They Have Work Cut Out Finding Somebody to Hire
An Irvine business grabbed headlines this week with its announcement that it would offer $5,000 finder’s fees to employees who helped recruit new workers in “critical” job categories.
Adaptec Inc., a Milpitas-based computer communications maker, said that four of its 20 open positions in Orange County have been filled by applicants referred by employees. But with Orange County’s unemployment rate at just 3.1%, Adaptec isn’t the only local company that’s getting more creative with its recruiting efforts.
Like Adaptec, Apria Healthcare Group Inc. in Costa Mesa pays workers a fee for finding qualified job candidates. The home health-care services company is trying to find new employees by sending direct mail solicitations to subscribers of industry publications or to people with certain credentials.
Some companies say the tight labor market has forced them to be more accommodating to prospective workers. Target Stores, for instance, offers more flexible scheduling for working mothers and others with heavy demands on their time. “We emphasize the need for lifestyle scheduling,” said Betty Kimbrough, Target’s regional personnel director. “Otherwise, there is not a work force out there.”
Advanced Integrated Solutions, a Los Alamitos firm that designs computer networks, has just 40 employees but is growing so fast it plans to hire in-house recruiters--an unusual move for such a small company.
Others say they’re stepping up recruitment efforts at local schools. Enterprise Rent-A-Car is sending people to talk to students in classrooms, and is getting involved with campus clubs. “We’re reaching younger students, touching the freshmen and sophomores of the world,” said Donna Miller, Enterprise’s Orange County human resources manager.
No ‘Perfect’ Answer to Slogan Question
It seems “The Perfect California”--the official slogan adopted recently by the Orange County Tourism Council--is good enough for vacationers but businesses might want another hook.
That’s what UC Irvine figured anyway. So for the first time in its annual survey of top company executives, UCI asked the burning question: “If you were to adopt a tag line for Orange County, what would it be?”
Many of the responses reflected executives’ desire to position Orange County as the next Silicon Valley. “Silicon Beach,” “Silicon Valley Jr.,” “Orange County: The Technology Incubator,” and “The Bridge to the 21st Century” were offered. Others opted for a more classic appeal: “Land of Opportunity and Beauty,” “The Wonderland--Anything is Possible Anytime,” and--sound familiar?--”Happiest Place on Earth.”
Some executives were anything but subtle in trying to distinguish Orange County from Los Angeles. “We’re Not L.A.” and “Escape from L.A.” were suggested, as well as “Wish We Weren’t Part of California.”
Among the least likely to be included in any marketing campaign: “Bob Citron’s Playground,” “Fraud Kitchen,” “Republican Yuppie Heaven,” and “Living is Paradise, Business is Hell . . . Nice Place to Live, But I Wouldn’t Want to do Business Here.”
Ken Moore, executive vice president of economic development for the Orange County Business Council--the umbrella organization for the tourism council--said he didn’t think the county needed a separate motto for the business community. “You’d only confuse people if you use more than one slogan,” he said. “I think we should focus on the one slogan we do have.”
But UCI spokeswoman Sherry Angel said there are no efforts underway to adopt a second slogan. “It really wasn’t the intent of the survey to initiate that,” she said. “I think this is interesting because it shows what executives think of the county.”
Cutting the Cost of Doing Business in O.C.
Executives often gripe about the high cost of doing business. But how do costs in Orange County stack up with other areas?
In a report released this month, Regional Financial Associates Inc., a West Chester, Pa. economic research and consulting firm, said that Orange County ranks 28th in costs among the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. The rankings were based on labor and energy costs, rents and taxes.
Orange County’s costs are well above those in Riverside County, and many other areas in the West, the report said. But they are much lower than in Los Angeles County and the Bay Area.
The report noted that relative business costs have declined in Orange County throughout the 1990s because the recession held down wage increases and a glut of office space caused rents to fall. In the next few years, the state’s efforts to reduce workers’ compensation and electric costs are expected to help keep a lid on rising business expenses.
“It used to be that California ranked among the top five or so states in workers’ compensation costs. That was a pretty significant factor in limiting business growth and causing companies to move across state lines,” said Steve Cochrane, a senior economist at Regional Financial Associates. “Now California is just average in terms of workers’ compensation costs,” he said.
Cochrane expects the effects of the state’s deregulation of the electric utility industry to begin kicking in later in the decade, and that will also be “very important” in holding down business costs.
Patrice Apodaca covers economic issues for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-5979 and at patrice.apodaca@latimes.com
