A Word From Doug – May 2018 – Growing The Team

An important role I play at Portland Internetworks is meeting prospective customers, new vendors, and members of the Portland business community.  Meeting so many external decision-makers each week, I see plenty of trends in our market.  However, one refrain that I’ve heard over all others recently is the challenge in attracting and hiring enough great talent.

Portland’s unemployment is at incredibly low levels and while our local economy continues to thrive, finding new employees and retaining key staff have risen to the top priorities of nearly every businessperson with whom I’ve spoken.

In this context, we have been experimenting with non-technical topics in our recent and upcoming Portland Internetworks events.  Two weeks ago, I shared with local business leaders how we attract superstars and retain our amazing employees by focusing on engagement and feedback.  And this week, our Technical Service Manager Thomas Denning will share his tips and tools he uses to lead his growing team of awesome technical employees.  We expect to be reprising these presentations at a national industry conference in Fort Lauderdale this fall.

The good news for all of us is that our businesses and organizations are growing and the need to add staff is a much more satisfying effort than, say, seeking financing, or complying with a dynamic regulatory environment.  However, it’s my strong belief that the quality of a company’s people which will drive its growth and success.

“Clients do not come first.  Employees come first.  If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.”  –Richard Branson

Our headcount has grown nearly 50% in just a couple years, and to stay true to our goal to “Execute Like a Large Company, Feel Like a Small Company”, it’s critical that we can onboard new, great teammates at a pace we need to grow successfully.  If you have been successful or have tips to offer the Portland Internetworks community of customers and partners, I hope you’ll reach out and share your experiences!

doug
CEO