There's a misnomer that in order to succeed—as a business or a working professional—setting yourself up in a big city is a requirement. It doesn't have to be that way.
At Zoho, we operate on a simple philosophy—world-class products can be built anywhere. Innovation isn't limited to big cities. Setting up in smaller communities - a rural village in India or a farmhouse in Texas - affords us the opportunity to nurture talent, keep people close to their families, and support local communities.
Our goal in McAllen is to create a mutually beneficial relationship. Put simply, the region is rife with technical talent, and we hope to bring many stable, high-paying technology jobs. But when you drill down a little deeper, the city of McAllen shares our commitment to family, community, and nature. We've already started participating in various community service initiatives such as volunteer work, educational opportunities, and sponsorships. These will grow organically.
We hired our first local employees in 2020, during the pandemic, as remote positions. It didn't take long to notice the high number of extremely qualified candidates and successful hires. We had a sense that McAllen had something special. Upon further research and increasingly frequent trips, it quickly became apparent that McAllen was going to be a big part of our future. The city complements our company culture in ways we hadn't anticipated, from the down-to-earth and authentic people, the close-knit families and communities, and of course the great food (which sealed the deal).
In the short term, we plan to continue hiring in McAllen, further developing our teams in sales, pre-sales, customer support, marketing, communications, public relations, IT, HR, and more. We recently outgrew our first office in the McAllen Foreign Trade Zone after just two years. We moved into a larger space at the McAllen Creative Incubator on Main Street. Long term, we plan to make a capital investment of approximately $10 million by building a campus for up to 500 employees.
We strongly believe that the region has the talent for careers in the technology industry, and we want to ensure that we aren't uprooting people away from their families. We focus on hiring local talent, often partnering with organizations and colleges in the area. In the RGV we've already worked with the City of McAllen, the Workforce Commission, South Texas College, and UT RGV. Moving forward, we hope to expand these existing partnerships and forge new ones.
Zoho has learned that the best training is provided on the job. Unlike other technology companies, we don't require a college degree, only an enthusiasm for technology and a growth mindset, which is exactly what we've found from all of our local employees. All jobs are full time and offer full health benefits as well as a 401(k) with company match. We also offer student internships and are in the process of developing work-credit programs with local colleges.
Zoho thinks about a campus with our people, the community, and the environment at the center. This means we don't build typical office buildings. Rather, we place traditional architecture amidst green spaces that emphasize the natural environment.
Commitment to Local Contractors: Unlike some other large companies, who bring in massive external construction teams, Zoho builds with local talent and materials. We hope to be an asset to the local economy.
People Friendly: the McAllen campus and building will be optimized for people, not cars or construction. We will use the natural landscape as well as native plants to "hide" the parking lot.
Pedestrian Friendly: we emphasize pedestrians. We de-emphasize cars. We will utilize the natural landscape and native trees and plants to hide parking lots, which will not be visible to the general public.
Human Scale: People friendly also means people scale. We won't construct a building taller than three floors.
Nature Friendly: We plan to use just 8 out of 37 acres for buildings. The rest of the land will be dedicated to green spaces:
Orchards: We plan to plant thousands of native fruit trees.
Farm: there will be an area for growing fruits and vegetables for our employees. We will donate excess produce to the local community.
Water: We plan to deepen the current ponds and protect the ecosystem around the ponds. We will stock the ponds with native fish.
Bees: We will support the local plant ecosystem with several bee-hives.
Birds: Given the importance of birds in this area, we plan to cultivate an overall ecosystem that protects and preserve the bio-diversity of the region, especially local and migratory birds.
Traditional Architecture: The greenery of the campus will not be restricted to outdoors. We plan to incorporate many green spaces indoors as well as in courtyards and several indoor-outdoor spaces. We do not build modern, cuboid structures. Rather, our architectural choices reflect local styles and use traditional materials. In McAllen, this means haciendas rather than tall, glass buildings.
Environmentally Friendly: all buildings will account for McAllen's climate and weather. They will leave the minimum environmental impact, and strive to be 100% self-sustainable. We plant to utilize:
Solar Power: the campus' power needs will be supplied by the solar capture systems we put on top of various structures.
Rainwater Capture: the campus' irrigation needs will be supplied by the rain water capture systems we create throughout the land.
We hope to build an event center on campus. As we do in other regions, we would open this facility to the community for local causes. We host community education sessions (e.g. organic farming, technology, manufacturing, etc.)
Neighborhood Aesthetics: we are cognizant of how our campus fits within the surrounding neighborhood. We strive to create a beautiful, natural view to passers-by. The current view from Ware Road has potential: We believe it can be improved by adding native trees and landscaping plants.
Editor's Note: The above guest column first appeared in a brochure produced by Zoho Corporation. Tejas Gadhia is head of the McAllen Office of Zoho Corporation.
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