Here at AbeBooks.com we have an on-going problem - the difficult task of finding new staff. We have an exceptionally high profile in Victoria, where our headquarters are located, and across Canada as a whole but we still have to work very hard to fill our vacancies. We also have a top notch HR director called Judy Hamza, who works tirelessly to find talented people, but it’s not getting any easier. Currently, we have around 95 employees at our new offices in Victoria but take a look at our careers page and you will find eight or nine vacancies.
We’re not the only ones. All the technology companies on Vancouver Island have problems filling their job postings. We advertise our vacancies on the Internet and we’re open to applications from anywhere. Right now, AbeBooks.com employs Canadians, Americans, Germans, French, Italians, Britons, Spanish and Chinese and there is also an Australian, a Brazilian and a Russian. If you are the best person for the job, then our HR department will help you move to our neck of the world.
In an effort to fill some of these vacancies, we are staging our first ‘Open House’ event on Friday 2 November between 12 noon and 2pm. Anyone can attend but we’re particularly interested in meeting job-seekers. There will be an introduction to the company, free goodies to take away, a department-by-department tour of the company and if you leave your resume then you will be entered into a draw to win $100 worth of books.
In May, we moved into brand new offices on the top floor of a huge glass building overlooking the Gorge waterway. From my desk, I can see the Olympic Mountains in Washington State, sea planes taking off and landing in Victoria’s inner harbour, kayakers paddling from the Gorge and the entire city skyline. (I’m sure I have the best spot in the whole office.)
In order to attract, and retain staff, we offer a huge number of benefits and operate a regular program of social activities. Our working environment is relaxed and senior management put a lot of trust in its workers. We support many good causes. Anyone can submit ideas for making our business better. Everyone has the opportunity for progression into other areas of our business - we even give our employees the opportunity to work in our German office and see Europe at the same time.
We’ve decided to be more proactive and simply open our doors for the first time ever - even if you want to take a look inside our business then feel free to drop in. Get details, directions and a map here.
