The Company Culture that Led to a $50mil Success

MBE Magazine interviewed Co-founder, President and Silicon Valley Success-Story, Sonu Ratra, who revealed the secrets to her company's $50-million business.
 
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Oct. 6, 2014 - PRLog -- Culturally Speaking

By Patricia Andrews-Keenan

It is clear when speaking with Sonu Ratra, co-founder and president of Akraya Staffing and Consulting Services that she gets most excited when talking about the culture of her 12-year-old company. With a focus on IT, engineering, and creative and marketing talent, the Silicon Valley- based firm has over 350 consultants and a local staff of 35.

Ratra firmly believes that hiring the right people and inculcating them into the right culture is a sure-fire recipe for success. And the numbers don’t lie. Today, the certified woman- and minority-owned firm is a preferred staffing and consulting partner to many Fortune 500 enterprises. Akraya is on track to earn $50 million this year, with long-range goals to double that to more than $100 million.

Akraya focuses on creating a healthy environment and the office has been designated a “junk-free zone” with fresh organic fruit delivered each week. Apart from a full roster of employee benefits, Akraya offers its employees some other unique perks including:

• A pet-friendly office

• Health Club memberships

• Increased paid time off after three years of service

• Sabbatical after five years of service

The company culture is best described as collaborative and Ratra speaks proudly of a workplace where everyone rolls up their sleeves to get things done, they team up to solve problems and the executives have an open-door policy. “We’re all in this together and never want to let being good be the enemy of being great,” she asserts.

It appears the firm is doing something right as they’ve amassed some impressive local and national accolades to support their philosophy.

Among them:

• Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces, 2014

• #1 Best Staffing Firm to Work For and #1 Best Staffing Firm to Contract For, Staffing Industry Analyst, 2013

•#1 Best Place to Work in Bay Area, San Francisco Business Times, 2012 and 2013

•#3 Largest Minority-owned Business in Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley Business Journal, 2013 (Ranked #5 in 2012)

•#6 Largest Women-owned Business in Silicon Valley, Silicon Valley Business Journal, 2013

But, back to that culture, Ratra describes her company as “very socially responsible” with a core belief that with success comes responsibility. “Coming from India I learned the value of community,” she says. “When you attain success you want to make sure you give back.”

Akraya employees, who refer to themselves as Akrayans, just completed work on a Habitat for Humanity home in San Francisco because they wanted to be more “hands on” with the work they do in the community.

Akraya is also sharing its expertise outside of the firm by investing in vendor-supplier programs designed to provide innovative approaches to recruiting, developing and increasing their diverse supplier base. Their programs target women, minorities, veterans, disadvantaged and small business owners who share the company’s mission of providing quality services to their customers.

Lastly and most importantly, Akraya has a laser focus on customer service. “Our customers come first and our goal is to exceed their expectations,” says Ratra. “Our goal is to be one of the best staffing companies globally, add to our portfolio of Fortune 500 companies and be a recruiting center of excellence in our industry.”

And one more point on the culture at Akraya. Ratra says a few years back the management heard grumbling among the women employees about working all week and then spending their time off cleaning. Not one to shirk a problem, Akraya now provides a weekly cleaning service to her employees.

This perk and the company pool table, what more could anyone want?

About the Author: Patricia Andrews-Keenan is a communications executive with extensive corporate communications, public relations and community affairs experience. Andrews- Keenan’s background encompasses stints as a journalist, PR manager, government affairs director, communications and corporate affairs executive with top-drawer companies.

This content is excerpted with permission from MBE Magazine, ©2014 Enterprise Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved. For access to the full article, please see the Akraya Press Room: http://akraya.com/about/press-room/

Contact
Candice Trebus
***@akraya.com
4089076400
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Tags:Diversity Supplier, Wbe, Mbe, Company Culture, Success
Industry:Human resources
Location:Santa Clara - California - United States
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