I founded Locum Integration LLC in 2013 alongside my partner, Terry Escott, to address market inefficiencies in the IT-PMO sector and within the Staff Augmentation and Consultancy market. Terry, a British national, and I, an American, met at Pacific Gas and Electric in 2012 and quickly connected philosophically when it came to IT Program and Project Management theory and application. After decades in the field as hands-on Project Managers, we realized there were significant inefficiencies within the marketplace on multiple levels.
We identified vast flaws in the current talent recruiting system—everything from pandering to clients to the hiring and onboarding process and an over-reliance on certifications as gatekeepers for entry into the job sector. Despite the advent of the internet, nothing much had changed within the staffing and consultancy industry.
Upon closer examination, we concluded that the recruitment and staff augmentation industry had been broken for many years for various reasons. The industry hadn’t fundamentally changed in 30 to 40 years, despite technological advances. Essentially, recruitment or staff augmentation agencies gather and sift through resumes, then present them to end clients.
We discovered that for merely acting as a funnel for resumes and processing payroll (often through ADP or Paychex), these companies charged hefty premiums—typically 35%, sometimes 50% or more. This seemed disproportionately high for the work involved. Often, contractors placed into roles would never hear from the staffing company again until their contract was terminated.
Terry and I felt strongly that change was imminent. We believed that this change would have to come from outside the industry because legacy stakeholders were vested in maintaining the status quo, which, quite frankly, rips companies off. We saw no reason why most IT Recruiters and Staff Augmentation companies should have survived in their current configurations past the creation of the internet and job boards. Legacy staffing and consultancy were clumsy, expensive, inefficient, and bloated. Worse, the industry pandered to clients, with no companies willing to vet clients for compatibility or sometimes say “no” when necessary. We decided to do things differently.
We envisioned a model that could quickly hire and onboard talent for companies needing IT support while offering a fast and flexible approach. We took it further with the creation of “On-Demand PMO,” a tool that allows companies to spin up a PMO (Project Management Office) on-demand, using only the hours they need. It’s full-time candidate vetting with part-time flexibility.
The idea came from recognizing the inherent downtime within a project’s lifecycle—periods of frantic work and times when nothing happens. Our approach let companies save money by not paying for that downtime, much like how attorneys bill only for the time used. It was a revolutionary concept in IT staffing and consultancy.
When we ran the numbers, we realized we could save companies 30-40% on their IT-related labor costs while enabling contractors to earn higher hourly rates than under the legacy model. This created a win-win situation: companies saved money, and contractors gained flexibility to build their schedules.
We didn’t stop there. We devised a model where contractors could work on multiple projects for different companies each week while earning higher rates. This allowed contractors to tailor their work schedules to their lifestyles and career goals. We also developed a system for companies to buy blocks of hours at a slight discount, preserving annual budgets while maintaining flexibility.
In 2016, this was a novel idea, ahead of its time. The market caught up during the COVID crisis, which normalized part-time and as-needed hiring models. While we were early in our vision, we were not wrong.
At Locum, we have always embraced contrarian thinking. Unlike many startups chasing gimmicky products, we recognized that labor is the backbone of any economic system. Without skilled labor, nothing gets built, sold, or consumed—even AI and robotics require human effort for creation and maintenance. Yet, labor has been treated as a side note in traditional recruiting models, commoditized and mishandled.
We decided to disrupt this model. Companies are tired of being sold a bill of goods by recruiters who only care about filling seats. We took an honest approach, vetting clients to ensure compatibility and offering real solutions based on their needs. Sometimes, this meant telling them hard truths about their IT departments—truths they needed to hear to get back on track.
Sadly, we lost Terry a few years ago to complications from a heart transplant, but his spirit and sense of humor continue to resonate within our company. Today, Annie Ventura-Bailey has joined as co-founder, bringing her expertise in staffing, consultancy, and business development while upholding Locum’s core principles.
We continue to innovate, offering unique technology talent solutions and developing a groundbreaking AI system that will redefine how talent is identified and matched.
At Locum Integration, we’re here to serve your needs—provided we’re a good fit. Feel free to reach out anytime.
Best regards,
JP Rattie
Founder