BLUE SPRING, MO—Data-collection firm Xceligent has been on a nationwide search for the best and brightest as it grows its footprint in regions around the country. GlobeSt.com recently explored hiring best practices with HR director Erin Curry, and now we look to chief strategy officer Daniel Ceniceros to find out exactly how those practices are bearing fruit internally as the firm continues to add value—and what it means in the competitive landscape.

GlobeSt.com: So where does the growth initiative stand today?

Daniel Ceniceros: Over the past year, we've added 250 new jobs in Blue Springs. We added to our back-end research team, which is the engine behind the data we collect and our analytics. We're still actively hiring in order to keep up our expansion into new markets. It takes between 30 and 100 people to build and maintain each market, so we won't be slowing down any time soon.

GlobeSt.com: So what does that mean for the next six months? What positions are you looking to fill and where?

Ceniceros: We'll continue to hire at our Blue Springs research center and fill research associate, tenant research, sales-comp research and market-driver positions. We're also hiring in all of our existing and new markets for directors of client services and regional directors of analytics, both of which make up the public face of the markets and drive quality data and revenues.

GlobeSt.com: Where will that put you competitively?

Ceniceros: With our advisory boards verifying all transactions in the market every quarter, this brings our data up to a whole new level. Real estate is a regional business, and with these hirings it gives us a competitive edge in each of our markets. We also have a legacy of researched data and a nimble product and interface. We know the market and the players in the markets and we're hiring the best people to expand what we're doing.

GlobeSt.com: What is the hiring picture like as a general rule?

Ceniceros: Our hiring picture is our growth picture. We're growing in the markets were in, we're collecting more data than ever before and expanding our footprint. We have a mandate from the FTC to expand into the top 75 markets, and we're bringing the best people on board to get that done.

GlobeSt.com: Where will the national rollout be in a year based on the hiring push you're mounting now?

Ceniceros: Our plan for the next year is to fill in the surrounding markets we've already begun. For example, we launched Tampa, and now we'll add Orlando. We will also be expanding and finishing all of Texas. The geographic footprint will be complete in these states, and then we'll tackle major markets like Chicago, DC and New York in 2016 and beyond.