A software firm whose Baton Rouge expansion was met with fanfare has changed its name — and it is struggling to find workers to fill its Capital Region office.
Rural Sourcing said Monday it has rebranded as Sparq. A news release announcing the shift touted the “spark,” or guidance, the company delivers to clients “during their digital transformation journeys.”
However, in announcing the name change, company spokesperson Tyler Pearson confirmed to The Advocate that Sparq has hired 26 people for its Baton Rouge office and that it has not yet found a permanent space.
The Atlanta-based firm said in November 2021 it would open a Baton Rouge office and create 150 new jobs at a projected average annual salary of $75,000. Local leaders touted the announcement as the region’s largest software job expansion since IBM’s move to Baton Rouge in 2013.
About a month later, Sparq signed a lease for space in the Fuqua Hardware Building at Third and Laurel streets downtown as it searched for a permanent home. At the time, company representatives said the firm was trying to hire 100 people “as quickly as possible.”
Pearson said Sparq’s hiring slowed in late 2022 “but has started to pick back up.” Pearson said the software firm has run into similar workforce challenges that have plagued employers across the nation, including in Louisiana.
“As a whole, we saw hiring challenges across the country,” Pearson said in an email. “We were able to maintain our staffing levels across the company, while others in our industry have seen significant decreases.”
A lack of available workers has become a common complaint for local business leaders. The state’s unemployment levels hit record lows last year, but economic development officials have said a lack of labor is holding back south Louisiana’s economy.
In addition, officials have said Baton Rouge struggles to keep its college graduates in STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and math — after those students earn their diplomas despite persistent demand for workers.
Established in 2009, Sparq specializes in hiring tech workers in middle-American cities, such as Augusta, Georgia; Mobile, Alabama; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is owned by Bain Capital Double Impact, a Bain Capital subsidiary that focuses on health care, education and workforce development investments.
Pearson said Sparq renewed its Fuqua lease through June and will continue working there while its hunt for a permanent home continues.
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