HAYS, Kan. – In this day and age of elevated unemployment levels across the country, you might think it would be difficult to find a company in a high-tech field like wireless desperate to find suitable employee candidates to fill vital holes.
Welcome to Hays, Kan., home to just over 20,000 people, a lot of open space as well as booming wireless operator Nex-Tech Wireless L.L.C. that is indeed looking for people to help support the carrier’s rather impressive growth. The carrier, which is privately held by a triumphant of area telephone operators, has in its short history managed to carve out both a place in the hotly competitive mobile space.
While the company is privately held and thus does not officially release subscriber figures, it’s safe to say that the carrier’s market penetration into the roughly 200,000 customers its network covers is impressive.
Nex-Tech Wireless currently operates a CDMA-based network operating on more than 250 towers using its 1.9 GHz spectrum assets across 33 counties. The carrier also offers nationwide roaming through more than 50 agreements, including a deal with Sprint Nextel Corp. The carrier is also looking towards its network upgrade plans, having said it was looking at making an announcement sometime later this year.
This difficulty in attracting employees is not just a local issue for Nex-Tech Wireless, as the state’s unemployment rate for April was pegged at 6.7%, which is considerably lower than the national average. More specific to Nex-Tech Wireless was the 3% unemployment posted for Ellis County.
To help promote the area, Nex-Tech Wireless, along with parent companies Nex-Tech and Rural Telephone, provide a website extolling the opportunities in the area.
Nex-Tech Wireless’ CEO Johnie Johnson noted that the carrier has a near constant need for employees to fill a number of technical and administrative roles at the company.
Small town, big country
All it takes is a drive out to Hays to realize why there might be some trepidation by some to relocate to the middle of western Kansas. The dominate geographic feature of the landscape would be generously described as table-top flat, with a steady wind typically on hand to further lend to the desolate landscape. However, once inside of the town itself, you realize that the folks of Hays have managed to develop a small piece of Americana thought to be lost by many.
Those unencumbered views do provide plenty of opportunity to view spectacular thunderstorms that populate this part of the country during the spring. These provide both an awesome light show, as well as a bit of panic for non-local’s when the occasional tornado warning siren goes off.
As Johnson likes to point out, the carrier’s network covers a lot more coyotes than people.
Despite what may be seen as a “challenging” environment, Hays seems to have a way of drawing people back. A common theme amongst Nex-Tech employees was that many were originally from the area before leaving for larger cities following high school or college, only to return to the area when they were looking to start a family.
This is where having a high-tech firm like Nex-Tech Wireless in the area proved a compelling alternative for those looking to return. Whether it’s monitoring network operations, engineering coverage requirements for new cell sites, or just handling customer care, Nex-Tech Wireless’ presence in the Hays adds an air of progress to what is predominately a farming community.
Those diverse employment opportunities offered by Nex-Tech Wireless are highlighted by its in-house customer care operations and its mobile technicians.
Unlike its larger rivals that rely on customer care centers spread across the country and world, Nex-Tech Wireless keeps most of its operations at its central location. In addition, the carrier has a couple of company-owned retail locations as well as dozens of third-party retailers spread throughout its coverage area.
Tower technicians noted that they generally are in charge of a section of cell sites that they tend to both from Nex-Tech’s central operations, as well as regular visits that result in an above-average amount of miles on the company’s service vehicles. Those visits are conducted year-round, including the heat of the Kansas summer as well as the bone-chilling depth of a Kansas winter.
Local involvement
Nex-Tech Wireless’ involvement in the community is also very apparent as the company sponsors many of the local high-school sporting events as well as being very involved in charities, including the United Way and American Red Cross. Nex-Tech Wireless’ CEO Johnie Johnson is also very well known locally for being a driving force in raising funds for the communities Big Brothers Big Sisters program.
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