field and Nutrasource gets a steady stream of good candidates. Plus, by getting them when they’re young, the company can mould staff to fit its culture. “I think many entrepreneurs underutilize what’s available at universities, community colleges and high schools,” says Rowe. “The human-resource potential of those institutions is high. It’s cost-effective. It’s a great way to recruit and to screen.”

Flex your flexibility

Flex-time is not a new concept, but it’s still a cheap and easy approach that can deliver huge rewards. Just ask Edgar Matias. The president & CEO of The Matias Corp. (No. 55), which produces computer accessories, recruited one of his best employees by allowing her to set her own work schedule. The worker had asked her former employer if she could adjust her hours so she could pick up her child from daycare. It refused, so she took a job with Matias instead. “She wanted to come in earlier and leave earlier,” says Matias. “It had no impact on the job, so we had no issue with it.”

Matias himself frequently starts late and works late to accommodate the time difference with China, where most of the firm’s products are produced. And his CFO often works at home to cut down on commuting time and distractions. What’s the payoff for making employees’ lives easier? “So far,” says Matias, “we’ve had only one person quit in the past eight years.”

Jump-start creativity

“Innovation is crucial in our business,” says Harry Chemko, CEO of Elastic Path Software Inc. (No. 23), an e-commerce software developer in Vancouver. “The e-commerce market is highly fragmented and there’s a lot of competition, so any little edge we can get is important.” The trouble is, as the company has grown, employees have become more specialized and it’s increasingly difficult to foster a culture of creativity. That’s why last year Elastic Path launched an annual “Hack Day,” a 24-hour coding competition.

The firm’s 86 employees teamed up to create a new product or feature — not necessarily related to Elastic Path’s product. “It just had to be something that could be used in the e-commerce industry,” says Chemko.

Staff rose to the occasion — many stayed overnight, and, yes, the occasional beer was consumed. After a company-wide vote, the team with the best idea won $3,000. To date, two of the concepts Hack Day generated are close to completion, including a method for getting data feeds from Elastic Path’s clients onto price-comparison engines like Froogle. The overall benefit: the exercise gets employees thinking in broader terms, contends Chemko, “not just about how to fix a code.”

Employ the 80/20 rule