Suggestion Box Have a tech career issue you'd like to see addressed in this column? Send suggestions.

Reston's Proxicom Inc. recently earned a spot on Interactive Week's prestigious list of the Top Ten Companies to Work For. Proxicom, a provider of Internet and Intranet solutions for such companies as General Electric Co. and Mobil Corp., shares the accolade with the likes of Microsoft, Lotus Development Corp. and Sun Microsystems. Interactive Week says these companies "generate palpable excitement about their reason for being."

Proxicom founder Raul Fernandez says his company recognizes "that individuals are gratified in different ways, and we go out of our way to understand and serve our employees." Proxicom claims a turnover rate of 10 percent for 1997, which is about half the industry average.

What lessons can high-tech workers and employers draw from Proxicom? This recent Q&A with Fernandez provides some tips.

Q: What technological trends do you see in your industry's workplace?

Raul Fernandez: Perhaps the most obvious trend is the requirement to keep up with rapidly evolving tools and technologies and the impact that has on training and hiring. For instance, in our seven-year history, we've seen the commercial embrace of Java, we've seen the creation of new push technologies, we've seen software companies change course to address the Internet as a primary focus, and the list goes on and on. Our job is to stay abreast of changes, to assess technologies and to be skilled at incorporating these into the solutions we create for clients.

Fernandez: All companies are experiencing problems with the imbalance of supply and demand of skilled technical talent in the D.C. metropolitan area. However, beyond offering just a job, what Proxicom tries to do is build a challenging and supportive environment which fosters growth for each employee. People want more than a job, and we try to deliver by treating our employees as true professionals.

Fernandez: Proxicom is aggressive in terms of compensation and benefits, which parallels other high-growth entrepreneurial organizations. If you want to provide knowledge and technology innovation, you have to be prepared to offer the right environment and financial package for the professionals required to lead the way.

For instance, we provide ownership in the company to all employees through stock options. We offer attractive health benefits for individuals and families, subsidized health club memberships, professional training opportunities, 401K plans, telecommuting, a three-week vacation for new hires, employee loans and immigration/visa services for qualified workers.

Fernandez: Proxicom provides an open career path to individuals who want to learn a new specialty. We invest the time and resources needed to provide structured training through what we call Proxicom University, a combination of physical classrooms and a virtual training environment.

Proxicom University offers a wide range of resources to help employees do their jobs better and grow professionally. There are many programs going on at any given time. For example, you can learn how to use our internal knowledge management system or learn specifics on how to perform certain aspects of your job better. You can go to the Internet and sign up for distance learning classes, or you can link with resident experts who lead sessions on learning Java, for instance, and other technology learning.

We encourage on-the-job participation and couple people together so that they get dedicated mentoring. We leverage training courses provided by our technology partnerships, such as Microsoft, for example, with access to both internal and external career resources.

Fernandez: We recently hired an administrative assistant who had no technology experience but who was keenly interested in learning how to design Internet Web pages. We gave her both on-the-job and outside training and she is now part of a very effective team. Ultimately, if something is exciting to an employee, we recognize that aligning their interests and their work produces attractive results for everyone.

Fernandez: Our best weapon is referrals from employees, partners and customers interested in helping us succeed. We have a dedicated recruitment team and several programs that address hiring high-tech workers. We have relationships with universities, professional organizations and technology partnerships across the country and in Europe.

We also invest in tapping multiple Internet resources to attract qualified candidates. We use Careerbuilder.com's software and reach to attract qualified candidates. They can check that site for listings of our position openings or they can visit our site directly (www.proxicom.com), see the positions by regions and categories, and place a resume with our recruitment department.

Fernandez: Proxicom is involved in a number of programs with colleges, including field-work projects, internships and speaking to students at career conferences. We recently took on two groups of six students each from the University of Maryland's MBA program. The students took on real consultative projects. We shepherded them through the process and they produced a working product. We are now going through a round to attract interns from colleges like Harvard, the Chicago Business School, the University of Virginia, and others.

Fernandez: Proxicom focuses on matching employee strengths with positions where these strengths succeed. We offer training and professional growth, call on people to lead, and empower our employees to effect change and see the results of putting ideas into action.

Most importantly, and perhaps the most difficult to describe to those outside the company, is that Proxicom is a challenging and fun place to work. If you were to go one-by-one around the company, no doubt you would identify a number of things that make Proxicom unique. Those factors aren't accidental. We are committed to providing a learning environment that encourages leadership and rewards performance.

Our culture includes a diverse background of professionals and the chance to immerse ourselves in innovative solutions for Global 1000 customers provides the type of challenge that draws and encourages the entrepreneurial spirit.

Fernandez: Clients trying to steal your talent is a nice problem to have! Proxicom is very proud of its project teams and the outstanding skills we have to offer to our clients. There is always a possibility that an employee may go to a client, but we believe that we offer an attractive environment for career development and growth potential.