Guest Forum - Log-On

on tuesday, march 4th, from 6:30 to 8:00 pm, jobnet will host tomer vikinsky of
log-on. as manager of the company's recruitment department, tomer heads a staff of six recruitment coordinators as well as the cv center.
in advance of his visit on the guest forum we spoke to him about a private company that has been operating in the market for 25 years.

log-on is a private software house that provides immediate, quality software solutions at the technological forefront to business ventures and high-tech companies in israel and abroad. the company has been in operation since 1983 and today employs 250 software engineers specializing in development in advanced computer languages and environments.

how did it all get started?
"log-on was founded by gil migdan, who served in mamram [the idf's main computer unit], and yossi segev, who served in the naval technology unit. to this day they have served as the company's owners and joint ceos. twenty-five years ago migdan and segev, two young friends, sat down in an apartment just a few blocks away from the present log-on headquarters in ramat gan, and began developing dpt, a mainframe product that handles organizational relations charts, which eventually proved a world leader in its field.
over the years log-on expanded its activities and began building a combination of
wide-ranging, highly advanced selection of software products - including leading projects on the technological forefront in israel and abroad - and mainframe consulting services. later it entered server/customer technologies. today the company is in the process of very significant growth."

recruitment manager tomer vikinsky

what areas of activity is log-on involved in?
"log-on provides software solutions for web products, e-commerce, testing tools, information security, communications, telephony and mobile computing. a large portion of the work we carry out consists of assistance for clients in project setup, from the idea stage through characterization, code writing and laying out the products at the end-user site. we also provide services such as strategic consulting, boosting the client's development team, advising management teams, defining architecture, assimilating new technologies, etc.
log-on also has an advanced development center where we develop and distribute a range of software products, including products we developed and products by various software manufacturers from different parts of the world."

what customers make use of your products?
"our clients include five large banks in israel, insurance companies, credit companies and a range of local and international high-tech companies that are among the largest in the market: check point, hp, mercury, microsoft, sandisk, aladdin, nice, samsung, amdocs, comverse, optir and many more."

can you describe the company's organizational structure?
"the company's main office, including operations, sales and recruitment departments and a development center, is located in ramat gan. the rest of the employees are scattered at client sites. log-on's structure is very flat. it doesn't have too much of a hierarchy or a lot of branches, sections and divisions, so the company is managed directly by the company headquarters led by two ceos."

how does log-on's uniqueness compared to other it companies come across?
"as a veteran, stable company log-on has experienced all of the market's fluctuations over the years. when the market reached enormous proportions log-on grew with it and achieved much success, and when the market crashed we got wet too, but we learned to channel activities to the more stable, protected places in the company and elsewhere, since we're involved in a broad range of specialties and operate in a number of sectors. the combination of some of the most professional managers in the market and a strong, entrenched organizational culture creates a distinct advantage that allows us to recruit the best and we enable these employees to work in peace based on our wealth of accumulated experience through broad vision and extensive, solid professional knowledge gathered over the course of 25 years in operation."

how is the recruitment process at log-on conducted?
"log-on's recruitment department leads proactive recruitment procedures that match the day-to-day reality in which we operate, and are based on an enormous candidate pool accumulated over the years and a large, professional and trained recruitment staff set up to handle thousands of resumes without compromising on quality or quantity. our painstaking work methods and the new guidelines we established are designed to constantly improve and streamline the locating, assessment and screening processes, while preserving the high professional level of company workers while meeting the quantitative and qualitative needs of our customers in all sectors.

every log-on job candidate is called in for an initial screen process lasting 2-3 hours. he undergoes a personal assessment interview, professional exams in accordance with the content world he comes from and a professional interview. at the end of the day an assessment is written and this assessment accompanies the candidate all along his path at log-on. it's relied on too evaluate his job application and whether to refer him for one of the positions that could be suitable for him in the future."

most of the outsourcing employees move from one project to another. how do they benefit from job stability?
"log-on works in a number of sectors and combines three primary areas - development, projects and consulting - which allows employment, flexibility and mobility from short-term projects to long-term projects and vice versa, among the various sectors and from log-on out to client sites and back to the company development center. the recruitment process includes coordinating expectations regarding project length, types of sectors, field of work and the worker's interest in it. employees are also asked to take part in professional training courses that expose them to new, advanced technologies. log-on sees its employees as an asset in every respect and has the ability to provide them a full platform, support and professional challenge in retraining and professional advancement. this allows us to reduce the risk of certain workers returning to the ranks of jobseekers by making full use of their abilities and skills and significantly lengthening the worker's period of service at the organization."

how do you remain in constant communication with outsourcing workers?
"log-on has professional managers for each field who are perceived as well-known professionals in their respective fields and top figures who built themselves up in the high-tech market. the professional managers serve as direct supervisors of company workers according to the content world, which allows them to closely oversee and maintain a high level of familiarity with their workers, providing them professional support and keeping them at high levels of professionalism. this connection can be seen in the frequency with which managers visit workers in the field and informal employee assessment talks every six months. every two months a focus group is held, led by the ceo and attended by a random sample of employees who have an opportunity to lay forth matters they feel ought to be addressed. i should mention that two especially positive areas are an abundance of company activities and the speed with which problems are addressed."

how do you handle the issue of keeping employees loyal to log-on over other software companies?
"log-on invests considerable resources in efforts to retain workers, including efforts to locate workers who are liable to quit. the professional managers at the main offices maintain constant, intensive contact with their employees in the field and pay special heed to their connection with log-on activities. we regularly hold professional training sessions in all areas of specialization, encourage them to take courses and ensure the employment terms are no lower than the terms offered in the market. in terms of company activities, log-on is highly developed compared to any top high-tech company."

what kind of company is log-on as a place to work since most of its employees are scattered at various client sites?
"i would define log-on as a modest, somewhat conservative company to a certain extent, but one that doesn't compromise on the quality of its workers. the personnel at log-on, which is well aware of the company's qualities, is high-caliber and loyal; they've been with the company for years and are full partners in its successes. log-on's size allows it to maintain a warm atmosphere while focusing extra attention on important details, such as benefits, the work environment, professional advancement, developing other areas of expertise, professional training, etc."

what kind of people are you trying to recruit?
"we're looking for software engineers, programmers (cobol, java, .net, c++), project managers, systems analysts, system people, testers, dba people and people with relevant job experience in content worlds. college graduates or soldiers discharged from idf high-tech units are strongly preferred and they comprise a substantial portion of company employees. on the individual level we're looking for candidates who are pleasant to work with, have leadership qualities, are creative and are not afraid to tackle challenges. if you meet this description, are just curious about employment opportunities or want to upgrade your current work situation, we'd be glad to forge contact and meet with you."

what's special about the jobnet site?
"i mentioned in the past and again i'll say that we're very pleased with our cooperation with jobnet. in terms of the job candidates who come through the site, the numbers speak for themselves. during the past year, through the site we've recruited many quality job candidates who have been placed with strategic clients. also, the quality of service provided by the site representatives is outstanding."

to wrap up, why is it worthwhile to join log-on?
"our employees enjoy a range of technologies, job stability and opportunities for advancement, and are exposed to a wide spectrum of projects at leading companies like microsoft, aladdin and nice technologies. we offer you a warm, high-tech work environment, professional exposure, challenge, stability and benefits.
to those dreamers among you, come work at a place where the dream and the reality meet…"


for the hebrew article