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Hired ranked companies winning top tech talent amid the current worker shortage. (Yan Krukov/Pexels)
Tech companies in Austin are winning top talent, according to a new ranking list by job search company Hired.
The company based the ranking on three factors for attracting and retaining employees: equity, efficiency and transparency. These factors went into Hired’s data analysis from October 2020 to the end of October 2021 to gauge whether workplaces are interviewing underrepresented candidates, navigating them through the hiring process and being open about salary.
These considerations are key to keeping workers, Hired says, as tech has also been affected by the Great Resignation, the trend of record quits across industries in recent months. Hired describes a tech worker shortage that may only deepen, with an October survey indicating 72% of tech employees considered quitting their jobs in the next 12 months. As pandemic restrictions eased, workloads increased, causing tech workers to undergo long hours and burnout.
Hired’s ranking highlights these Austin-connected enterprise companies that are using best practices for finding and keeping workers:
No. 2 Maximus
Founded in 1975, the highest-rated company with Austin ties is Maximus. The government services company that helps connect citizens to programs such as Medicaid and Medicare came close to the top ranking, just behind Insider. The company performed well in all key areas, but especially with transparency. The company is also looking to grow in Austin, with jobs for analysts, network technicians and outreach currently open.
No. 5 Accenture
Accenture's office at the McKean-Eilers Building. (Google Street View)
This Fortune Global 500 company made the top five enterprise businesses. Involved in information technology services and consulting, the company showed Hired deep value for equity and transparency across the board, including at the Austin locations, with one downtown and another on South Congress. It is currently hiring a customer care associate, a writer/editor and an analyst.
No. 6 Sysco LABS
Austin-founded Sysco LABS wins top tech talent. (Sysco LABS/LinkedIn)
The computer software company with a downtown Austin office aims to transform traditional food service through its platforms that aids in placing and delivering orders. It currently has openings for data scientist, product designer, data engineer and more.
No. 7 Meta
Facebook has grown in Austin since starting its presence more than a decade ago. (Facebook Austin)
Facebook, now doing business as Meta, has been in Austin since 2010 and has grown to more than 1,200 Austin employees. While Hired’s ranking centered on the hiring process, workers at Meta enjoy some perks once they’re brought on that could help with satisfaction like Austin workers who have access to three full-service kitchens, free laundry, a shipping center, a fitness center and a rec room. It is currently hiring for various software engineering jobs.
No. 9 Cisco Systems
Cisco lit up their offices around the world with purple to show support for their workers with disabilities. (Cisco/LinkedIn)
Headquartered in San Jose, California, Cisco is a multinational tech conglomerate that’s been growing since the early 80s. Its work developing and manufacturing software and telecommunications equipment eventually came to Austin with an office at Research Park, and Hired scored them especially high on efficiency in the hiring process. It is currently hiring in various areas including product development, data analyst and customer service.
No. 10 Capital One
Capital One makes hires for cyber security. (Capital One/LinkedIn)
Tying with Wayfair, Capital One still made the ranking of top 10 enterprise businesses. The company is currently looking for talent in Austin, with openings such as account associate, client manager and bank teller.
No. 10 Wayfair
Wayfair announced an Austin expansion in April this year. (Whoisjohngalt/CC)
This e-commerce company that sells furniture and home goods is headquartered in Boston but made plans to come to Austin earlier this year with up to 200 hires. In April, the company said it expected the office to open within the next year, and had positions open for software engineers, infrastructure engineers, product managers, experience designers, analysts and data scientists.
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Historic preservationists, for their part, overwhelmingly support historic zoning, which would preserve the buildings in perpetuity. The Historic Landmark Commission unanimously voted to initiate historic zoning in July, citing architectural significance, landscape features and association to historic figures. City staffers recommend historic zoning, calling both structures one-of-a-kind examples of vernacular architecture.
Tarrytown neighbors have also banded together to stop the demolition. Many have written letters, and a few spoke at the meeting. “How could anyone buy this property with the intent of destroying it?” Ila Falvey said. “I think it’s an architectural treasure.”
Michael Whellan, an attorney representing the property owner, said that the claims made by preservationists are shaky. The buildings are run down, he said, and have had substantial renovations. A structural engineer hired by the owner said any attempt at preservation would involve tearing down and rebuilding – an undertaking Whellan said would likely cost millions.
Whellan also argued that any historical significance derived from the property’s association with Delisle and longtime owner C.H. Slator is dubious. “These men are not noted for any civic, philanthropic or historic impact,” he said.
What’s more, according to Whellan, Slator likely participated in segregation as the owner of the Tavern on North Lamar Boulevard between 1953 and 1960.
A city staffer, however, said she found no evidence to support the claim. “We would never landmark a property where a segregationist lived, or there was a racist person,” Kimberly Collins with the Historic Preservation Office said.
Commissioner Awais Azhar couldn’t support historic zoning in part due to lingering uncertainty about Slator. “Focusing on that factor is not here to disparage an individual or family. It is not about playing the race card. This is an important assertion for us to consider as Planning commissioners,” Azhar said.
Commissioner Carmen Llanes Pulido said that allegations of racism should come as no surprise. “We’re talking about white male property owners in the 1950s, in Austin, on the west side – and of course they were racist,” she said. But she argued that allowing the house to be demolished based on these grounds does nothing to help people of color who have been harmed by racism and segregation.
The question of tax breaks was also controversial. Michael Gaudini, representing the property owner, said that the tax breaks associated with historic zoning would exacerbate inequality by shifting property tax burdens to less affluent communities. City staffers estimate that the property, appraised at $3.5 million, would get either a $8,500 or $16,107 property tax break annually, depending on whether a homestead exemption is applied.
Commissioner Grayson Cox preferred the commission focus not on tax breaks but on whether the structures merit preservation. “To me, nothing in the historic preservation criteria lists, is this person deserving of a tax break or not?”
Azhar, on the other hand, said he plans to propose a code amendment getting rid of city property tax breaks for historic properties.
The commission fell one vote short of recommending historic zoning, with six commissioners in support and three opposed. Azhar and commissioners Claire Hempel and Greg Anderson voted against.
The odds of City Council zoning over an owner’s wishes are slim. Nine out of 11 members must vote in favor, and there have only been a handful of such cases over the past several decades.
