Why Latitude

First, here's a list of reasons (some major, some minor) that we believe make Latitude Geographics a good place to spend our days and build our careers:

1. Top-notch colleagues that like and respect one another
2. Challenging, interesting work
3. Cutting edge technology
4. Technology that makes the world a better place.
   For example, we help:
   • citizens evacuate before hurricanes
   • people buy new homes
   • scientists track the movements of species like polar bears
   • agencies clean up after oil spills
   • planners make roads safer
   • businesses figure out where to locate
   • forest companies to better manage forests
   • firefighters fight fires
   • companies remediate contaminated sites
   • engineers create safer highways
5. 

   Company kayak on Victoria's Gorge Waterway

   We've grown steadily through the economic downturn
6. We listen to peoples' ideas—and act on them
7. We're recognized experts in our field—people around the world seek us out
8. An excellent reputation and our clients like us
9. A supportive environment for training and professional development
10. Fair, equitable salaries and a good group benefits program
11. Plenty of opportunity for advancement
12. We're debt-free and profitable, with historic annual growth of 15%-100% (we were #34 on PROFIT magazine's 2006 list of Canada's Fastest Growing Companies and #35 in 2007).
13. We only take on ethical projects (our software license agreements even tie in the UN Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Conventions of 1949, or the Geneva Protocols of 1977)
14. 

    Annual Mt. Washington trip

    We give back to our community
15. Opportunities to travel internationally
16. We're carbon neutral (since July 2010)
17. One year placements to our Rotterdam office in the Netherlands.
18. A cool "non Office Spacey" downtown location overlooking Victoria's Inner Harbour
19. Company ocean kayaks stored at a nearby marina (a five minute walk away)
20. The CEO rides his bike to work
21. Good coffee
22. In-car GPS units for vacations (if not being used for business)
23. Movie nights at the Latiplex (8'x10' projection screen with surround sound), PlayStation, Wii and HD Channels 
24. July 4th Party (most of our clients are away this day) and our Non Denominational Winter Holiday Season Celebration (sometimes called the Christmas Party for short)
25. Annual ski/snowboard trip to Mount Washington
26. Poker nights/Foosball tournaments
27. The Latitude Legends softball team
28. 

    Latitude Legends Softball Team

    Profit sharing
29. Lunchtime yoga on Wednesdays and Fridays
30. Thursday lunchtime speakers (lunch supplied)
31. Bottomless book budget
32. Free healthy snacks
33. Secure bike storage & showers
34. Opportunities for public speaking and other career development
35. Our headquarters are in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia

Yeah, everyone likes a list. But let’s get real. A bunch of these things are little perks, occasional events, and semi-tangible desirables.

Bottom line, nobody wants to join a lousy company, surrounded by a bunch of jerks and office politics. Nobody wants to be seduced by some website, then discover a toxic culture or a sketchy business model once they’re a few weeks in.

We’re pretty comfortable going on record saying we’re a great place to build your career. We’re certainly not perfect, but we’re always working to improve. We strive to pay fairly and equitably, hire and retain the kind of people so that it’s actually nice to come into work (we’ve instituted a no "jerk" policy), thank people for a job well done, smile, and stay true to doing right by everyone. Over the last decade, we’ve built a business based on steady, sustainable growth. We operate conservatively. We’re debt free, profitable, and growing. We think our future is bright.

If you’re intelligent, focus on what’s important, work hard, deliver your best, are committed to ongoing learning, act in the best interests of customers, spend company money as you’d spend your own (assuming you’re good with money that is!), communicate openly and directly, smile, enjoy a laugh from time to time… odds are you’ll do great here.

Next: Hiring Process