Systems West Engineers

Finding top talent already feels like a needle in a haystack.

Finding top engineers? More like a needle in sprawling grassland. And finding top engineers in Springfield, Oregon? That grass is eight feet tall, overgrown with nettles, and infested with mites. Also, it’s raining.

And yet, somehow Systems West Engineers found the needle anyway. In fact, they’ve found plenty — growing their team from 36 to 49 in just three short years. Not only that, but each new hire was talented, qualified, and aligned with their mission and values.

The quality of candidates absolutely went from good to great. We’ve always been proud of our hiring process, but it took some serious discernment on which candidates to elevate at each step in the process. Now, we’re seeing right-fit candidates separate themselves from the pack earlier and more often.

– Amber Kelel, Director of Business Development

That’s because Systems West knew a crucial secret: that the first step to becoming a magnetic employer is to focus on the magnet itself.

SYSTEMS WEST’S QUANTUM LEAP

When we met Systems West in 2020, they knew that it was time to take the business to the next level. Like many Kinesis clients, that journey began by addressing a symptom: their outdated website. “The website felt archaic, and the logo wasn’t representative of who we are,” Amber recalls. “But we knew there was a bigger dialogue to be had about it…”

Some business leaders might have stopped there. And who could blame them? You need a website, you buy a website. Ipso facto, transaction complete. But visionary CEO Adam Mangrich understood what others often don’t: that incremental thinking produces incremental results.

Frankly, at first we were just looking at website developers. Kinesis said, ‘We can give you a website, that’s easy. But a great website is the result of understanding who you are and what sets you apart.’ We decided we were ready to invest in that understanding.

– Adam Mangrich, CEO

Instead, the SWE team sought a transformative partnership that would set the business on a powerful new trajectory. Together, we dug deep into the company’s DNA, unraveling the unique way they operated and building a brand and strategy around it. We articulated what makes SWE special inside and out.

We can state what a consulting engineering firm does, but we didn’t even realize the depth of our uniqueness until Kinesis brought it to light. Their ability to extract that is almost uncanny. ‘We didn’t say those words, how do you understand us so well?’ That’s rare, and it’s an intangible. You can’t appreciate it until you’ve actually gone through it with Kinesis.

– Adam Mangrich, CEO

With brand as an organizing principle and a change mechanism, Systems West is now clear on who they are and where they’re headed — attracting customers and employees alike.

Kinesis brings holistic business competency; they’re trying to move the needle indirectly on everything. They challenged us to create these aha lightbulb moments week-to-week — uncovering different aspects of our business to get the outcome we didn’t even know we were looking for. Alignment was an easy byproduct, and it allowed us to become more remarkable as a team internally.

– Amber Kelel, Director of Business Development

Today, they’ve turned the company into a magnet for talented engineers, and have enjoyed double-digit growth every year since as a result.

If you asked me, ‘If you were to keep the same brand you had before, would you be where you are today?’ I would say definitely not.”

– Adam Mangrich, CEO

EXPERIENCE YOUR QUANTUM LEAP

The Systems West journey began with one transformative phone call about taking the business from good to great. What could that transformation look like for you?

A company needs to be at a certain level to be a good partner for Kinesis. They have to be ready for the experience. It’s personal, it’s emotional. But if you allow the process to happen and engage with it, you’ll have a great outcome.

– Adam Mangrich, CEO