If you’ve never heard of Canby, Oregon – well, nobody would blame you. It’s tucked away, quaint, Oregon’s Garden Spot less than an hour’s drive south of Portland; a perfect blend of northwest color and southern charm. The sort of place you’d drive through without knowing its name.

HawkSoft is proud to call Canby home. Since humble beginnings in 1995, our company has prided itself on giving back to the supportive community it’s grown up with. In a mutually beneficial push for greatness, both at-home and in-house, HawkSoft’s Customer Service Leadership organized an Employee Incentive Program (EIP) for the month of February. This EIP focused on individual employee’s schedule adherence, encouraging Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) to take timely breaks and lunches in order to ensure there’s always an appropriate number of CSRs available to answer inbound calls, thereby reducing overall wait times and increasing customer satisfaction.

"Our culture is to care"

Our all-star CSRs eagerly rose to the challenge, incentivized by an agreed upon reward. Whichever team had the best collective schedule adherence would get to take time off from their workday to go purchase $500 in clothes for The Canby Center, a local charity committed to helping youth and their families in the Canby School District.

Team Lead Richard Allen felt that HawkSoft could do more.

“When we built this place, nobody knew what it was. We were just one of two buildings in Canby with an elevator,” said Richard, who joined HawkSoft in 2012 and has seen the company through tremendous growth. “HawkSoft started here, and still, people aren’t sure what we are. It’s important to show that we care, that we aren’t just another building. Our culture is to care.”

In the past, HawkSoft has held food drives and blood drives, so Richard thought: why not organize a clothing drive? He reached out to The Canby Center, and in no time at all, there were big white donation barrels in the HawkSoft lobby.

Ray Keen, Executive Director of The Canby Center, says he was “overjoyed” to learn that HawkSoft wanted to get involved.

“I think sometimes we view our work as disconnected from the other parts of our lives,” said Ray “This clothing drive by HawkSoft helps build more connectivity, both for employees and the community. We're very excited to see these kinds of bridges being built.”

"It's great to have HawkSoft in Canby"

HawkSoft employees from every department rallied behind the cause, bringing in wave after wave of donations until the bins were stuffed to the brim! It was a close race between the CSR teams competing in the schedule-adherence EIP, but in a triumphant push to the finish line, Team Noemi – consisting of CSRockstars John Barnes, Kevin Horne, Ken Scheel, and Nick Wills – snatched the title.

“They were able to maintain that focus and keep that drive because they really wanted to contribute,” said Team Lead Noemi Rodriguez, who’s been leading her team to victory since she joined the HawkSoft family in 2013. “My team’s wishing and willing to do even more. They see the possibilities, and that’s the best part of this: being advocates for the community.”

Team Noemi and HawkSoft leadership came together on March 30 to take the bins to The Canby Center, hand-delivering a whopping 176 lbs. of mostly new clothing!

Everyone at The Canby Center was thrilled to learn the results of the clothing drive. “We were truthfully, incredibly delighted to see their generosity flow so freely,” said Ray. “When companies like HawkSoft engage their community in socially responsible ways, lives are changed in the community, but I think lives are also changed in the company. It's great to have HawkSoft in Canby.”

Paul Hawkins, founder and CEO of HawkSoft, was particularly moved by the effort. He met with members of The Canby Center to discuss future opportunities where HawkSoft can help, including volunteer hours, food drives, future clothing donations, and reading to local children.

“There are many levels we can help our community on – ongoing, weekly things,” said Paul. “The Canby Center is an organization we want to continue to work with because of its value to the community, because they help people while also protecting their dignity. They don’t just offer someone a handout, they offer mentoring and self-improvement opportunities. It’s the difference between giving someone a fish and teaching them how to fish, and that sets these people apart.”

HawkSoft already plans to organize another clothing drive closer to Fall 2017, but employees and executives alike are eager to do more for their community.

To learn more about The Canby Center, please visit their website at www.thecanbycenter.org.

[Photos: Noemi Rodriguez]