Natalia Drutsa

My partners and I founded our staffing agency based on our shared experience working in large corporate environments. We believe staffing doesn't need to be complicated—it's about simplicity and flexibility. Over the years, our small business has delivered tailored staffing solutions that meet client needs while maintaining steady revenue growth.

My Role
I lead Business Development and design Client Management Processes to ensure smooth operations.

Key Achievements

• High Gross Margin: Maintained an average gross margin (GM) of 43%.
• Long-Term Partnerships: Secured client contracts averaging in duration. All our client with us from 2020.
• Self-Sustaining Systems: Built processes that operate efficiently with minimal oversight.

My role here includes the Business&Operations and Team Management part, where crucial is to match the business need with the proper talent, retain, develop, assure the sustainable performance.

Key Achievements

• Team Growth: Started with 1 team member and expanded the team to 120+ professionals through strategic hiring, training, and mentorship.
• Client & Process Management: Built trusted relationships with global clients like Mars, L'Oreal, Tiffany, Toyota, P&G, and Nissan, while optimizing workflows for scalability.
• Low Turnover: Maintained a 3.4% turnover rate by fostering a supportive, growth-focused team culture.
• Zero Bench Policy: Ensured 100% team utilization with no idle resources, maximizing productivity and profitability.
• Resilient Performance: Achieved 32% gross margin (GM) targets including the Covid-19 period and the War in Ukraine.

Joined as part of the founding team when Valtech Ukraine had 15 employees, supporting its expansion to 700 local / 10,000 global amid rapid growth and acquisitions.

Key Challenges

• Navigating growth crises and organizational restructuring.
• Integrating teams post-acquisitions.
• Managing large-scale operational changes.

Achievements

• Team Growth: Scaled Ukraine team from 15 to 70 employees before acquisition process started.
• Low Turnover: Reduced attrition to 2% through improved engagement and culture.
• Internal Academy: Launched a training platform to upskill employees and align talent with business goals.
• Skill Development: Created a Soft Skill Matrix to standardize growth and performance metrics.
• Feedback Innovation: Introduced a transparent feedback system based on the self management approach.

The most interesting part of this period ws my first experience in acquisition process. I was one of the key drivers to merge the cultures, processes and set up the collaboration between 2 parts of the new organization.

Achievements

• M&A Progress: Spearheaded post-acquisition collaboration, including cultural onboarding and process alignment between companies.
• Policy Implementation: Redesigned HR policies and programs (benefits, salary administration) to unify teams and ensure compliance.
• HRIS Innovation: Streamlined workflows as Product Owner of an Internal CRM/HRIS
• Recruitment Efficiency: Reduced time-to-hire by 10 working days in average via talent pipeline development and industry networking.
  Filled 100% of hard-to-fill roles with targeted recruitment strategies.
  Trained hiring managers on candidate experience, improving interview quality.
• 
  

Culture & Collaboration

• Launched industry-specific events to boost employer branding and internal engagement.
• Developed job descriptions aligned with organizational goals, improving role clarity.

Despite of the official title my role was split between HR and PR departments. I was responsible for the developing of the internal ecosystem, organizing events both: educational and entertaining, can be proud to say I was in the roots of the best corporate paries and environment in Dnipro:

• Updated HR database with new employee information, changes in benefits, and other details.
• Prepared new hire letters, employee contracts, and corporate policies.
• Ensured accurate record-keeping by conducting regular audits of personnel files and HR databases.
• Handled on-boarding process for newly hired employees, which included distribution of all paperwork.
• Coordinated florists, photographers, and musicians for events.
• Managed administrative logistics of events planning, event booking, and event promotions.
• Recruited trained, and managed teams of volunteers to assist with event operations and logistics.
• Developed marketing materials and promotional campaigns to maximize event attendance and visibility.
• Organized and participated in provider workshops, seminars, and meetings to foster ongoing engagement with network partners.

It was the place to be and to learn for the young people those times. Customer support was a perfect background to learn the industry, to increase significantly my stress resistance and to move forward in the career. Being banal:

• Provided timely assistance to customers via phone, email, and live chat channels, ensuring a high level of professionalism at all times.
• Managed a high volume of inbound calls while maintaining excellent call quality standards and adhering to established procedures.
• Utilized CRM systems effectively to track customer interactions, document detailed case notes, and access relevant account information quickly when needed.
• Developed strong relationships with clients, resulting in repeat business and positive feedback.
• Performed on different roles aside of the regular set of the responsibilities: Product management, HR management, marketing etc.

A part of my passion is teaching. I have graduated 7 groups for HR and Recruitment course.

- Created the educational courses where the theoretical knowledge is blended with tough practice.

- Trained students to use the knowledge in real life by arranging the internship in the IT companies.

- Proud to acknowledge that my students now occupy the positions of HRD and Head of Recruitment in the companies like Epam, Luxoft, Sigma.