SADA is a cloud solutions provider with over 20 years of experience helping businesses leverage the immense power of the Google Cloud ecosystem. Their mission is to make IT easy to understand and use for everyone. Last year, SADA welcomed its 500th employee to the team and is continuing to grow.
In a 2019 All Hands event, Tony Safoian (CEO and President of SADA) set a strategic focus on diversity and inclusion and has since said: “Our [DEI] initiative is not just another box to check on a task list. This is a programmatic, purposeful plan that involves each and every team member, starting with our executive leadership.”
Quick Facts:
- Diverse networking & talent sourcing
- Upskilling opportunities for the current team
- Excellent employee reviews about DEI
- Hiring for remote roles!
Diverse Networking & Talent Sourcing
For SADA’s Director of People Operations, the company’s DEI focus starts with recruitment. They have fostered a variety of initiatives to network with candidates with diverse backgrounds from both a technical and cultural lens, such as partnering with alternative coding schools to help non-traditional engineering students.
SADA also collaborates with RecruitHer, TechLatino, #LatinaGeeks, Black in Technology, Girls Who Code, and the National Society of Black Engineers. Such partnerships demonstrate SADA’s commitment to broadening their network to ensure they are reaching talent from all communities.
Upskilling Opportunities for the Current Team
SADA has put in place a number of impactful initiatives with the goal of creating opportunities for current members of their team. One is SADA University, a two-month training program to develop cloud infrastructure and engineering talent from existing members of the team and “help bridge the gap between under-represented talent and meaningful job opportunities.”
Another opportunity SADA provides is through a partnership with the women-led learning studio WE and Google to offer an Inclusive Leadership Series that enhances the company’s culture of belonging and allyship. You can learn more about the series here!
Impressive Reviews for Diversity & Retention
Since 2019, SADA has repeatedly won awards for Best Company Culture, Best CEO, Best Company for Women, and Best Company for Diversity. The Comparably award for diversity is based on how diverse employees feel and rate their work experience across various culture dimensions. Diverse employees at SADA score the company A+ (89/100), putting the company in the top 5% of companies with 501-1,000 employees. Two data points worth highlighting are that:
- An impressive 98% of diverse employees say their work environment is positive;
- 100% of the Latinx employees at SAGA that were surveyed said they wouldn’t leave the company if they were offered a job for more money
“It’s no secret that the tech space has been lacking in [DEI], and we are striving to fill the gap. In honoring one of our core values, Be a Change Agent, we are committed to implementing strategies and practices that support an inclusive, diverse, and supportive environment for our employees.” — Orkideh Shahidi, SADA’s VP of People Operations (source)
The experiences of employees at SADA are a testament to the leadership’s and team’s commitment to workplace culture, diversity, and inclusivity and we loved highlighting SADA to the Therefore Community this week!
