Page 59 - BizVoice May/June 2013

May/June 2013 – BizVoice/Indiana Chamber 59
Large Companies
Appirio employees have their heads in the cloud … and business is
soaring.
“We help medium-to-large enterprises move their IT (information
technology) from traditional software solutions to the cloud (to the
Internet),” explains chief executive officer Chris Barbin, who co-founded the
company in 2006. “We do it with leading partnerships that include Salesforce,
Google, Workday, Amazon – some of the next generation IT software providers.”
Headquartered in San Francisco, Appirio has approximately 650 employees
throughout six countries. This year, an estimated 300 more worldwide will join
the team. Its downtown Indianapolis office, which opened in 2012 and currently
houses 49 staff members, will more than double with the addition of 75-plus positions.
Three core values – team, customers and fun – set the tone.
“We take our work really seriously, but we don’t take ourselves all that
seriously,” declares Steve Pruden, director of consulting services. “That
(philosophy) permeates everything.”
When a friend at Appirio told Nick Marson about its unique culture, it sounded
too good to be true – until he started working there as an associate consultant.
“Culture is a huge, huge thing for Appirio,” Marson comments. “Employees
who aren’t having fun and who aren’t happy aren’t going to be very productive,
so it’s important to our culture that everybody continues to have fun.”
Opportunities abound with happy hours, community service initiatives and
festivities such as the annual “Appirio’s Got Talent” show.
“We’ve had everything from juggling – and not just three balls, but world-
class juggling! – to really great musicians,” Pruden marvels. “We had two people
write and perform in a full musical play.”
Biweekly, virtual staff meetings mix business updates (financials, status of
annual goals) with celebratory news (recent customer “Go lives” and employee
recognition). Senior management honors a “Hero in the Ranks” for outstanding service with a
company jacket and acknowledges his or her achievement on Appirio’s Facebook page.
In addition, an awards ceremony during the annual company meeting celebrates winners in
categories such as Team of the Year and Consultant
of the Year.
Senior recruiter Brianne Thomas says small gestures
of appreciation also make an impact.
“Even if it’s just an email that says, ‘Hey, I saw
that you were online kind of late last night. You must
have been working hard; thanks for that.’ It’s nice to
get those little pieces (of acknowledgement).”
The sky’s the limit
Training – structured and informal – also empowers
employees.
On a roughly quarterly basis, new hires from
across the globe gather at the Indianapolis office to
participate in the Appirio 101
orientation program.
Employees also hone their
talents through mentorships and
a variety of hands-on activities.
“The technology we work with
changes several times a year so you have
Appirio
Having Fun and Soaring to New Heights
By Symone C. Skrzycki
Continued on page 78
Working – and playing – hard!
Technical team lead Mike
Martin injects humor into the
day, while associate consultant
Nick Marson cruises through
the office during a phone call.
Employees team up at an Appirio Silver
Lining philanthropy event to make blankets
for children in need.