People Hiring People

Together, everyone achieves more

In 2014, Chris Allaire sought to create a different kind of staffing company — one that not only focused on building relationships with people over simply making transactions but encompassed a positive, team-oriented work environment where everyone can achieve more. With a philosophy centered around teamwork, communication and collaboration, his New York City-based technology staffing firm, Averity, has remained unwavering in its promise and is once again a Best Staffing Firm to Work For.

In its mission to provide unparalleled service, Averity has continued to change the narrative when it comes to how staffing firms work with their candidates. “Community and relationship-building are what really set us apart from other staffing agencies,” says DevOps Talent Advocate Sophia Carbone, who joined Averity’s team of 29 employees just over a year ago after hearing about the company through her cousin and fellow employee, Mark Howland. “Mark always talked about Averity with such passion and excitement, and I had never experienced that before,” she explains. “But I’ve come to learn that everyone that works here carries that same passion.”

Long-Term Mindset

In any organization that has numbers-driven goals, it can be easy to fall into a rhythm of making a placement and then quickly moving on to the next candidate — but also pushing for a candidate to take a position that may not be right for them. Averity takes the complete opposite approach.

“For us, it’s about long-term relationships,” says John Birchall, director of data science and engineering. For more than five years, Birchall has advocated for humanizing the recruitment process; in fact, his approach would encourage candidates to accept the best offer they receive, even if it wasn’t with Averity. He explains, “Our hope is that [candidates] remember the great experiences they had with us so they choose to work with Averity in the future, which I believe separates us from a lot of other agencies.”

Supporting candidates beyond the scope of what is traditionally expected is a facet of Averity’s purpose in retaining long-standing clientele. For example, Averity staff have been known to coach past candidates regardless of current placement potential. Senior Talent Advocate (Data Engineering & Machine Learning) Stephanie Grosso, for example, says she recently coached a candidate she placed last year. While neither she nor the company received monetary compensation, she says being able to provide that type of support is rewarding in its own right. “Helping people is immediately self-gratifying, and it lights me up when someone gets an offer,” she shares.

Birchall agrees, citing that long-term thinking is treating people how you would want to be treated. He adds, “We understand that finding a job can be stressful for people, and for us, we want to take as much of that anxiety and fear away as we can.” For Averity, it’s not just investing in a candidate’s present but their entire future career.

Above and Beyond

Work ethic is a significant element of what makes Averity a Best Staffing Firm to Work For, which is evident in how the firm champions its candidates. Birchall recalls a candidate who had been struggling to find employment for six months. The candidate lacked the required experience; however, Averity recognized right away the candidate’s perseverance and incredible ability to connect with people. “We knew, looking at her résumé, it wasn’t a typical one, but we leveraged our relationships with our clients and staked our reputation on her being an incredible hire for any organization,” Birchall says. Sure enough, the client agreed after an initial interview and hired the candidate.

Two years later, she is now a manager at that company and the person Averity liaises with for hiring. Beaming with pride, Birchall adds, “She’s doubled her income, and it has been a wonderful full-circle moment for us.”

The aspiration to help others goes beyond Averity’s candidates. The departments are fluid, with individuals from any team more than willing to jump in and assist one another. Carbone explains, “I can reach out to someone in, for example, data or software, and they’ll be immediately ready to help me and vice versa,” she says. “We are all ready to support each other at any time, and internally, it makes us a community.”

Everyone Wins

Leadership has a huge ripple effect on the overall success of a business, and Averity has channeled its efforts into creating a fully remote team where everyone wins. One of those success factors is collaborating with one another by sharing candidates, which in staffing is a rare practice.

“We have found ways to share candidates and are encouraged to do so,” Grosso explains. “If I share a candidate and my teammate places them, it’s a win for all of us, as leadership has created a way for us all to be rewarded for doing so.”

Working within Birchall’s team, Grosso echoes that leadership is part of what makes Averity an incredible place to work. “[Birchall] is constantly there for us, whether it’s connecting about our wins, any question, or struggles we may be having,” she explains.

Looking Ahead

For Averity, 2023 means more opportunities to come together in person. Carbone, who has worked remotely since she started at the company, excitedly explains, “I have the opportunity to meet coworkers in person for the first time this year. I hope we can get together more because we do genuinely want to connect in person.”

Averity continues to foster personal and professional growth within its internal staff by putting its employees first. For Birchall, this means fostering growth opportunities in areas where employees are most passionate. “Lighting that fire within someone because they’re devoted to something is incredibly important to the growth of our company. If their passion ends up bringing value, we want them to go for it.”