Park Place Technologies Earns Spot Among ERC’s Northcoast 99 Winners for 15th Consecutive Year

Cleveland, Ohio, August 23, 2024 – Park Place Technologies, the leading global data center and networking optimization firm, has been named a 2024 NorthCoast 99 award winner by ERC, the Employers Resource Council. The NorthCoast 99 award honors 99 great Northeast Ohio workplaces for top talent. This is the 15th time that Park Place Technologies has received the prestigious NorthCoast 99 award.

In addition to this remarkable achievement, Park Place Technologies is proud to be recognized as this year’s Special Category award winner for “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion” (DE&I). This accolade underscores the company’s dedicated efforts to foster an inclusive workplace, particularly through its Intentional Hiring Program aimed at supporting neurodivergent individuals.

“Twenty-six years ago, ERC launched the NorthCoast 99 awards program and event to help our region become a prime destination for companies and high-performing individuals,” said Samantha Marx, ERC’s Director of Strategic Projects, who oversees the NorthCoast 99 program. “Beyond being a sought-after accolade, this yearlong research initiative offers employers valuable insights and data into policies and practices that successfully attract and retain top talent.”

NorthCoast 99 winners participated in a rigorous application process that asked for detailed information on how their organization addresses top-performer attraction, development, and retention in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion; employee engagement and talent development; employee well-being; organizational strategy, policies, and benefits; talent attraction, acquisition, and onboarding; and total rewards.

“At Park Place, we are proud to be a destination workplace for those entering the technology field,” shared Jonathan Gordon, Senior Manager of Global HR Operations at Park Place Technologies. “Our commitment to fostering an open and welcoming culture is reflected in our expansive hiring programs. The recent collaboration with Integrate Advisors exemplifies this dedication as we work to support, empower, and expand our neurodivergent employee population.”

“With many of our employees having close ties to the neurodivergent community, we understand the profound business and community benefits of such an initiative,” Gordon continued. “We’ve made significant strides by conducting internal assessments, delivering awareness and management training, and strategically matching job candidates with our recruitment needs and cultural standards. We’ve already seen success in hiring neurodivergent employees through this program, and we’re excited about the continued growth and impact it will have on the success of this organization.”

“Winning NorthCoast 99 is not easy. This group of 99 employers is constantly evolving, listening, and responding to the needs and desires of today’s talent. We commend the 2024 winners for setting a benchmark for excellence,” said ERC President Kelly Keefe.

About Park Place Technologies’ Intentional Hiring Program

As a destination workplace, Park Place is a sought-after employer for all people seeking entry into the technology field. We place great importance on maintaining an open and welcoming culture, including through expansive hiring programs.

In 2023, Park Place Technologies initiated a collaboration with Integrate Advisors which aims to better support, empower, and expand the neurodivergent employee population. Neurodiversity refers to the variation in how people think, learn, and process information and includes both neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals.

Many Park Place employees have direct family and friends in the neurodivergent community, and we know there are tremendous business and community benefits we can gain through an expanded collaboration. Integrate Advisors has already completed onsite assessments, provided awareness and management training, and begun working with us to strategically match job candidates with our recruitment needs, cultural standards, and global roadmap.

Having already successfully hired neurodivergent employees through this program, Park Place looks forward to its continued success.

Park Place Technologies is also heavily engaged in recruiting activities at the university level focused on DEI, which includes engagement with, presentations to, and direct recruiting from diverse student organizations, such as SWE (Society of Women Engineers), NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers), oSTEM (Out in STEM), and others.

Additionally, Park Place has recently signed an agreement with a trusted partner for technology recruitment that is women-owned and has a long-time central focus on DEI. This partnership further enhances Park Place’s recruiting tools and provides an even greater and more diverse candidate pool.

In 2024, Park Place made significant improvements to its internal recruitment channels, resulting in better advertised vacancies to all employees, clarifying the internal application process, and encouraging more internal promotions than in previous years. These efforts have led to the movement of female employees into teams that were previously predominantly male, resulting in increased salaries for female employees advancing into areas they may not have previously entered. The company has also established and consistently upheld a commitment to eliminating unconscious biases in its recruitment processes, (all stages of evaluation, including initial recruiter screens, virtual/onsite interviews with managers, etc.), ensuring that all internal candidates are assessed and considered solely on their skills, experience, and qualifications.

About Park Place Technologies

Park Place Technologies is a global data center and networking optimization firm. We help more than 21,500 clients optimize data center budgets, productivity, performance, and sustainability so they can think bigger – and act faster. From procurement to decommissioning, our comprehensive portfolio of services and products helps IT teams optimize IT lifecycle management. This frees time and spend so they can focus on transforming their businesses for the future.

Park Place’s industry-leading and award-winning services portfolio includes Park Place Hardware Maintenance™, Park Place Professional Services™, ParkView Managed Services™, Entuity Software ™ and Curvature Hardware sales. For more information, visit www.v-lanterna.com. Park Place is a portfolio company of Charlesbank Capital Partners and GTCR.

Park Place Technologies Media Contact

Michael Miller | Director of Global Communications

Main 877-778-8707 | Direct 440-991-5509