Ross Technologies Inc. may be small, but the company's executives are thinking big.

The technology consulting company, which has been establishing itself as a federal contractor in the security sector, ended its first year in business after a reorganization with 30 employees, $2.5 million in revenue and a move to a new Columbia office that is twice the size of its previous one.

President Kathlyn Adams said she expects the company to at least double its revenue next year, and it could hire as many as 60 additional people to help manage several long-term contracts the company has won - including a part in the National Security Agency's $2 billion, 10-year Groundbreaker project.

But in the arena of government technology contractors - where jobs are plentiful thanks to defense spending, but security clearances are harder to come by - Ross Technologies' biggest challenge may be finding the workers to grow, one consultant said.

Doug Allston, president of Advantage Consulting Inc. in Annandale, Va., said although he has seen studies indicating that turnover within contracting firms was about 16 percent, some of his clients that hire for very specialized jobs have seen rates as high as 60 percent. An effective tool to keep the turnover rate down, he said, is to seek recommendations from within the firm, and develop a culture with a high personal touch.

One of his clients had an executive who made sure to meet every new employee, and attend forums where employees could ask questions about anything from the company's direction to the 401(k) plan.

"The company projected to its employee base [that it was] very caring, but not just in words," Allston said. "It's a very successful company, but it was a lousy paying company. But they were very solid as far as turnover."

Developing a culture

The executives at Ross Technologies, which also goes by RTGX, said one of their goals was to develop a company culture that helped employees feel included and part of a team. Adams said she accomplishes this by spending time with employees during lunch, after work and on weekend jaunts. The company lets employees choose which contracts they'd like to work on, and it also has an open-door policy that keeps communication open, she said. In the company's first year, only one employee left the firm, Adams said.

"Unless you do something to make sure they feel they're part of something, you can't do anything," she said. "We want people who are sold on us and who understand they represent themselves and RTGX."

Company history

The company was started in 1997 to let Adams and her husband, Armando Seay, do programming outside their jobs. The company was reorganized last year when they brought in Michael Moon, an entrepreneur who had sold his technology firm to Bell Atlantic, and Adams quit her job to run RTGX full time.

The partners are trying to build a multifaceted technology firm that works in several sectors. Adams, who landed her first job at NSA at age 18, brings the security connections that have helped the company get into federal defense contracting. Seay, executive vice president, has a background in local government contracting, and chief operating officer Moon brings experience from the commercial side of business. The company also recently hired a salesman to pursue Central Intelligence Agency contracts, in an effort to expand its defense base.

Today, the company has secured about a dozen contracts, and is hoping to win more. About 70 percent of the company's revenue comes from federal contracts, 20 from state and 10 from private corporations, the executives said.

"We started with a robust infrastructure and now we're building on that," Moon said. "The idea was to use the hot spot to build the foundation. We haven't gotten much from the commercial because it's not there, but once it is, we'll be there."

Allston said key in their growth will be keeping up with their contacts inside and outside government, but according to one customer, that won't be a problem. Mark Elbaum, vice president of information systems for Sunburst Hospitality Corp. of Silver Spring, said there's never been a time he couldn't get help from RTGX.

"They've shown up at 2 in the morning to meet me to do rollouts," he said. "It all comes down to the people you deal with and the service you get. It's downright great personal service. They're there when you need them."