2022 continues to prove to be a monumental year for Stord. Among the announcements of Stord One Commerce, an expansion of its first-party and third-party facility network capacity, the addition of drayage, and more, Stord has also been working to hire the best talent and foster an exceptional team culture. 

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Yana Remensnyder, Talent Acquisition Manager at Stord, to discuss the continued momentum the team has been experiencing surrounding new talent and employee satisfaction, along with the awards and recognition the company has received.

-- Colleen Murphy, Marketing Coordinator

C: Stord has made its way to multiple lists of top workplaces and continues to receive stellar reviews from employees – Can you tell me about the recent acknowledgements and awards Stord has received this year?

Y: Absolutely! This year we have been recognized as a top workplace by InHerSight, which is a company ratings platform designed for women that helps match people with jobs that would be a good fit and allows employees to rate their company on a variety of factors, similar to Glassdoor. Stord has been rated the #1 Best Logistics and Supply Chain Companies for 10 months in a row! We have also been ranked a top workplace in a variety of other categories, including:

• #1 Best Logistics and Supply Chain Companies (January 2022 - October 2022)
• #4 Best Corporate Companies (February 2022 - April 2022, June 2022 - October 2022)
• #5 Best Corporate Companies (January 2022, May 2022)
• #18 Best Companies for Sense of Belonging (August - September 2022)
• #19 Best Companies for Support for Diversity (October 2022)
• #20 Best Companies for Support for Diversity (August 2022 - September 2022)

In addition to being honored as a top workplace by InHerSight, I am extremely proud of employee ratings both on InHerSight and on Glassdoor: 

InHerSight:

• Culture: 4.3 stars
• Family: 4.4 stars
• Schedule & Flexibility: 4.6 stars

Glassdoor:

• Overall: 4.4 stars
• Diversity & Inclusion: 4.4 stars
• 93% CEO approval

C: It’s great to see the Stord team and culture getting recognized. What do you think has led to such a strong culture at Stord?

Y: I think so much of it is attributed to investing in our employees since Day 1 and continuing to make that a priority as we grow and scale. Our leadership plays a huge role in this, as well. We want Stord to be known not only as a company that is disrupting the supply chain industry by pioneering Cloud Supply Chain, but one that is known for its positive employee experience. 

Stord has been investing in top-tier talent and has grown to over 700 employees, up from just under 500 employees this time last year. We have invested in developing employees from within to further cultivate a strong culture across the organization. Sara Feulner (formerly Chief People Officer at Bumble) acts as Vice President of People, overseeing talent acquisition, total rewards, business partnerships, and people enablement. Throughout her time at Stord over the past year, the culture at Stord has grown and shifted along with new employees, new teams, and new employee resource groups; and the benefits of working at Stord that enhance work-life balance have continued to improve as well.

Feulner’s leadership combined with Stord’s hypergrowth has encouraged development throughout the entire People Operations team at Stord. Nick Uranga joined the Stord team as Head of Talent Acquisition, Antoinette Peters serves as Head of Total Awards, Paola Jacobs is Head of Business Partners and has recently added another team within her organization. Lacey Ellison, previously Office Operations Manager and Administrative Manager at Stord is heading up a new team as Employee Experience Manager, focusing on the employee experience for employees in the office, working remotely, and working in Stord’s first-party fulfillment centers. 
Even before the onboarding process begins for a new hire, our team is focused on a positive candidate experience to showcase Stord’s culture from the very start of the process and to ensure a mutual fit. The entire Talent Acquisition team has been hyper focused on impacting the candidate experience positively by: 

• Staying in constant communication with candidates
• Explaining what to expect throughout the interview process
• Painting a clear picture of what working at Stord will look like
• And, answering any questions they might have

Ultimately, we want to set candidates up for success. A positive experience and overall satisfaction continues to be a priority for the Stord team, so it’s fantastic to see Stord being recognized for these accomplishments.

C: I love that! You’re so right that the culture of a company is showcased straight from the beginning. Also, how special to have a team specifically dedicated to employee experience. I think that speaks volumes about Stord’s dedication to its team members. You mentioned employee resource groups – can you tell us a bit more about what those look like at Stord?

Y: Our employee resource groups here at Stord are constantly impressing me. Our two most active employee resource groups are Stord Serves and Women of Stord. Stord Serves focuses on making a difference in the community and participating in causes that resonate with our employees. 

Some of the initiatives Stord Serves has been involved in include:

• COR – a local Atlanta nonprofit organization whose mission is to unlock the potential of underserved, trauma-impacted students by removing non-academic barriers to learning and creating a school-based community to harness the power of prevention. Stord has both donated money and spent days volunteering on-site with COR to provide an extra helping hand where needed. 
• Convoy of Hope – a nonprofit humanitarian and disaster relief organization that provides food, supplies, and humanitarian services to impoverished or otherwise needy populations throughout the world. Stord employees at our Atlanta and Springfield, MO offices have packed disaster relief kits for victims, and the company as a whole has donated items and funds to help provide relief to those involved in disasters. 
• Ali Forney Center – The Ali Forney Center, based in New York City, is the largest LGBT community center in the United States committed to protecting LGBTQ+ youth from the harms of homelessness and to empower them with the tools to live independently. This spring and summer, Stord team members designed and sold limited edition Stord Pride t-shirts. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to the Ali Forney Center. 

Women of Stord has primarily been focused on encouraging networking, diversity, and inclusion in the male-dominated supply chain industry. The group has recently hosted a few wonderful events that have been open to all employees, regardless of gender or role in the company, to foster open dialogue about topics such as mental health and women leadership. Two key events that were hosted so far this year are:

• Mental Health Fireside Chat: The Women of Stord employee resource group hosted a virtual mental health fireside chat for all employees. A panel of women spoke about their experience with mental health battles and discussed some coping methods they have found successful through their journeys. 
• Women In Supply Chain Panel: Stord organized a panel discussion where women in leadership across a variety of functions spoke about their roles, the challenges they’ve faced as women in a male-dominated industry, and advice to young women just beginning their careers within supply chain. The event took place at Stord’s Atlanta fulfillment center and was broadcasted on Zoom for employees that could not attend in person. 

The group also hosts virtual coffee hours for women of the organization to connect and network together. Recently, Amy Cooper, Health & Beauty Category Leader at Stord, spoke to the group about her journey as a wife/mother/daughter and former CEO of Fulfillment Works. She shared her story, along with some lessons she’s learned about prioritizing herself while balancing raising two girls on top of running a company. A mentorship program is on the horizon as well, which is exciting!

C: Thanks so much for sharing, Yana, this has been great. I cannot wait to see how Stord continues to develop in the future!

Y: Thank you! We know this is just the beginning, or as we like to say at Stord, it’s only Day 1. I was hired as employee #23 back in April of 2019 and was the first People Operations hire when we were just a tiny company of less than 25 people. The magnitude of our growth and our acceleration is absolutely insane and has been so motivating. I know there is so much more to come, and we are so excited to bring even more people on to this amazing team as we continue to grow.
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The momentum at Stord does not show signs of slowing down any time soon. Stord was recently recognized as Best Tech Startup in the Timmy Awards for the 4th year in a row and made the Inc. 5000 as the 57th fastest-growing private company in the US. Stord is currently hiring for a variety of positions across departments to keep up with the massive growth. A few notable positions include:

• Software Engineering Manager - Remote
• Head of Account Management - Remote
• Area Manager II, D2C Outbound - North Haven, CT

Benefits include 401(k), insurance, health savings account option, employee assistance program - mental health resources, paid parental leave, gym stipend, flexible PTO, paid holidays employee resource groups, volunteer opportunities, and more!

Want to be part of the growing Stord team? Check out a full list of open roles at Stord here, and make sure to keep an eye out for Stord as the company continues to revolutionize the supply chain industry.