Looking to tap into Ann Arbor’s unmatched talent pool, a Livonia-based software company recently signed a deal to open a satellite office in downtown.
WorkForce Software — which provides workforce management solutions to more than 200 clients — opened a 1,500-square-foot research-and-development office at 205 N. Main St. on Tuesday.
The second-floor office is located above the former Edible Arrangements space, north of Huron Street. Deb Pearson of Ann Arbor-based Bluestone Realty Advisors represented WorkForce Software in the deal.
WorkForce Software opened an office on North Main Street in Ann Arbor this week.
Lizzy Alfs | AnnArbor.com
“One of the reasons we decided to put an office (in Ann Arbor) is it’s easier for us to find the best and brightest people in the area,” WorkForce Software CEO Kevin Choksi told AnnArbor.com.
The company, which was founded in 1999, employs about 250 people worldwide, including 181 at its Livonia office, according to WorkForce Software recruiter Diana Farnham.
Its software helps clients keep track of basic company functions, including payroll, time and attendance, labor schedules, analytics, absence and leave management, safety risks and legal exposure. Large clients include Ohio University, Blizzard Entertainment, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Carhartt.
Marc Moschetto, WorkForce Software’s vice president of marketing, said the company experienced tremendous growth in 2009 and 2010, actually fueled by the economic downturn.
“Believe it or not, companies started to look inwardly and tried to understand how they could better use the resources they have, more strategically use employees, and keep good control on costs,” Moschetto explained. “As they started to answer those big questions, it pointed to the types of solutions and services we offer.”
The company has also expanded into the mobile market — helping to further increase its client base.
“Business is absolutely booming for us right now,” Moschetto said.
He added: “We’ve grown year-over-year since the company’s founding and we’ve been profitable year-over-year since the company’s founding.”
The private firm does not report sales figures, but said in February it experienced 33 percent revenue growth in 2011. It also secured $17 million in new funding in 2011. The new office in downtown Ann Arbor will focus primarily on software development and will house about 15 employees, Choksi said.
“You know, if we can find the right number of people, we might actually expand that office as well,” he said. “We have growth plans for the next 12 months to bring on 25 to 30 developers in the company.”
As a University of Michigan alum, Choksi said he’s confident in Ann Arbor and the “concentration” of talent in the area.
“It’s interesting that the best and the brightest have the tendency to want to live in an upscale area ... where you can bike to work and take in the atmosphere of a downtown area,” he said. “Ann Arbor is really the place to be if you want to recruit a lot of talent.”
To apply for open positions, visit workforcesoftware.com/about/careers.
Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734-623-2584 or email her at lizzyalfs@annarbor.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lizzyalfs.