Customers, workers on this Giantâ€™s shortlist

Noah Duarte doesn”™t conduct job interviews in his office.

Instead, prospective employees are warned: show up in sneakers if you want to get hired.

“The first part of the interview is a 5k run, and I conduct the interview during the run,” said Duarte, manager of Massachusetts-based Gentle Giant Moving Co.”™s Tarrytown office. “The people who work here are exceptional individuals and I am happy to run however many miles I need to run to find the right people.”

It”™s an interviewing tactic used by the ultimate Gentle Giant, Larry O”™Toole, president and CEO of the Massachusetts-based residential moving and storage company. O”™Toole, who is 6”™6”™”™, has been taking potential hires on runs through Harvard Stadium ”“ a rite of passage in the company ”“ since he founded Gentle Giant in 1980.

Gentle Giant, which has 17 locations in eight states, consolidated its New York operations in an office and warehouse at 29 South Depot Plaza last summer. This is theÂ first full year the company will have its own 4,000-square-foot full-service warehouse with storage and office space in one location near key residential markets in New York.

Gentle Giant began providing moving services from a location in White Plains in 2005, but lacked the facilities to provide full-service storage. The company now has the capacity to conduct upward of 1,000 local residential and commercial moves per year.

“We have faith that even though times are bad and things might be slow, eventually we will prevail,” O”™Toole said. “People are always going to be moving, but not at the rate that they were during the boom time. Even in the worst of times there”™s going to be twice as many people moving in the summer than the winter.”

O”™Toole said increasing market share in new regions helps to offset declines in demand in New England, where the company has operated for close to 30 years and has a large share of the market, but has experienced a significant slowdown in home sales in recent months. Broadening its geographic reach also helps insulate the company from difficult market conditions.

The company has won numerous awards for its business practices, including the 2007 Top Small Workplaces award from The Wall Street Journal and Winning Workplaces.

O”™Toole said the company”™s strong commitment to employee development equips Gentle Giant”™s movers, many of whom are college-educated, to “be better prepared for whatever else they”™re going to do in life.”

“Creating customers for life and providing a superb work environment are our two main priorities,” O”™Toole said. “We only hire intelligent, athletic people, and we”™re not really a moving company, we”™re a people-development company. The downside to having really amazing people is they”™re eventually going to leave and move on, but we”™re always excited to train new people.”