Keeping Customers Compliant is eQuest’s Main Goal

eQuest has never failed a Federal VEVRA audit for a single customer.’

Their roster of customers reads like a “Who’s Who” of major corporations. The majority of the Global Fortune 500 rely on them. Most of the job advertisements you see on the internet have more than likely been delivered by them. And yet you’ve probably never heard of them.

Since 1994, eQuest, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, has been quietly creating one of the largest job posting delivery services in the world. Heavyweights including Workday, Oracle, SAP, and IBM have plugged eQuest into their human capital systems for their customers.

However, a little known fact is that eQuests’s primary revenue generator – job delivery – is not its fastest growing division. Rather, its Compliance Division is growing at an even faster rate. eQuest assures companies doing business with the U.S. Federal government are meeting the Department of Labor’s strict guidelines related to listing jobs.

Federal contractors are required (and must be able to prove) that their jobs are reaching a wide spectrum of diversity channels (i.e., women, minority, disabled, LGBT, etc.) as well as State and Local run career sites, including veteran and disabled veteran sites. Using the same business model as its commercial job delivery service, eQuest created a one-stop service that provides Federal contractors everything they need to meet these guidelines and more. And best of all, it’s entirely automated.

In conversation with Andrew Lampe

What challenges did you face in your initial years? What can your peers learn from it?
Starting any new service comes with its share of problems and issues. However, our business model was based entirely on the wishes and expectations of ongoing, published OFCCP regulations. Our adherence to these rules, along with the utmost cooperation with the OFCCP during any audit, provided our guide-path to maintaining a best-in-breed service.

What were the grounds on which you have expanded your company and its offerings over the years?
We wanted to provide Federal contractors and subcontractors the highest level of job posting compliance readiness and audit protection. In the ever changing landscape of government regulations, eQuest works with contractors to develop and implement best practices while maintaining these same compliance standards. This means maintaining some of the largest networks of state and diversity career destinations throughout the U.S. and territories. Our approach towards OFCCP audits is grounded in extensive preparation and process management.

What learning’s helped you to set this company up?
Since the beginning of the company (more than 20 years ago), we have always been inspired by our customer requests. Today, some of our most popular services are a result of our customers’ wishes. Prior to opening our Compliance Division, there were two primary complaints from our job delivery customers who were utilizing other vendors for compliance. The first was a lack of properly posting listings (jobs) to the State boards, and the second was being able to provide proof of service to the OFCCP during an audit. eQuest built a process that accomplished both, and before long, we had hundreds of customers.

What do you feel are the reasons behind your product popularity and consistence growth as an organization?
Our growth comes from maintaining the highest standards in the field – and customers know that.

How do you and your company contribute to the global IT platform and society at large?
100 percent of our job listings are destined for people of diverse backgrounds, including veterans and those with disabilities. It’s a truly noble cause, and we feel special being a part of this goal: creating a climate of diversity in the employment arena.

Where do you see you and your company a couple of years from now?
We expect our growth rate to continue exponentially, meaning that the Compliance Division will soon become our second most utilized service behind job delivery.

“We have a passion for diversity at eQuest — in our people, products, technologies, and markets. eQuest is committed to developing the diverse talents of all employees.”

Meet the Master

Andrew Lampe, Director of Technology: Andrew is a rare combination of corporate executive and computer scientist that understands how to build applications that are focused on driving revenue and increasing customer engagement. For the past 17 years his primary focus has been in the human capital management space. He has built or has had a large hand in building some of the largest and most successful software solutions in the HCM market place. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and two children.