Case Study: WhitePages

We support lots of exciting companies in and around Seattle - and love working with all of them - but there's nothing that makes up happier than success! Over the last 6-ish months, our team has been working hard to support WhitePages (www.whitepagesinc.com) to hire the best technical, leadership and sales talent from across the country. 

And it's working! Read on to see how... 

Recruiting Bandwidth Success Stories - WhitePages

Recruiting Bandwidth helps WhitePages effectively manage ebb and flow of recruiting demands.

WhitePages, founded in 1997, is the leading provider of contact information in North America, with a top 40 web property, 10 top ranking mobile apps and over 50 million monthly users.

Recruiting leaders at WhitePages were buried with open positions and needed support. Having just 120 staff supporting over 50M users per month – the environment is one of heavy competition for top talent. Skeptical of contract recruiters, but concerned there was not enough volume to keep a full-time employee busy; they were needed an effective way to deal with the ebb and flow of demand on their small team while maintaining a very high bar.

Enter Recruiting Bandwidth.

Recruiting Bandwidth jumped in, first on the hard-to-fill technology positions. Sitting onsite with the WhitePages team, absorbing their culture and getting to know their value proposition first hand, the Recruiting Bandwidth team ramped up quickly.

“At our first meeting we discussed how hard it would be to recruit for WhitePages,” notes Ed Pedini, Recruiting Bandwidth’s Lead Recruiter, “but every business wants the best employees, so we took it in stride. Sure enough we found ourselves competing to identify and hire the very best - we needed that elusive purple squirrel for each hire. It quickly became apparent this would be our most challenging assignment to date.”

They made several great engineering hires in a highly competitive market and rapidly expanded their recruiting support across the WhitePages organization. “I must admit, I have not always been an advocate of outside recruiting resources, but now there is not a position I would not give to Recruiting Bandwidth. They consistently do a great job,” said Jenny Kohr Chynoweth, Talent Outreach Manager at WhitePages.

“From an engineering perspective,” explains Susan Fincher, Snr HR Manager, “Recruiting Bandwidth has been able to go deeper in our requirements and the candidate’s skills, to gather technical information that enables our engineering managers make decisions without investing as much time up front as previously required. We’ve not had that in the past, even with our own in-house recruiters.”

“Recruiting Bandwidth is doing so much to take stress off of our team. Not only are they sourcing great talent, but they are excellent project managers, and just nice people to work with,” continued Jenny.

WhitePages has been able to scale up and down support with Recruiting Bandwidth; hiring great people and helping to support critical recruiting initiatives like their University Graduate Recruiting program.

Recruiting Bandwidth helped WhitePages:

• Identify and hire the top talent
• Reduce the time spent by management reviewing and interviewing candidates
• Scale quickly to meet the ebb and flow of recruiting needs
• Provide critical day-to-day project management support
• Expand their recruiting reach

Today, the Recruiting Bandwidth team continues to support WhitePages. “The net result is that we are greatly expanding our reach with Recruiting Bandwidth’s sourcing and day-to-day project management support. I am definitely a Recruiting Bandwidth convert,” closed Jenny.


And we're not stopping now! If you think you've got what it takes to join the WhitePages team contact myself, any member of the Recruiting Bandwidth team, to apply online at http://whitepagesinc.com/about/careers.html We've got a broad range of opportunities for all levels of experience and would love to hear from you!

Battle of the Seattle Offices - Globys

Battle of the Seattle Offices - Globys

We love our clients - and their offices! In this series we're going to take a look at some of the amazing spaces we get to spend our time in!

Globys is a profitable, globally admired, engineering-oriented company that is thriving in the very hot field of Big Data analytics for telecommunications and financial service providers. Based in Seattle, they build Contextual Marketing, Reporting and Analytics solutions for voice/data carriers and banks around the world.

We've been fortunate to support Globys for many years now (in fact, you can read about the CEOs thoughts on our success here) - but the close of 2012 was particularly exciting as I was able to experience their move into stunning new offices.

Globys, established over 15 years ago, had been outgrowing their offices for some time. After taking over 2 floors of their building and having to open another office just down the road - it was time for a change. The company made a huge investment in their future by securing an entire floor in the Union Station complex then spending almost 12 months refitting the space.

And the results were amazing!

Top: By the yard, we must the the most Whiteboards of anywhere in Seattle!
Rest: It's all about space. Wide, bright open plan areas for a variety of uses. 

Having previously being split across 3 locations, having the entire HQ in one space produced a palpable change. Staff saw a substantial investment from the company in their happiness - here is an office that was central, convenient, encouraged collaboration and filled with creature comforts; a reward for everyone's hard work and mark of the company's success.

The Pub! Break/Lunch room features food, drinks and entertainment. The Ms. Pacman machine get's some pretty good use! 

Interestingly, it's also a very green space. The building complex itself it energy efficient, and the office focused on the use of natural materials wherever possible. This includes Bamboo fiber carpets, as well as naturally-based glues and paints. There is almost no plastic to be seen. 

The hidden door! A bookcase swings open to reveal a 'quiet room'. 

I'm not the only one to think it's a great space - earlier this year Geekwire featured the Globys office as part of their Launch Pads series. Check it out below...

Of course, you could be working here too!

Globys are hiring. Check out their Career Site or connect with me for details.

Get to Know - Skytap

As the long-term partner for our clients, we have the opportunity to learn and understand their unique company culture. In this series we're going to take a look at some of the companies we work with and the stories they tell.

By: Emily Gerhard

Three days a week, I pack up my laptop and gym clothes and venture out of my normal work corner to go work onsite with Recruiting Bandwidth’s newest client, Skytap. Located on the 11th floor of the historic Dexter Horton Building in Downtown Seattle, they have an amazing view and are steps away from anything you might need. Going up the elevator on my fist day, I had to admit I was a little nervous. It was kind of like the first day of school. Will I be able to find what I need? Will people be nice to me? Does my outfit send the right message? What is the right message?

As soon as I walked in I was greeted by Kari, possibly the busiest and most efficient office manager I’ve ever met, and all my worries melted away. Seated with the sales and marketing teams in their open office space, I settled right in. Several times that morning people came by to say hi and introduce themselves. I was encouraged to make myself at home in the kitchens and conference rooms and any time I had a question, people were happy to help me out. I was encouraged to just go “shoulder-tap” people I needed something from. Open communication was stressed to me several times from individual contributors and VPs.

As part of Skytap’s first internal recruitment team, I was charged with establishing new procedures and process to fulfill their ambitious hiring goals. I was pleasantly surprised by the openness of each hiring manager to embrace change and even offer creative suggestions to help make the recruitment process smoother.

One afternoon, the entire 80 person office packed up early and walked down to the Triple Door for the quarterly company meeting. Dressed in Skytap t-shirts, the staff crowded around the bar and grabbed a few drinks before the executive leadership team got on stage. First up was Thor Culverhouse, the new CEO. An engaging speaker, he spoke passionately of Skytap’s beginnings, where the company is currently sitting and what the future will look like. Others got up and detailed marketing forecasts, strategy and branding. At one point, Nate Odell, Senior Director of Marketing rallied the company around a new slogan - “Tap In!” He spoke of a unified vision for the company and as he pumped up the crowd, it was clear to me that everyone there truly believed in their product. The Skytap Cloud can and will go places.

Candidates always ask me questions about Skytap. “What’s it like to work there?” is something I’m often asked. It’s easy to list off perks that Skytap offers its employees and call it “Company culture.” But there is something more to culture than their famous “Free Food Fridays” and the unlimited snacks, ORCA pass, and standing desks. It is hard to describe the camaraderie I experience at Skytap. I am still trying to find the words to express how cool it is that egos get left at the door; that as you watch people buzz around the office, you can see they are energized by being on a team that works together for a shared goal. It is refreshing to experience open, informal communication and a “let’s do this” attitude. Skytap has a great leadership team and an empowered staff backing them up. I may not be able to fully describe it, but I, for one, am definitely “tapped in.”

If you're interested in joining Skytap's team, check out their openings here. They're a quickly growing company and there are positions for all types of backgrounds.

Battle of the Offices - WhitePages

Battle of the Seattle Offices - WhitePages

We love our clients - and their offices!
In this series we're going to take a look at some of the amazing spaces we get to spend our time in!

When it comes to hiring (and retaining) the very best talent in a hotly contested market like Seattle, there's a lot more to "benefits" than just insurance, snacks and flexible hours. 

I'm currently spending a much of my time with WhitePages as we find, attract and hire from a very small pool of the country's best engineers. These are the men and women who'll be fielding many offers from the most sought after employers. They'll have many considerations to look at before deciding on a new role; team, the technology, company, compensation, location - as well as the less tangible cool factor.

WhitePages graphic outlining the various benefits

On top of all this, employers - most notably those in the various tech industries - will go all out to provide an amazing office experience. And why not?! We find ourselves spending 40+ hours a week at work. Having a great space goes a long way towards keeping everyone happy and productive - not to mention reducing stress, encouraging collaboration and helping build team spirit. 

WhitePages has just completed a massive renovation of their downtown Seattle offices - and it rocks!

Left: Actual view from my desk! Top: New reception highlights WhitePages' biggest assets.
Bottom: Punched a hole in the ceiling for their own private staircase.

I've been here since just before the renovations started - and it was pretty nice to begin with. Apart from updated decor, the new layout includes lots of open space and informal collaboration areas in each corner of the building.

Quiet, comfy spaces in each corner provide a spot to get away or get together. 

Comfort isn't the only perk - a kitchen worthy of Martha Stewart includes the 2nd biggest fridge I've ever seen, and a constantly changing array of drinks, snacks, coffee and beer. 

Left: Yes, that's a fridge-sized Kegerator. And yes, that's Odin on tap.
Right: Drinks fridge, Stumphouse coffee machine and open lunch/meeting area

I've got to say - it's pretty cool...

And I'm not (just) saying that because they let me drink the beer... They seem to like it, too. Check out this staff-made video:

You could be working here too. WhitePages are hiring right across the board. Check out their Career Site or ping me directly for more details.