At Strategic Resource Solutions in Cary, N.C., Performance Now has given the young company an easy way to develop a consistent review process. Before arriving at the final design, hundreds of frequent fliers tried out different combinations of seats and offered feedback on their favorite features. For those executives whose typical commute finds them on a 747, the friendly skies just got a little friendlier. Creators of the site, which went live in January of this year, have geared most of their advertising efforts toward the high concentration of IT workers in Silicon Valley, according to Sandy Parker, senior vice president of the Rochester Industrial Management Council. Twenty-five member companies pay regular dues to list their job openings on the site and can update them as often as they wish.
Founders expect to see the number of members grow as word of the site gets around.
Marisa Hackett, director of human resources for member company LPA Software Inc., praises the collaborative effort as a solution to the problem of 1,700 Rochester companies continually squabbling among themselves to get the same high-tech workers. We have this common problem. For member companies, the best part of the deal is that compared with the costs of other recruiting methods, SmartDog is a cheap alternative. The investment more than pays for itself if a company hires just one person through the site. And SmartDog isn't lacking in brutal honesty, either.