TPD

What TPD does

TPD (formerly The Personnel Department) is a privately held workforce solutions provider founded in Vancouver, Canada in 1980 and rebranded to TPD in December 2013. The company delivers specialized staffing, direct hire, contract, and temp-to-perm recruitment services with an Employer of Record (EOR) payroll module and a HR consulting practice, organized around three primary verticals: mining, manufacturing, and semiconductor. Customer evidence spans enterprise accounts including Rio Tinto, Talon Metals, Kokusai Electric, AES Engineering, Ichor, Elastic Path, General Bank of Canada, and Engineers and Geoscientists BC, with cited outcomes of 95% placement success, 98% client retention, and 68% reduction in recruitment costs.

The underlying technology stack is conventional for the staffing sector: applicant tracking systems, candidate matching software, HRIS, Cloudflare-hosted infrastructure, and ZoomInfo for candidate sourcing and enrichment. TPD's stated differentiator is the proprietary "TPD Way" 10-step recruitment process, domain-deep talent networks maintained as pre-qualified communities, and a partnership pricing model with performance guarantees. The company operates from offices in Vancouver (HQ), Portland (US HQ), and Calgary, with reported Great Place to Work certification since 2022 and a 91% trust index.

Revenue is generated through professional services and managed services fees on staffing/recruitment engagements and EOR payroll administration; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market is predominantly enterprise field sales augmented by inside-sales consultations and a self-serve job board (jobs.tpd.com), supported by an extensive content marketing engine with 441+ blog pages plus downloadable HR template toolkits. The firm is founder/management-owned with no disclosed institutional funding rounds, M&A, or public listing.

Name

TPD

Legal name

The Personnel Department Ltd.

Website

https://tpd.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

TPD is a privately held workforce solutions provider delivering specialized staffing, direct hire, EOR payroll, and HR consulting services to enterprise employers in the mining, manufacturing, and semiconductor sectors across North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Staffing and Recruitment Services

NAICS

Temporary Help Services (561320), Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Professional Employer Organizations (561330)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Time, Attendance & Leave Management Outsourcing (T&A, Absence, FMLA) (BPACAKAF)

Keywords

• Workforce staffing services
• Mining recruitment solutions
• Semiconductor staffing services
• Manufacturing contract staffing
• Employer of record payroll

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Staffing and Recruitment Services: TPD generates revenue through staffing and recruitment fees charged to employer clients. Services include direct hire placement, contract staffing, and temp-to-perm arrangements. The company offers workforce solutions with a partnership pricing model and performance guarantee.
2. Payroll Processing Services: Employer of record payroll services where TPD handles payroll administration for contract workers placed with client organizations, generating service fees.
3. HR Consulting Services: Comprehensive HR solutions including compliance, compensation reviews, policy development, performance management, and workforce planning delivered as consulting engagements to Canadian and US employers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

TPD provides staffing and workforce solutions for employer clients across North America, with deep specialization in mining, manufacturing, and semiconductor sectors. Its services encompass direct hire recruiting, contract and temporary staffing, employer of record (EOR) payroll administration, executive search, and HR consulting covering compliance, compensation reviews, workforce planning, and performance management. The company pairs a 10-step proprietary recruitment methodology with a partnership pricing model and performance guarantee.

Product overview

TPD (The Personnel Department) is a staffing and workforce solutions company with 40+ years of operational excellence, operating as a unified platform delivering multiple interconnected services. The core Workforce Solutions product line provides staffing and recruiting across mining, manufacturing, and semiconductor industries, supplemented by dedicated HR Solutions consulting and an Employer of Record payroll module. Specialized industry vertical services (Mining Recruitment, Manufacturing Staffing, Semiconductor Recruitment) target sector-specific hiring needs, while Candidate Tools and HR Tools resources serve job seekers and HR professionals respectively. The company operates through offices in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia, serving the United States and Canada.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Workforce Solutions TPD's primary staffing and recruiting service connecting employers with talent across mining, manufacturing, and semiconductor sectors. Delivers direct hire, contract, and temporary staffing with a performance guarantee, leveraging an international workforce and talent network.
• HR Solutions Comprehensive human resource consulting services covering talent acquisition, workforce planning, compliance, HR policy development, compensation reviews, employee training, performance management, and workplace culture development for companies in British Columbia, Alberta, and beyond.
• Mining Recruitment Specialized mining sector recruitment workforce solutions including direct hire, payrolling, and contract staffing. Covers exploration, feasibility, planning, construction, operations, and maintenance roles such as Project Manager, Mining Engineer, Geologist, and Heavy Equipment Operators.
• Manufacturing Staffing Manufacturing workforce solutions offering direct hire recruitment and contract staffing. Serves Heavy Equipment Manufacturing, Steel & Metal Fabrication, Construction Materials, and Warehouse & Distribution sectors with roles including Machinists, Welders, Millwrights, and Maintenance Technicians.
• Semiconductor Recruitment Specialized semiconductor industry recruitment offering Engineering, Equipment Manufacturing, and Fabrication staffing solutions. Places roles such as Fabrication Technicians, Equipment Technicians, Process Engineers, and Quality Assurance professionals for semiconductor fabs and manufacturing facilities.
• Employer of Record (EOR) Payroll Payroll processing service offered as part of post-hire support, enabling TPD to act as the employer of record for contracted workers, handling payroll administration on behalf of client organizations.
• TPD Talent Community and Job Seeker Services Talent community connecting job seekers with career opportunities across mining, manufacturing, semiconductor, and HR sectors, offering services including Staffing, Recruiting, Executive Search, and Career Coaching at no cost to candidates.

Quantifiable outcome

• 98% retention rate
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ISIG (International Semiconductor Industry Summit)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTPD attended ISIG Executive Summit Taiwan 2026 as a Partner Sponsor, participating in semiconductor industry conferences and networking with industry leaders. This represents thought leadership positioning and industry engagement rather than formal product partnerships.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Aerotek: Aerotek is a large industrial and technical staffing firm operating across manufacturing, engineering, and skilled trades in North America. Direct overlap with TPD on contract and direct-hire staffing for manufacturing and mining-adjacent industrial clients.
• Insight Global: Insight Global provides contract staffing, direct placement, and managed services across IT, engineering, manufacturing, and industrial sectors. Comparable to TPD in its mix of staffing and EOR-style managed services delivered to enterprise clients.
• Express Employment Professionals: Express is a franchised staffing firm serving industrial, commercial, and professional clients across North America. Comparable to TPD on direct-hire, contract, and temp-to-perm placements in manufacturing and light industrial markets.
• Kforce: Kforce provides staffing and direct-hire services in technology, engineering, and professional specialties. Closely comparable to TPD on technical and engineering placements serving industrial and semiconductor clients.
• Headway Workforce Solutions: Headway specializes in workforce solutions for energy, manufacturing, and industrial clients, including high-volume staffing, managed services, and EOR offerings. Closely mirrors TPD's verticalized industrial-staffing model.
• Tradesmen International: Tradesmen International provides skilled-trade staffing for construction, manufacturing, and industrial clients across North America. Closely comparable to TPD on skilled-trade placements in heavy industrial and mining-adjacent environments.

Broad incumbents

• Robert Half: Robert Half is a large public staffing and consulting firm spanning finance, technology, legal, and administrative placements. Overlaps with TPD on professional and HR consulting services but is far broader and deeper-pocketed.
• Kelly Services: Kelly Services is a global staffing and workforce solutions firm serving industrial, professional, and technology markets. Comparable to TPD on staffing breadth but with much larger geographic and segment reach.
• ManpowerGroup: ManpowerGroup is one of the largest global staffing and workforce-solutions providers, offering temporary staffing, permanent placement, and managed services across industrial and professional segments. Comparable incumbent with overlapping service lines.
• Randstad: Randstad is a global HR services leader offering staffing, in-house services, and HR solutions across industrial, technical, and professional segments. Direct overlap with TPD's contract and permanent staffing plus EOR-style services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tpdtweets
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCKXX-Ri0YFixXCxRoOZVLWQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/tpd1980
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tpd-hr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TPD