Early this past Saturday morning, as a nor'easter that spent the weekend tearing up much of the Northeastern United States raged outside, I was awoken by the phone ringing. A friend who lives a few towns away was breathlessly asking about the big fire in our town, and checking to make sure we were OK. “Fire?” I responded. “What fire?” I had not heard any sirens, alarms or large firefighting equipment navigating our narrow Victorian era streets. I opened my front door to see if anything was going on outside, and was met with the howling wind, and the smell of burning wood.
I bundled up against the wind and rain, grabbed the dog, and set out to investigate. I only had to go about 6 blocks, and encountered an entire village of fire companies and rescue crews that seemed to have sprung up overnight. They had efficiently roped off dangerous areas, ran networks of hoses all around our tiny square-mile town, set up rest areas for weary firefighters, and evacuation centers for displaced residents. All attention was focused on a smoking pile of embers that had once been an historic hotel and six adjacent houses, burned to the ground by flames whipped by gale force winds coming off the ocean just a block away.
I began reading the sides of the fire trucks. All the neighboring beach towns were there, as well as companies from as far away as Freehold and Englishtown, New Jersey. 200 firefighters in all responded, from 19 different companies and 8 rescue squads. When fire strikes in historic Ocean Grove, a town filled with late 19th Century wooden homes and tents that are standing so close to each other that in some places they are actually touching, the response is massive.
What I found amazing was how well organized everything was, and how well everyone was working together to ensure that the already massive inferno did not take out the rest of the town. Nobody was getting in anyone else’s way; every need was being attended to; where one group of firefighters was stretched to capacity, another was there to reinforce them, as if the 19 companies worked together all the time. Meanwhile, other organizations, like the Red Cross, had set up in a nearby building providing blankets and dry clothing, and a local restaurant was providing food and drink. A well-oiled machine had sprung to action in just a couple of early morning hours. The whole scene brought to mind how important it is to have a strong network of Partners to offer support, backup and fill in the blanks when there is a need that is beyond one’s capacity to meet.
Such networks of Partners can be lifesaving in cases like the Ocean Grove fire, and on a less dramatic scale, they can make a world of difference in business. Recognizing this, iCIMS has worked diligently to establish partnerships with organizations that complement our offerings well, and who also place an emphasis on offering a first class customer experience for our clients that we value so highly. iCIMS Preferred Partner Program has benefited many of our clients, such as Dave & Buster's, Walden Security, and Whole Foods, who have taken advantage of the Talent Platform’s integration capabilities beyond Talent Acquisition and Management. Additionally, iCIMS and its partners have benefitted by being able to share information on industry trends, offering our common clients more complete suites of services, and freeing up our time to concentrate on developing our own products and services to their fullest.
Whether you are an existing or potential iCIMS client, or an existing or potential partner who would like to learn more about how our partnership program can benefit you, please visit the iCIMS Partner Portal here.
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