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Oregon a vibrant place
for companies, employees
 It
may be a relatively young endeavor, but Centricity Software
in Portland, Ore., has big plans. Officially established in
April 2000, the company develops software solutions for b2b
enterprises and service providers, enabling them to more effectively
deliver, control and differentiate application services. Simply
put, Centricity aims to be a pioneer in the field of personal
application services. To do this, the company is working on
building its core technology team. That's where Jack Sanders
comes in. As the coordinator of talent acquisition, Sanders
spends plenty of time recruiting, and in the face of a competitive
labor market, he has found that Oregon can be a prime place
to look for technical professionals. "High-tech, start-up
companies are choosing Oregon over some Silicon Valley areas
because the cost of doing business there has skyrocketed,"
he says. "We have the technical skills here, the energy here
and the education here. We have been able to attract tech-savvy
workers."
The
recruitment process at Centricity involves several angles,
including online and print advertisements. For Sanders, however,
the most effective method has been networking. "I've been
in Portland three years and I've found out that you can't
shake enough hands, hand out enough cards or meet enough people."
The positions he is trying to fill include software developers,
quality assurance engineers and software architects. Most
of the individuals Sanders recruits are seasoned professionals
with college experience. "We're generally not looking for
people right out of school," he explains. The candidates he
comes across have varying backgrounds, but he has noticed
that many of them seem to be passive applicants. "With unemployment
rates at a low level, it's a good time to look. I'm always
amazed at how many people are out there beating the bush."
Finding
the right employee for Centricity means finding the right
fit between the company and the worker. This includes skill
sets as well as the ability to function in the firm's rather
casual environment. "We have an informal atmosphere," he shares.
"Because we're smaller and in a start-up environment, we're
able to make up rules as we go." The company features a pingpong
table and catered lunches as some of its "unofficial" benefits.
In a more formal capacity, Centricity offers health insurance,
a 401(k) plan and paid time off. It also happens to be situated
in a locale that is ideal for an active lifestyle. "It's a
fantastic area for outdoor enthusiasts," Sanders raves. "It's
one of the few cities where you can drive east and go snowboarding,
go north and wind surf and drive west to do beach surfing.
You can do these three things on the same day in June." The
metropolitan aspects of Portland, including a walkabout downtown
area, are also crowd pleasers. As Sanders puts it: "It's a
very vibrant place to be."
Please visit our Web
site at www.centricitysoftware.com.
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