History of Hynes and Company

Back in the early 1970s the Bay Area was bursting with entrepreneurial energy.  Smokey (W.A. Hynes) and I (Jane Hynes) got caught up in the excitement.  Smokey had worked for years in software development, from programming to project management for several fortune 500 companies.  I had a background in accounting, also in the large corporate world. 

In 1974, Smokey joined a small IT staffing company, one of the first in the area, and by 1976 he was the Operational VP.  He saw how the industry was growing but did not believe in the “body-shop” business model that was becoming prevalent.  Having worked on the client side, he understood the issues faced by hiring managers, such as resource needs, budget constraints, no time to devote to searching for the right person.  But he had also worked as a consultant and knew that their concerns were for continued job opportunities on projects that were both financially rewarding and career enhancing.  He saw an opportunity to create a company with a unique perspective, a consultative approach to contingent staffing.  And so W. A. Hynes & Company was born.

Our vision was to become the “Gold Standard” to which all other consulting/staffing companies are compared.  We wanted to be the first resource that our clients turned to for their project staffing needs, and the employer of choice for the best IT talent in the Bay Area. Our business model was simple:  Know our client’s business, systems, current and future project needs, and know our consultant’s experience, skills and financial and career goals.  Then, through consistent communication with both clients and consultants, we were well positioned to have the right resource ready for the right opportunity.

Initially Smokey, was President/CEO, salesman, account manager and primary consultant for the organization.  It soon became apparent he could no longer be a hands-on consultant and continue to build the company.  So in 1990 he “retired” from programming and dedicated himself to managing the growth of Hynes & Company.  While we provided the best technical talent to each project, Smokey always remained the unofficial, free-of-charge, project-management consultant to our clients.  He monitored every assignment to ensure that all services provided were up to the Hynes & Company standard.
 
Over the years the company has adapted to the ever changing business environment.  In 1986, responding to the new tax law changes (1706) and client demands, all of our consultants became W2 employees.  During the “feeding frenzy” of the Y2K/DotCom bubble 1990’s, we expanded our recruiting efforts and cut our margins to accommodate our client’s urgent needs for resources, while appreciating their budget constraints. With Smokey at the helm of Hynes & Company we grew into the 21st century.  Then, after twenty-six years as an icon in the industry and the fearless leader of Hynes & Company, he passed the day-to-day management to me.  Proud to be known as a “Pioneer” in the IT Consulting industry, he now enjoys being Chairman of the Board, continuing to provide sage advice and regaling the staff with tales of “the good old days”.

In the early years, while acting as Vice President and CFO, my concentration was on the Back-Office, overseeing core operations and policy development.  But, upon taking the reins as President / CEO in 2002, I had to draw upon my years of accounting and business management experience to steer the company through the post-Y2K/Dotcom recession, the worst in the industry’s history.  At the same time the Managed Service Provider model was beginning to take root in the staffing industry.  Many of our clients adopted these programs.  We responded by strengthening our staffing component which contributed to our continued growth in the new demand-oriented business climate.  Then again in 2009 our experience and ability to adapt enabled the company to weather the current economic downturn.  By embracing the new technologies and disciplines, we have positioned ourselves for the economic expansion.

Today, Hynes & Company serves the consulting and staffing needs of midsized to Fortune 500 companies, around the Bay Area and throughout the country.  Thirty-three years, and four recessions later, Hynes & Company remains successful, and true to our original vision of excellence, service and integrity.  The “Gold Standard”.