Meet Our Newest Employees Of 2019!

Torin Prentice
Ashley Zingler
Shaila Kirandumkara

Torin Prentice is our newest Account Administrator!

In this role, he will be assisting the Account Managers with their current accounts and  developing new ones.

Torin interests include photography, dance, music and sports.

Although he was born in Michigan, Virginia is his longest residency. He recently graduated from Christopher Newport University with a B.A. in Communication Studies.

 

 

Ashley Zingler is our newest Operations Admin and Executive Assistant!
 
When you enter the office, she is the first face you see and the operator when you call.
 
Ashley is a creative person who loves animals, dancing and coffee.
 
She grew up in a military family and moved 19 times before graduating high school. She settled down in Richmond in 2016 with her sweet pup Jersey.
 
Outside of work, Ashley enjoys camping, baking and spending time with friends and family.
 
 
Shaila Kirandumkara joined our team in early March as a Senior Recruiter.
 
“Recruiting is not just a job but it is a passion too,” she said.
 
Shaila is a Bangalore, India native who graduated from Annamalai University with a Master’s in Sociology.
 
She is an active participant of the Dominion Toastmaster club and spends her free time motivating school kids to become better citizens!

Why Choose Temporary Staffing?

The job pool is intimidating between the amount of competing talent and the strict requirements jobs ask for. Some may question their chances of getting hired when the odds against them. That’s where we come in.

At Astyra, we take into consideration not only the position each candidate applies for but other available positions within their skill set, experience and desires. We use proven best practices and personally connect with each candidate through our interviews to determine which company and position would be a best fit for both the candidate and the client company.

In addition, we prepare candidates for the hiring process with resources such as resume editing and interview coaching specific to each company. The best aspect about it, is that these services come free as part of our recruiting process.

It is a known fact a temporary position can be a gateway into a permanent position with the client company. According to the American Staffing Association, 35% of temporary employees are offered a full-time position by their client company. Of that percentage, more than half of those employees accept the job offer. Sometimes, the candidate will also gain skills from their assignment that are transferable to future jobs.

Without Astyra, candidates are subject to doing their own research on companies, the positions offered and hiring process preparation. Not only do we save you time, we take the worry out of your career change.

Begin your stress-free job search: http://astyra.com/job-seekers/job-search/

2019 Social Media Campaign

For the past two months, Astyra has worked hard on strengthening our social media presence with the help of a consultant teaching us the ins and outs of social media marketing and increasing audience interaction.

We started the process by running an advertisement with creatives made by us. This was the first time we have run a Facebook Ad and we had a great turnout! We reached over 35,000 people in the Nashville, TN and Richmond, VA areas and were able to find potential candidates for positions in both locations. With such great results, we hope to run another Facebook Ad campaign in the near future.

Keep an eye out for our newest addition to the social media world…a job-finding Facebook Group!

Missed our posts? Follow us to see them and get the latest company updates!

Contractor Spotlight: Linette Jones

Linette Jones

Our Contractor of the Quarter is Linette Jones!

Linette currently works as the lead implementor for the Oracle Advance Collections Module for the City of Richmond. Some of her responsibilities include project planning, configuration set up and troubleshooting.

She is proud of her ability to translate accounting user requirements to translatable software configurations that meet the accounting user’s needs.

Outside of work, Linette loves going to sporting events and spending time with her two sons.

Her youngest son will be starting his first year of high school in the Fall and she is looking forward to seeing him further evolve into an “awesome young man.”

Linette says her sons are the fuel to her motivation to work hard and accomplish her goals.

Insurance Benefits We Offer

Employee Navigator Front Page

We’re proud to say that Astyra offers benefits for eligible employees and dependents!

Whether you want medical, dental, vision or supplemental we provide the option to enroll and pay through an automatic weekly payroll deduction.

Upon hire, employees are notified of their class determination which decides whether these benefits are available on the first of the month following 30 days of employment or on the first of the month after 60 days of employment. However, regardless of an employee’s classification, our group health plans renew annually on September 1. During the 30-day open enrollment period in August, employees can choose to end their coverage, make changes to their current coverage or enroll for the first time in coverage.

Other than those instances, employees are only eligible to make changes to their coverage if family status changes occur such as:

  • Loss or gain of coverage through spouse
  • Loss of eligibility of a covered dependent
  • Death of a covered spouse or child
  • Birth of adoption of a child
  • Marriage, divorce or legal separation
  • Switch from part-time employment to full-time employment

Please note, these changes must be notified to the Human Resources department and made within 30 days of the occurrence.

Leaving Astyra? No worry, we continue to offer insurance for up to 18 months after an employee’s position ends, if desired. Through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), we are able to continue providing insurance at the employees expense.

For more information, check out the Compensation & Benefits section of the Astyra Employee Handbook.

2019 MBL Awards

The 2019 MBL Awards Ballroom Decor
Astyra President Sam Young
 
 
Imagine: large groups of chatting professionals dressed in suits, mermaid aerial silk performers and multiple servers walking around with tasty hors d’oeuvres.
 
Astyra didn’t have to imagine as this is what we encountered at the Metropolitan Business League Awards Reception and Dinner! Many of us were attending the awards for our first time and did not know what to expect.
 
After mingling for about an hour, we headed to the ballroom to enjoy dinner and cheer for the winners. There were 24 nominees and only six categories which kept everyone on the edge of their seats wondering who the award winners could be.
 
Our President, Sam Young, was given the opportunity to introduce special guest speaker Chiedo John. Both men were able to keep the crowd entertained with witty jokes and their captivating speeches.
 
Chiedo John is a rising entrepreneur who founded Chiedo Labs, a tech advising and web developing company, in 2012. Mr. John recently became an MBL member and was honored to have been able to speak in front of such a large crowd.

Astyra’s Biggest Loser

Brittany before and after

In an effort to lose those holiday pounds and promote healthy eating, Astyra’s internal staff participated in a weight loss challenge for four weeks. On the first day, we all weighed ourselves and discovered our body fat percentage. Next, we encouraged each other to visit the gym, meal prep and openly discuss our individual goals. The transparency allowed us to gauge how we were doing against others and gave us suggestions on what we could do!

Midway through the competition, we were surprised by how these new lifestyle changes were becoming a habit. Within those four weeks, our office lost a combined weight of 46 pounds with the weight loss master being Brittany. In just ONE month, she was able to lose 17 pounds.

Brittany achieved this weight loss accomplishment by sticking to a low carb diet and working out. She was able to restrain herself from indulging when we had sweet treats in the office and set an example for everyone.

We enjoyed the friendly competition and hope to stick to these lifestyle changes throughout the year!

Contractor Spotlight: Alan Scholz

Alan Scholz
Alan Scholz is our January 2019 contractor of the quarter!

As a Home Loans iConcierge, Mr. Scholz has served about 1,400 associates in the past two years.
 
“Though my team and I were repeatedly recognized by Capital One’s management, our most prized awards remain the smiles and looks of relief extended to us,” he said.

 Mr. Scholz is a happily married father of three adult children with a total of seven grandchildren! He spends most of his free time with family and friends and at church. His favorite hobby is attempting to convince his wife to let him buy a “new to me (cheap) sports car,” but it’s safe to say he hasn’t been very successful.

Astyra Continues To Grow In 2019!

04/2019
Spring is here and so is another blog post; catching you up on the first quarter happenings for Astyra. We have been extremely busy to start the year. Historically, January and February are slow months for us but not this year. The quarter saw continued growth in Nashville and Tampa with dozens of resources placed in both locations. We also saw placements in Cleveland, Plano, Harrisburg PA, McLean and of course locally here in Metro Richmond.
 
Stay tuned as we expect to announce new geographic locations in the second quarter as well!
 
 
01/2019
Astyra’s 4th quarter was its best of the year!
That’s no surprise given the number of new projects we kicked off. Pennsylvania, Tampa, Nashville, and of course Richmond are home to our newest associates. First quarter 2019 should see new associates in West Virginia and Ohio as well.
 
Stay tuned for more exciting news we’re expecting, cheers!

Astyra Continues To Grow In 2018!

06/2018

2018 has gotten off to a rapid start for Astyra. In addition to adding new work in our home state of Virginia, we’ve won new project engagements in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. We’ve grown our existing accounts as well, which has resulted in the expansion of our internal staff.

As we look beyond the horizon, we are excited about our place in the market and what’s ahead.
 
09/2018

It has been an incredibly busy summer for Astyra Corporation. New projects won earlier this year have finally gotten underway; resulting in 65 new associates and contractors joining our ranks. The 4th quarter is shaping up to be equally as busy and we could see similar numbers added by the first of the year.

2018 Technology Update

We are thrilled to announce that Astyra’s office is revamped with new, Mac desktop computers, Cisco telephones and Cisco Meraki network switches!
 
The new telephones will allow us to video conference in and out of the office using Webex software. We also installed special wiring throughout the office using the new network switches to increase the productivity and speed of the equipment. Our internet is now the fastest it has ever been in Astyra history.
 
Our hope is to serve you quicker than ever before with this upgrade!

Astyra’s 20th Birthday Celebration

Caption
Astyra celebrated being in business for 20 years on September 9, 2017. A huge thank you to Jackson’s Beer Garden and Smokehouse for their fabulous food and outstanding venue.
 
The staff was joined by former and current associates, clients, community leaders, and elected officials.
 
Mayor Levar Stoney was in attendance and remarked to the crowd, “Astyra is Richmond”; eluding to the company’s entire existence in downtown, as well as it’s ongoing community service in the RVA region.
 
“We’ve been blessed and lucky”, reflected Young.
“I look forward to the next 20”, Ampy added.
The Celebration was the last of a series of events commemorating the milestone that included a state-fair style carnival, Astyra Day at the Diamond, and other outings.
 
Company founders Ken Ampy and Sam Young mingled with guests and shared stories about their 20-year journey.

H.Y.P.E. Icon Awards 2017

Astyra at the HYPE Icon Awards

Astyra was honored to be a finalist in the Large Business category for the YP Workplace Awards, hosted by ChamberRVA. The award recognizes the best companies for young professionals to work for.

While we didn’t take home a gum ball machine this time, we were proud to be a finalist and everyone had a great time at the awards ceremony! Congratulations to SingleStone for winning this year!

Right On Cue Tournament 2017

Astyra's teams

Astyra formed 3 teams to participate in the annual “Right on Cue” tournament, hosted by ChamberRVA in March.

Astyra was the proud sponsor of the trophy.

Pictured above, Sam Young stands with the winners of the pool tournament, ChamberRVA's CEO, Kim Scheeler and the current Chair Ned Masse.