How these 5 hiring orgs engage with their local tech communities

Not only is it a way to keep employees up to date on the latest trends and developments, but it can also be part of a recruitment strategy. Speaking engagements and meetup group participation can raise the profiles of lead technologists as subject matter experts and show off what types of challenges the team addresses, attracting new talent interested in the work and culture of the organization. It can also be a vehicle for giving back, as more experienced professionals provide knowledge, mentoring and resources to those in more junior positions and help new founders keep their companies on track. In turn, this keeps the local tech ecosystem vibrant and active, feeding those orgs with a steady stream of talent and ideas to fuel growth.

For the month of May, Technical.ly’s reporting has explored the theme of The State of Local Tech for our editorial calendar. For some additional perspectives, we asked our Technical.ly Talent companies the following question:

How does your org participate in and support the local tech community? What does your org see as the biggest strengths and challenges of your local tech community?

Here are some replies from their teams, and if you like what you see, follow the links to companies’ Culture Pages to learn more and explore open roles.

CubeSmart

“As CubeSmart continues to expand its tech footprint in the Philly area, we are always looking to network and tell our story. Most recently, we participated in Philly Tech Week and we also are interacting with local meetup groups. We notice that the Philly tech community is one that is always looking to learn and innovate. This bodes well for the city’s economic growth and the companies looking to hire tech talent. It also aligns with CubeSmart’s mission, to simplify challenges through innovative solutions, unparalleled service and genuine care. CubeSmart is a culture that always is looking to foster and grow talent, it is a part of our DNA.” — Jen Schulte, CHRO

Fastmail

“Philadelphia’s tech community is an amazing, vibrant place, with more and more cool stuff happening every day. Fastmail encourages all of our employees to go participate in and help develop their communities; for example, many of us are active presenters and participants at conferences and meetups. Fastmail is a sponsor of the Philadelphia JavaScript Club, and some of the meetup group’s organizers are Fastmail employees as well. There are so many benefits to getting involved!” — Joe Woods, senior plumbing lead

Fearless

“Fearless is a catalyst for the local tech community. We lean in where there are opportunities to create more businesses with our business incubator Hutch. And we seek out opportunities to bring unrepresented communities into the tech workforce. We are also one of the supporters of the Baltimore.tech platform which connects entrepreneurs and talent to resources and each other.

One of the biggest strengths is the excitement around the people who are leaning in to do the work. Groups such as Upsurge, Innovation Works and the Novella Center for Entrepreneurship are really leaning into the equity space. On the flip side, the ecosystem in Baltimore is still very siloed. There is the duplication of efforts which leaves founders and techies unsure of where to start and what to do. The other problem that Fearless is really leaning into is lack of impact measurement. How do we know if we are moving the needle? This is something we are looking at internally and externally.” — LaToya Staten, director of impact

Pinnacle 21

“Members of Pinnacle21 and Certara are significant contributors to both the local and global communities. They contribute on all of the key levels, as attendees, presenters, organizers, sponsors and hosts. From the smallest niche software meetups to some of the larger global conferences, we are acting across the board to share our expertise and bring practitioners in many key disciplines closer together.

The biggest strengths of our local communities is their rich history. Many of the groups we engage with have decades-long histories with key contributors from the start still engaging.

Probably the biggest challenge these days has been recovering from COVID. Communities see natural attrition over time, which is usually replenished over time. COVID saw an attrition cycle without a corresponding replenishment, which can represent a multi-year setback in some cases.” — Martin Snyder, VP of engineering

PNC Financial Services

“At PNC, our technologists are passionate about engaging the local communities where we work. Our workforce brings specialized talent, expertise and great energy, and are eager to share this to support underserved groups seeking mentorship and guidance on pursuing tech career paths. PNC is actively engaged in various community efforts like hackathons for school- and college-aged students, with a special emphasis on encouraging girls and women to enter STEM careers. We use those as recruiting events, as well, to showcase our tech capabilities. Our signature philanthropic initiative at PNC is Grow Up Great, which focuses on high-quality, early childhood education. We encourage all employees to play a part, and we provide them with time and resources to do just that, including up to 40 hours of paid volunteer time each year.” — Debbie Guild, head of enterprise technology & strategy

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Want to join up with an org in your local tech scene? Check out all the Technical.ly Talent companies here, and find out about their missions, cultures and open positions.

P.S. If you’re curious about Technical.ly’s services for your own org, find more info here and connect with us.

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This sponsored content is a part of The State of Local Tech Month on Technical.ly's editorial calendar. The organizations appearing in this article are Technical.ly Talent clients.