Keith Bagg gave up a successful career in outside sales to try his hand at recruiting. Within months, it became apparent to Keith that recruiting was for him, but the company he worked for was not. So, in spite of having a new family with two small children, he went out on his own and started Keith Bagg Personnel in May 1971.

Initially, the firm placed only sales, marketing and management personnel, primarily in the industrial market. But the company grew steadily, and Keith added an administrative personnel division in October 1971.

In February 1972, a robust accounting group was also added to the firm, and four months later, an insurance division was started. In the fall of 1972, Keith added a consumer products sales and marketing group, and in early 1973, a technical industrial division was added.

As a result of this rapid growth, the company changed offices three times to accommodate the expanding staff. By 1974, Keith Bagg Personnel was occupying an entire floor at a building on Adelaide Street, and stayed in this location for the next 15 years. The company's next growth spurt came in 1975 when a temporary office services division was added.

Keith’s wife, Mary Bagg, also played a major role in the company’s growth, coming on board in the 1980s by starting up the full-time secretary placement, and making the business truly a family affair.

As one of the original members and presidents of the former APPAC, the Canadian Association of Professional Placement Agencies and Consultants, Keith Bagg helped to establish standards that are still the hallmark of the industry today.

"When my father started out in the business, staffing was a relatively new concept where there were few rules and guidelines," says Geoff Bagg, president. "He built a reputation by instilling the highest levels of ethics and integrity - values we continue to uphold and build on today."

The company eventually changed its name to Keith Bagg Staffing Inc. and Keith Bagg Associates Inc. (now Fulcrum Search Science Inc.) to accommodate the changing business climate and company growth. Keith Bagg Information Technology Search (now Bagg Technology Resources Inc.), the IT division, was added in 1997.

In 2004, the company acquired TOSI Services, a division of the large multi-brand South African firm Logical Options, which owns agencies and business schools worldwide. With the acquisition of TOSI, Keith Bagg Staffing doubled in size to become one of the largest of the few remaining independent agencies in Ontario.

In 2006, Geoff Bagg, who became president of the company after Keith retired in 1999, was elected treasurer for the National Board of the Association of Canadian Search, Employment and Staffing Services (ACSESS), carrying on a tradition of industry involvement, commitment and leadership. That same year, the company underwent another name change, this time to The Bagg Group.

"We are really focused on growth over the next few years—with a goal to double our business by 2012," says Bagg, "Yet we are not getting bigger for the sake of getting bigger— if we are doing things right, if we are servicing our clients better than our competitors, then our business should and will grow."