'I've never seen anything like it.' For Paycor, buying stadium naming rights paid off

Paycor HCM Inc., a human resources software company that serves more than 40,000 companies across the country, announced last month it was moving its headquarters from Norwood to Downtown Cincinnati, a coup for the city's urban core.

But two years ago, Paycor hinted it was all-in on Cincinnati in another big announcement: It bought the naming rights to the Cincinnati Bengals' Paul Brown Stadium.

Paaras Parker, chief human resources officer for Paycor, joined The Enquirer's "That's So Cincinnati" podcast to talk about why such partnerships matter and the upcoming move into the former Saks building being redeveloped by Cincinnati Center Development Corporation, or 3CDC.

Here's what Parker said:

On Paycor Stadium naming rights

"There's so much intentionality. We do a ton of research when we think about our marketing and branding spend. One of my favorite ways into that was when we originally did the Pac-12 partnership. We looked at who watches those games. What industries are those people in? What types of degrees did they graduate with? What kinds of industries are people working in? And it was the same with the partnership with the Bengals, really thinking through what's the reach, what's the opportunity and the potential for the reach."

And it paid off, Parker said.

"What we saw on job applications after the name went on ... I've never seen anything like it in my career. Roles that we would maybe get 700 applicants for we were seeing 1,000, 1,200. We were having moments where we had to turn opportunities off so that we could make sure we were sifting through what was there and then turning things back on again. So you think about that buzz and then the buzz that's created when you're in the heart of the city."

On Paycor moving into Cincinnati

"It really is centered on the employee experience. We think about what our employees are telling us, what they want, what they miss, what's helpful. And what we found is the central business district had a lot of that to offer. There's also a buzz right between Fifth Third Bank, 84.51 and Kroger doing things that are tech-focused, so being able to bring our folks down where there's also other people in the vicinity, who are focused on much of the very same things, albeit for different reasons, was so important."

What will the new space be like?

"We always say we love virtual first, but we also miss seeing people and we miss the connection. So what I think and hope our employees will be surprised and delighted by is the amount of intentionality going into spaces for that connection, learning, big team meetings, chances to celebrate and the things that are really important for us to continue to be relevant for our customers. Imagine starting with a white page, and you can draw what employees want to see. And how we want to feel when they're in the space. And not just cosmetic. But also how easy it is to engage with technology, how easy it is to host virtual and hybrid meetings, but also how easy it is to come together and have fun. Having fun along the way is one of our guiding principles."

About Paycor

Norwood-based Paycor went public in 2021 in a $426 million initial public stock offering. Paycor provides small and medium-sized businesses with human resources and payroll software. Founder and former chairman Bob Coughlin started Paycor in 1990. It has long made its headquarters in Norwood but made the change to align with its mostly remote business model. The new headquarters will be used for meetings and training.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Paycor all-in on Cincinnati with headquarters and Paycor Stadium deal