Fort Worth Inc.’s Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth comprises 40 that, enjoying strong runs in their businesses amid the robust economy, had to manage pandemic and economic disruption on the fly, while protecting employees, clients, partners, and other stakeholders.
What’s it take to make our annual honor roll, which the magazine began producing annually in 2016? First, this contest is run and judged independently of the magazine’s ownership and staff by the Best Companies Group, a Pennsylvania research firm that’s behind more than 70 Best Places to Work programs worldwide and drills deep daily on what engages people in the workplace.
Companies and other organizations that enter our contest submit answers to Best Companies on questions ranging from employee benefits, to work from home and vacation policies, communication from the top, wellness initiatives, opportunities for advancement, training and mentorship, diversity, and fun stuff like office happy hours. Entering companies also agree to allow their employees to be surveyed anonymously by the Best Companies Group to drill down on how they perceive their employer.
Best Companies analyzes this information and produces our annual Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth. Best Companies ranked employers in the small/medium and large company categories, with large companies having 251 employees or more.
In short, the magazine’s ownership and staff have no say in who wins this contest and how employers rank. The 2021 issue of the magazine and Best Companies’ rankings were released Aug. 5 in a luncheon at The Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel.
Small/Medium-Sized Company - Up to 250 U.S. employees
OLAF GROWALD
Pedro GlaserAnalyst “At the core of our supportive culture is a leadership team that has thoughtfully created an inspiring set of principles and values and that clearly cares about the well-being of every employee. Most importantly, it comes across in the transparency and approachability they bring to their interactions with everyone on the team.”
1 Satori Capital - Fort Worth
What they do: Private equity, alternative investments, acceleration capital
Employees: 35
Fort Worth Inc. readers and followers of our annual Best Companies will doubtless recognize Satori Capital as a regular on the ranking and 2019 small/medium company winner.
The firm — a multistrategy investment firm based in Fort Worth’s West Seventh district — roots its culture in the principles of Conscious Capitalism, the idea that shareholders’ interests are met when the good of all stakeholders is considered.
“Everything we do starts with the team and the culture,” Randy Eisenman, who co-founded the firm in 2008 with Sunny Vanderbeck, said in an interview.
Satori’s leaders, in moving the company to a remote work environment for months amid COVID-19, moved first to ensure employees had the right technology. It significantly bumped up the digital communication among the team and with investors and portfolio companies. “Recognizing we were physically separate, we wanted to be emotionally close,” Eisenman says.
The company boasts a panoply of perks related to employees’ well-being, including executive health screenings and annual stipends. The company managed to retain its daily chef-prepared healthy lunches during COVID-19, having its chef prepare a week’s worth of meals and distributing them once a week to employees at their homes. The home delivery continued through June this year, Eisenman says.
The company continued to make investments as the pandemic hit. “We have closed three new investments over the last 18 months,” Eisenman says. “We closed three since the pandemic and have a really robust pipeline right now.”
The company has continued to add employees and now has 35, Eisenman says. “We’ve moved to a position where we are strongly encouraging employees to come back into the office, and at the same time, very understanding if there are reasons why they’re not comfortable returning. Most are back in the office; some are online.”
In the new normal, “I think we will be forever open to a much more flexible work environment as it relates to folks working from home and working remotely,” Eisenman says. “It seems to work really well from a productivity standpoint and incredibly well from a job satisfaction standpoint.”
Some employees were eager to return to the office, Eisenman says. “The more social ones and often the ones with young children that needed a break,” he joked.
Olaf Growald
Patty Potter - Quorum Architects
2 Quorum Architects - Fort Worth
What they do: Architects
Employees: 29
Quorum Architects, founded in 1992, has continuously grown each year, David Lee, one of the firm’s principals says. “We had our best year ever, this year.”
Lee started his career working for a couple of big firms with formal cultures that focused on the money, he says. “That seemed upside down for us,” he says. In co-founding Quorum, the principals wanted to ensure it was doing best by its people as a way of doing the best work for its clients.
“We recognize people have lives to live,” he says. “We’ve always given ourselves the flexibility to be with our families. We know we love what we do. We also know we love being with our families, our friends. And we have other things to do in the community. Our office is very much ‘let creative people create.’ We provide the umbrella and the structure.”
The company’s Near Southside offices encourage employees to move about. The space is open; there are no enclosed offices. The space offers numerous opportunities for employees to gather, including a full kitchen and a mezzanine. Employees work off of laptops; there are no desktops.
The company’s core values are centered on honesty and integrity, family, and treating people with respect. The company turns 30 next year, and Quorum plans to celebrate by helping organizations within the city. “We’re turning that into a yearlong thing.”
David Lee - Principal
“What makes a great place to work? I believe it comes from the top down. When leadership models open, honest communication [and] entrusts people to do their job while remaining engaged with staff, it creates a healthy atmosphere.”
3 REEDER Construction - Fort Worth
What they do: Construction management
Employees: 42
Wes Reeder still recalls the first job he bid — and won — 27 years ago: a library renovation. “I put the proposal together with a yellow legal pad and a calculator. We did not own a computer, and the only subcontractor bid I received was for the electrical work. Our bonding limit was $170,000. So, I bid the job at $169,000.”
That year, the company’s gross income was about $200,000. Last year, it was about $82 million. Reeder attributes the company’s success to partners, employees, and friends. The company invests significantly in family. Social events include golf, shooting, and axe-throwing outings, cornhole competitions, fish fries, safe job site awards, and employee appreciation events on job sites. The company offers unlimited paid time off.
4 Koddi - Fort Worth
What they do: Digital marketing for travel industry
Employees: 152
Koddi is another denizen of Fort Worth Inc.’s Best Companies lists. The Fort Worth company’s travel technology platform has driven more than $20 billion in transactions for customers worldwide. It provides brands the opportunity to grow revenue through native sponsored placements, metasearch, and programmatic media campaigns.
The company and its larger sister PMG operate out of quarters in the West Seventh district. The company has long focused on providing its employees with the right tools and has built a robust offering of benefits. Koddi is one of the few Best Companies to provide unlimited paid time off. It added maternity benefits in recent years when the company recognized numerous employees were having babies. It awards incentives to employees who post on Instagram while traveling and tag the company.
“We believe when we take care of our people, everything else in the business does better,” Koddi says. “That’s why we’re proud to offer competitive benefits and perks for employees.”
5 Qualbe Marketing Group - Haltom City
What they do: Digital marketing
Employees: 30
Qualbe is another firm that has consistently appeared among our Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth. CEO Randy Meinen views it part of his mission to ensure his employees are enriched by the experience of working for Qualbe.
Some of the perks of working at Qualbe: game area to play pool, pingpong, cornhole, darts, or video games; exercise room with weights, treadmill and bike; Book Wars reading competitions; Rock Star recognitions of employees by other employees; Qual of Fame trophy wall of achievement; flexible hours for family needs; Idea Monkey employee suggestion vehicle; free snacks and drinks. The company sent employees restaurant gift cards after “COVID restrictions lightened a bit.”
Since 2019, Qualbe has relieved over $1.4 million dollars of veterans’ medical debt through the nonprofit organization RIP Medical Debt.
6 Wier & Associates, Inc. - Arlington
What they do: Consulting engineering
Employees: 35
CEO Carlo Silvestri’s Wier, which serves a range of municipal, construction, development, hospital, religious, and oil and gas clients, maintained staff during COVID-19 and reports a 41% revenue increase in five years. “We have hired nine new noncontract employees in 2021, and we expect continued growth.” Most staff worked from home, 2020. Wier’s offices include multiple meeting spaces for cross-team collaboration.
Emphasis on employee wellness: Firm matches up to 50% of employee 401(k) contributions, gives yearly profit-sharing. Offers broad health care benefits. Employees covered by health insurance can receive a $200 incentive each July and other prizes throughout the year. Quarterly $60 reimbursement for fitness memberships. Company participates in 5Ks throughout year, pays registration fees for participating employees and family. All employees employed six months eligible for twice-annual bonus, based on individual and firm performance. Salaries reviewed twice annually for “adjustments.”
Employees earn up to $3,000 for hired referrals. Casual office dress code. Brown bag meetings and training for employees and others within industry. Company pays for continuing education courses and seminars, professional membership fees, license or certification fees, and job-related exams.
Education assistance plan for full-time and part-time employees, up to $1,000 per semester, three semesters a year. Regular office outings for go-kart racing, other fun. Lunch cookouts most Fridays, regular catered lunches. Teams with Marketplace Chaplains USA to provide personal support service. Regular employee town halls to update employees on financial outlook, give cash awards for service anniversaries. Post-COVID, offering permanent flexible hours.
7 Sutton Frost Cary LLP - Arlington and Fort Worth
What they do: Audit, tax, accounting
Employees: 45
Firm has met goal of 8% annual revenue growth, including 2020, since setting it several years ago. Four of nine partners are women. Firm was able to “quickly offer new services to our clients related to federal relief options and other needs” in 2020, partner Kim Crawford says.
“We continued to focus on industries in which we have significant experience. We also continued to reward our staff with a monetary bonus for new work added to the firm … We recorded the highest revenue for 2020 for our firm ever, and we are on track to beat that for 2021.” Quick pivot to temporary work-from-home during COVID-19.
SFC emphasizes it staffs adequately as a way of addressing work-life balance. It’s adding four employees this summer and plans on adding two more in the coming months, Crawford says.
SFC’s “fun squad” plans annual “end of busy season party” and holiday party, and firm-wide Texas Rangers Opening Day party, with barbecue and Rangers-themed gifts. During COVID-19, SFC, unable to hold its annual nonprofit volunteer day, participated instead in a toiletries drive for a nonprofit serving homeless. SFC encourages and supports employees who volunteer at nonprofits. “Several of our staff members sit on the board of directors of local nonprofit organizations, and we routinely participate in fundraisers,” Crawford says.
Courtney Jones - Communications administrator
“Working for a firm that values both personal and professional growth is something I had never experienced before. Shortly after I joined the firm, Kim Crawford nominated me to join a local organization called Leadership Arlington. Through this program, I was able to gain so much knowledge about local causes in the community and how to get involved. SFC gave me the resources that I needed to be successful within this organization.”
8 Trinity Real Estate Investment Services - Fort Worth
What they do: Commercial real estate brokerage
Employees: 15
Trinity REIS saw investment volume in its net lease properties like dollar store locations go higher than normal during COVID-19, “due to the tenants being essential retailers,” says Kyle McCollum, a partner in the Fort Worth firm. COVID-19 drove transactions and revenue up at the same time, he says.
The company recently decided to relocate its offices to the newly redeveloped, historic PROOF building on Fort Worth’s Near Southside, from traditional quarters on Airport Freeway.
In an industry known often for its cut-throat nature, Trinity REIS has “pushed to have high-character, driven, fun, and collaborative team members that want to be successful as a group, as opposed to only caring about individual performance,” McCollum says. “So that inherently builds our workplace culture.”
Initially disconnected by COVID-19, “most people were very eager to return even with the safety protocols in place,” he says.
Trinity REIS, in its office move, sought an open space that provided easy access to the leadership team, “the fun work environment where people enjoy being but at the same time having very high-performance expectations for everyone,” he says. The new Bowlounge is a neighboring tenant, “so the amount of time spent next door after work with drinks, bowling, and other games will be a great perk.”
Trinity REIS puts on quarterly happy hours and volunteer events, Christmas party, and annual company retreat. The employer insurance includes “significant employer contributions, and [we] have plans to expand the benefits package to be even more robust over the coming years.”
Anna Macedo - Marketing coordinator
“While the industry as a whole is known for its ruthless nature, Trinity has fostered a hardworking and extremely supportive company. The endless support that the Trinity partners give you, the continual opportunity for growth, the spirited company events, and the overarching passion to learn are just a few of the reasons working at Trinity is unmatched.”
9 Byrne Construction Services - Fort Worth
What they do: Commercial construction management
Employees: 105
Byrne, a medium-sized regional firm, like commercial construction as a whole, has continued to enjoy steady growth over several years. “That growth has continued despite the many disruptions caused by the pandemic,” CEO Matt Avila says. Costs rose and lead times elongated for certain building materials. “Fortunately, these disruptions appear to be temporary and are slowly improving … Demand for skilled labor and experienced construction management professionals remains high, and the construction labor market continues to be very competitive.”
Byrne has worked over the years to maintain an “employee-centric” culture.
“Significant attention is given to ensuring that personal and professional needs and aspirations are explored, acknowledged, and supported,” Avila says. “We treat our folks as family and we strive to take care of one another. We try to recruit highly talented, team-centered individuals and invest heavily in mentoring, training, and building career paths for them. We value the social component of our time together and are intentional about events, activities, and facilities that help to deepen our personal as well as our professional bonds.”
When the pandemic shuttered gyms, Byrne built an on-site gym and developed health and safety protocols for it. Byrne also built an outdoor pavilion to create an open-air area for employees and families to safely gather.
“As the public health crisis resolves, those facilities remain as great additions to our physical environment that support enrichment activities as part of the workday,” Avila says.
Ben Robertson - Director of business development
“I started with Byrne 20 years ago, left for a short time, then came back home because of the sincerity in which we live our mantra of People Build Buildings. Byrne truly invests in the families that make up the company and the communities we live in. Many of our children have grown up together and many of our families have attended each other’s major life events over the years. When you work for a company that values its people before profit, you know that you belong to a bigger family that will always be there to help you grow and succeed.”
Olaf Growald
Sacha Mosby TransSolutions
10 TransSolutions - Fort Worth
What they do: Facilities planning, design, logistics consulting
Employees: 26
TransSolutions, founded in November 1998 through a management buyout from The Sabre Group, is a woman-owned firm headed by principals Belinda Hargrove and Gloria Bender. The staff largely comprises professionals with advanced degrees in industrial engineering, operations research, civil engineering, statistics, information systems, mathematics, and finance. The staff is diverse, representing eight nationalities.
“We form a community with different cultural backgrounds and unique perspectives. We find this diversity brings a variety of approaches in our analyses to improve our clients’ facilities. This also provides an appreciation of cultural differences when working on projects around the world.”
Clients include architectural, engineering, and planning firms, airport authorities, airlines, corporate campus developers, educational institutions, government entities, health care providers, port authorities, retail establishments, stadiums and arenas, transit and rail authorities, and transportation planning organizations.
Sacha Mosby - Office manager
“Acceptance is key when working within any business environment. Employing both young graduates straight out of college and seasoned veterans of multiple fields of study, this diverse microcosm has made many of us [at TransSolutions] confident in our abilities to make a difference in the work we perform and longevity in our team.
“In my 15 years here, I have experienced the ultimate holiday parties and potlucks with our family and friends that are highly anticipated and talked about for months after. Employees are encouraged to prepare and contribute dishes from their home countries. We have been enlightened with tasty Indian Jamun and samosas, Peruvian ceviche, authentic Malaysia roasted duck, and a host of native desserts and salads, an absolute unbeatable feast year after year.
“TransSolutions acknowledges and accommodates the many different ways we practice our faith, from Christmas to Ramadan to Lunar New Year and daily prayers — this is really heartwarming to experience. Providing each employee direct access with the owners is a bonus.”
11 Tarrant Roofing - Fort Worth
What they do: General contractor
Employees: 50
The growing Tarrant Roofing, a general contractor that specializes in roofing and restoration, moved into a new headquarters in September 2020. The company moved into a 24,000-square-foot facility, with a spacious warehouse and custom fabrication facility, from 1,800 square feet of offices. Owner Danny Leverett fosters a culture aimed at knowing his employees. Values are centered around Belong, Liked, and Purpose. “It is our goal for everyone to feel like they belong, feel liked, and have a purpose,” the company says. “We take time to know our employees, and if we have a staff member that needs something, we do our best to make arrangements to fulfill those needs. Happy team members create quality work.”
D’Sha’ Jones - Marketing Department
“Our owner has an open-door policy. He makes himself available to everyone daily. No question too small or need too big. He sets the bar high daily, and we stay on our toes meeting goals and delivering projects within the promised dates. We know when we walk in the door at work we are here to do a job, and the job is clearly defined so that we are a well-oiled machine both in the field and in the office.”
Olaf Growald
Siera Holleman - HF Custom
12 HF Custom Solutions - Fort Worth
What they do: Promotional products
Employees: 17
The pandemic came at the right time for HF Custom Solutions, a fast-growing promotional products company with reliably growing businesses in education, health care, food, and beverage. HF had seen consistent growth annually since the company was started in 2012, owner Joe Brown says. But in order to expand his team so he could reach for the next levels, HF needed to “solidify” HF’s infrastructure.
“We started this process prior to the pandemic and were fortunate enough to have the ability to really focus on internal growth in 2020,” Brown says. “We were able to utilize the downturn to solidify our infrastructure and add members to our team in a preparation for a return to normal.”
The company moved into new offices in August 2020. Year to date in 2021, HF was at about 70% revenue growth compared to the same time last year, Brown told the magazine in July. “Our most pressing issue right now related to COVID is focused around the ability of our factories domestically and internationally to provide products for our customers in a timely fashion.”
HF likes to promote team lunches, happy hours, and companywide volunteering events to build esprit de corps. During COVID-19, HF adjusted, bringing lunches into the office, using the office bar to host mini happy hours, and organizing employees to pack boxes for nonprofit events.
The company maintains its culture around values such as supportive, honesty, teamwork, fun, balance, family, hardworking, creative. “We have a genuine interest in helping each other and having fun while doing it.”
HF encourages employees to disconnect and take time off to recharge. “We do not set a number of days on this,” Brown says. “Instead, we leave it up to employees to make sure they do what is best for themselves.” HF runs in the cloud, “which easily allows for working remotely, and we offer this as a viable option to all of our employees as needed.”
Above all, HF wants its employees to view the workplace as a “safe and encouraging place to come to work each day,” Brown says. “We place a major focus in hiring positive, fun, and hardworking employees.”
Siera Holleman - Director of account management
“Leadership has made fostering a positive culture top priority by providing a work environment that encourages out-of-the-box thinking, collaboration, fresh ideas, and trust. Because we are a nimble team, each person knows they play a huge part in successfully working through solutions for our customers. Because of this, wins are celebrated by the entire office. Working from home, the beach, or anywhere in the world is encouraged, as well as taking time off to recharge. HF knows their employees are their best when they are well-rested and happy. There is an incredible support system for employees for both work-related and personal growth. Bonding through office lunches, happy hours, and volunteer days has created a group of people that are both colleagues and friends.”
13 Work Wear Safety Shoes - Fort Worth
What they do: Work boots and shoes
Employees: 85
In spring 2020, when Work Wear’s revenue dropped by more than 60%, the company stayed open even as competition closed. But many of Work Wear’s customers were essential businesses, and their employees still needed access to safety footwear. Work Wear declared “partners don’t leave partners at a time like this,” and remained open. “Customers responded with appreciation,” CEO Coleman McDonald says.
Work Wear used COVID-19 to initiate and complete cultural and training initiatives, remodel stores, implement technological initiatives that improved customers’ experience and efficiency, and managed costs and cash to be in position to make acquisitions. “We’ve been able to make two such acquisitions since December 2020,” McDonald says. “We’re returning to our pre-pandemic sales levels and are excited about the future.”
Work Wear continues to move through the pandemic, battling supply chain uncertainty. “Most of our vendors cannot promise or even predict when their product will be available for us to buy,” McDonald says. “Thankfully, Work Wear carries over 60 brands, and the diversification has helped us weather this storm.”
COVID-19 strengthened Work Wear’s culture, McDonald says. “It has reinforced our mission of doing whatever it takes to take care of our customers.”
Aaron Ayala - Mobile store manager
“From the warehouse to the corporate office and everyone in between, our employees love and enjoy giving of themselves their time, effort, and talents, making us the greatest safety shoe provider in DFW and surrounding states. Throughout the year, we partner with organizations that help people get back on their feet by providing them with a free pair of safety shoes, socks, and gloves. Also, every month a portion of our sales goes to Hire Heroes, an organization that helps veterans transition from the military to the civilian work force.”
Olaf Growald
Ashleigh Herron - United Way
14 United Way of Tarrant County - Fort Worth
What they do: Nonprofit
Employees: 66
United Way’s culture starts with the serious work the nonprofit does in meeting community needs. In the last year and a half, many of those were emergency needs. “We strive to maintain a workplace culture allowing employees fun with teammates, a safe place to decompress and ample time off to recharge and rejuvenate with friends and family,” CEO Leah King says.
Amid the pandemic, the United Way expedited a planned technology revamp and shifted quickly to entirely remote work processes, allowing the agency the flexibility of remote work for employees who want or need the flexibility to be away from the traditional office.
The United Way kept employees in touch with each other through virtual staff meetings and Game Times, morning coffees, and social hours.
“We approach all issues involving our team from a position of trust, and the pandemic allowed us to do so on a more regular basis,” King says. “Every policy shift and process improvement came from a place of knowing and trusting our employees were doing their best in service to our clients and community.”
In recent years, United Way of Tarrant County has diversified its fundraising with an increased focus on individual giving, foundation gifts, and local, state and national grants, while maintaining its legacy workplace-giving campaigns. When the pandemic hit, the agency expanded its focus to provide emergency relief. Through those efforts, the agency invested more than $5.5 million in the community.
Ashleigh Herron - Director of donor engagement
“The entire team is passionate about the work they do, and that passion is contagious. I am inspired every day to work harder to serve our community and improve the lives of everyone in it. I am continually encouraged to grow professionally, and the organization provides endless opportunities to do just that, all while stressing the importance of work-life balance. Our well-being is always top of mind as we work to serve the community.”
15 Worthington National Bank - Fort Worth
What they do: Banking
Employees: 56
Worthington Bank CEO Greg Morse is willing to back up his words when he says his banking company is about family. Many companies claim that, he notes. “Worthington is a family, and we care about those people that make up our work-family. We have had situations where employees may be dealing with their personal health or the health of a child or spouse, and Worthington makes it as easy as possible for those persons to take care of themselves or their family member. We are generous with sick time and do all we can do to ensure that financial burdens do not contribute to their stress levels during their trying times.”
The bank, which has four offices, encourages employees who are parents and grandparents not to miss family events. “Employees do not have to worry about missing events in which their children participate,” Morse says. “In fact, they are encouraged to go to all of those events: awards ceremonies, kindergarten graduations, school plays, sporting events, to name a few. Our thought is that our kids won’t necessarily remember when their mom or dad are at an event, but they will certainly remember those their mom or dad missed. This policy is also in place for grandkids too. Employees love this perk and brag about it often.”
Hector Valles - Manager, IT Department
“Worthington National is unlike anywhere I have worked before or will ever work again. Coming into work, I know the people are not just my co-workers, but they are my Worthington family. The help and support that comes from every level of the bank is incredible. My transition in the bank would not have been possible without the work and effort that everyone puts into seeing someone else grow. I know that if I have a question, someone is around to help me. The atmosphere in the bank is that of success and determination. Worthington really helped open my eyes to the banking world. Every morning that phrase we say in our huddles rings in my ear — “Git-r-done” — and pushes me to do more.”
16 Steele & Freeman Inc. - Fort Worth
What they do: Construction management services
Employees: 75
Steele & Freeman has been in business for 41 years, today under Michael Freeman, son of the founder. The company, whose clients include schools, municipal, commercial, industrial, health care, nonprofit, entertainment, and faith organizations in North Texas, gets most of its business from repeat clients, doing no bid business.
In recent years, the firm established a set of 23 Fundamentals that guide its interactions internally and with clients, partners, and vendors, including employee safety and tenets such as blameless problem-solving. The firm’s seen a substantial increase in projects in progress and revenue in recent years.
Freeman writes notes to the families of new hires, gives gift cards during staff meetings to employees who received praise, and reminds employees the company wants them to prioritize family. The company holds regular social events for employees and family. COVID-19 forced its regular social events for staff and family into a virtual environment. The pandemic ended up helping the company strengthen its culture, its leaders say, because it forced them to find new ways to communicate.
“Rather than focusing on revenue or profits, we focus on having the strongest team, a culture of teamwork and unparalleled service,” the company says. “This results in a high level of pride of work. Combined with our dedication to each family that is part of our team and our employee’s sense of loyalty, results in a team that is highly dedicated to the company and our clients.”
The company added staff during the pandemic. “We are thankful to have been able to keep our projects properly staffed without having to make any cuts to employee wages. This is greatly attributed to our strong client relationships … as well as to our dedicated staff and management who worked diligently throughout the pandemic and continue to do so.”
Dena Rowland - Controller
“I have worked for Steele & Freeman for almost 23 years. In this duration, I have worked with our two company presidents — Dave Freeman, our company co-founder, and now his son Michael Freeman. Many companies promote the importance of family and teamwork, but Steele & Freeman is a company that leads by example, and that sets us apart. Whether it be for a child’s school event, sickness, or any family need, Steele & Freeman promotes that we should not miss any opportunity to be there for our families. One of the things I have enjoyed most about being a part of the Steele & Freeman team is that I have gotten to watch my fellow employees grow in their careers and raise children, and then those children have followed in their parents’ footsteps to come work for the company. It is such a unique opportunity.”
17 Franz Architects - Fort Worth
What they do: Architects
Employees: 19
John Franz heads the architecture firm today that his father, William Franz, founded in 1983. The firm has a substantial background designing medical facilities, retail buildings, multifamily structures, and industrial buildings.
Franz encourages communication via an open office. “We have found that listening to someone’s personal struggles or achievements outside of work helps co-workers understand their ups and downs during a work day; it also helps them adjust the way they approach each other, creating a better work environment.” Franz avoids micromanaging. “Our thoughts are that we hired you to manage; if we have to manage you, then we've hired the wrong person.”
The office builds camaraderie via employee get-togethers like dessert competitions and Friday social hours. Through COVID-19, Franz ensured the office has been sanitized nightly and “have made it known that we would like employees to respect each other’s personal space.”
Tania Inigo - Director of architecture
“Everyone works as a team, and there is a family atmosphere. We have found that the open office concept encourages dialogue, and this has helped us collaborate as a team where everyone can learn from experience. There is also a diverse group of projects that the firm works on. This helps the employees learn different construction types, concepts, and the how different building are put together. We think the home-work balance is important and have started to implement options for employees to enjoy more time with family. We also do company outings that help us learn more about each other, out of the office setting, and help with team building.”
18 Pacheco Koch Consulting Engineers, Inc. - Fort Worth
What they do: Civil engineering, surveying, landscape architecture
Employees: 229
Pacheco Koch has continued with the sustained growth it’s experienced in recent years, “even through the pandemic,” Brian O’Neill, principal of the firm’s Fort Worth office, says. “Infrastructure and all construction activities were considered essential businesses during the pandemic. So, our business, and the industry as a whole, continued to do well. In fact, with the reduction of traffic seen during the pandemic, many roadway projects were able to be built ahead of schedule.”
One major challenge: recruiting new talent. “The industry as a whole is thriving, so the competition for talent is tough.” University career fairs have been virtual through COVID, “making the recruiting process less interactive.”
Pacheco Koch has built a close-knit family culture over the years, fostering that via social activities like egg drop competitions, pingpong tournaments, Friday staff breakfasts, half-day Fridays, and regular happy hours coordinated by the staff. “The favorite time of day for many is the ‘2 p.m. Coffee Club,’ where a group of staff meet at the office espresso machine for a mid-afternoon boost.”
COVID-19 interrupted those activities. Pacheco Koch, though an essential business, kept its offices closed anyway for a period in 2020 and went virtual. The office is now fully reopened.
One byproduct of the pandemic: a new remote working policy. “Although the tools to work virtually existed prior to the pandemic, they were perfected through necessity, and our employees enjoyed those opportunities. We now have a permanent remote working policy, allowing employees to work from home on a regularly scheduled basis.”
19 Essential Lending, Inc. - Fort Worth
What they do: Short-term loans
Employees: 18
Founder Tommy Glenn’s Essential Lending is a low-key financial services company with a big approach to workplace culture. The company’s core values espouse transparency in dealing with customers and other team members. “If you feel good about working here, you’re doing it right.” The company also preaches making the extra mile crowded, or “create a shockingly wonderful experience for our customers and team members.” Finally, the core values zero in on embodying gratitude by being “humble, attentive, clear, and empathetic. Focus conversations on positive outcomes.”
The company regularly rewards team members who go the extra mile. “We gave our ‘Awesomeness Award’ to a loan manager who helped a customer who was trying to end her life. The customer attempted to disconnect the call, but this employee encouraged more conversation and then spent close to an hour on the phone — lending an ear and a voice of reason to someone who felt she had nothing and no one to turn to. After the call, our employee called the customer’s local police department and asked them to do a wellness check.”
Perks include rewards for meeting goals, bonuses, quarterly celebration, weekly gift cards, optimized overhead lighting to relieve strain, treadmill desks, standing desks, meditation/quiet room, periodic meditation and yoga at work, and health and wellness challenges. Management supports more flexible work schedules, a byproduct of COVID-19.
20 BPS Technology - Argyle
What they do: Chemical solutions
Employees: 41
If one element of a great workplace is work that’s on the cutting edge of innovation, BPS has it in spades. It’s developed a technology it says will dramatically reduce the volume of chemicals used in a variety of oil and gas and agriculture applications. The company has developed 10 products using the breakthrough technology and sold across BPS’ several companies, ranging from specialty chemicals to formulas for crop protection, nutrient assimilation, and fertilizer enhancement.
BPS’ core values drive its culture: Strategic, Servant Minded, Shepherds, Stewardship, Steadfast, and Spiritual. To highlight those values, the company engages employees in programs such as quarterly all-hands meetings, time off for volunteer work, recurrent training, continuously updated road map of where the company should focus its product development, steadfast recognition of employees, and ongoing gratitude.
The company moved into a new headquarters during COVID-19 last year and found it allows greater social distancing via larger conference spaces and bigger workspaces for individuals. “Additionally, we are capable of offering flexibility to crew members who need to adopt hybrid or work-from-home arrangements to accommodate their new normal,” Bravis Brown, the CEO, says.
Benjamin Stevens - Director of operational excellence
“BPS Technology has a family atmosphere and embodies the spirit of innovation — we’re learning more and more every day about the value our technology has for everything from oil and gas to agriculture. Seeing what we’ve accomplished in five short years, imagine what we we’ll be doing five years from now.”
21 MineralWare - Fort Worth
What they do: Software
Employees: 24
COVID-19 and the plunge in oil and gas prices have been a boon to client growth and retention for the fast-growing MineralWare, the Fort Worth firm whose software lets mineral owners and managers easily manage holdings. The firm expects 40% to 50% client growth from the start of 2020 through the end of the year, Pete O’Brien, executive vice president of operations, says.
“COVID-19 and the plummet in the price of oil and gas led mineral owners to re-examine where their resources and time went,” Pete O’Brien, the company’s executive vice president of operations, says.
Ryan Vinson founded MineralWare in 2014. The company’s cultural foundation is built on its values: S.E.R.V.E., or Service, Excellence, Relationships, Virtues, and Excellence. Employees receive quarterly feedback given their alignment with those values. “We believe one great employee contributes more to our goals than two average employees,” O’Brien says.
To support its employees, the company has renovated a big space at the Fort Worth Club Tower, with modern amenities like television lounges, cafe, Xbox lounge with beer on tap and a golf arcade game. MineralWare is the tower’s largest tenant.
Employees have access to substantial perks, including advanced technology. And they participate in the company’s success. MineralWare’s growth — the company triggered a bonus to employees of up to 50% of salary when it met a revenue target in 2019 — has been a robust recruiting and retention tool.
22 D&M Leasing - Fort Worth
What they do: Auto leasing and sales
Employees: 190
D&M Leasing has built part of its culture around one number: It gets about 70% of its business through repeat and referred customers whom the company has built longstanding relationships with. During the pandemic, D&M was able to move 90% of our workforce home and retain 100% employment with no layoffs, it reports. It’s now in the process of moving employees back into their offices, with safety protocols, but also is flexible for employees’ at-home needs.
The company likes to get its employees involved in the community. It supports local schools, churches, and nonprofits, including the American Heart Association, TCU, Cook Children’s, a Wish with Wings, and Alzheimer’s Association. The company contributes through volunteer hours and financial gifts.
Each year at Christmas, the employees also support a local senior living home by providing each resident with Christmas presents, blankets, and goodies. “We bring Santa Claus and visit each resident singing Christmas carols along the way.” D&M also supports “BIKE BUILD," a project in which it partners with other organizations to build bicycles for needy children in the Fort Worth area.
23 McDonald Sanders, P.C. - Fort Worth
What they do: Law firm
Employees: 44
McDonald Sanders is a 70-year-old, full-service law firm whose attorneys’ practice areas include banking, commercial litigation, construction, education, employment, energy, estate planning and probate, real estate, and tax.
In early 2020, the firm moved into newly renovated office space in 777 Main in downtown Fort Worth, providing each employee their own separate workspaces when COVID-19 hit. “Thus, our firm perhaps was one of the first in Fort Worth to have all attorneys and staff back in person in May 2020,” George Haratsis, director and shareholder, says. “This not only helped to maintain our firm culture and connectivity, but also allowed us to readily serve our clients’ needs.”
The firm, whose sole base of operation is Tarrant County, has a long-standing history of stable employment, Haratsis says. The firm encourages professional and personal growth via involvement in organizations and “ongoing education and instruction on topics that will best serve our employees and ultimately, our clients.”
Tamara Pullin - Attorney
“I joined McDonald Sanders in June 2020. Though I have been licensed for 20 years, my practice had taken me from one of the largest national firms to in-house counsel to, most recently, a career pause to focus on motherhood. Thus, I wasn’t a traditional hire. I am grateful that McDonald Sanders took a chance on me, allowed me to breathe life back into my legal career, and has inspired me to raise my practice to a new level. I particularly appreciate that at McDonald Sanders I work with highly skilled attorneys who are genuinely good people that care deeply about the quality of legal services and advice we provide our clients, and realize the importance of maintaining a positive and supportive work culture. McDonald Sanders allows me to practice law within a flexible work schedule so that I can also be an engaged mother in purposefully parenting, support my husband who is dean of TCU’s Neeley School of Business, serve as an adjunct professor at TCU, and even play a little tennis.”
Olaf Growald
Jade Fails - Agency Habitat
24 Agency Habitat - Fort Worth
What they do: Branding agency
Employees: 51
When Agency Habitat bought a 1950s-era building and rehabbed it for its new 30,000-square-foot headquarters, it was counting on an April 2020 move-in. But with COVID-19, the agency sent employees home, and “the staff didn’t get to enjoy the new digs until April of this year,” Neil Foster, the CEO, says.
With no cubicles, offices or assigned seats, every team member has “full run” of the agency and its spaces. “We took inspiration from bars, restaurants, coffee houses, and other places where people naturally meet in order to break away from the rigid monotony of a corporate office,” Foster says.
The space includes soundproof pods for private calls, video conferences, and quiet time; conference rooms for team brainstorms and presentations; outdoor patio; pingpong, skee-ball, basketball, arcade classic, and shuffleboard games; amphitheater for monthly team Habby Hours and re-HABs; four-stage production studio; full coffee and happy hour bar for “a ton of good reasons.” “We’ve created comfortable spaces where creative thinking can be done without the pressure of walls closing in on you,” Foster says. “It’s a wide-open concept with no offices and no egos.”
Habby Hours include an hour by a subject matter expert — internally or externally. “We’ve covered topics that range from communicating with different personality types to trends in connected TV to improvisation skills. Our re-HAB meetings allow a time for the creative team to spotlight a project they’re particularly proud of and our account team to share their latest tips and tricks.”
Agency Habitat grew by 28% in revenues in 2020, and “we are expecting to have a similar increase in 2021,” Foster says. The agency expects 20% growth annually, “which will put us over 100 employees in two more years.”
Jade Fails - Associate social media manager
“I love that competition here means to be a better version of ourselves — because we’re a team first and foremost. It’s nice to know that the whole agency is rooting for you to be successful.”
25 VLK Architects, Inc. - Fort Worth
What they do: Architects
Employees: 213
VLK has long strived to be what CEO Sloan Harris calls “a vibrant and well-managed cooperative of ingenuity and efficiency.” COVID-19 challenged the company to maintain that in a remote environment, but “I believe the experience strengthened the roots of our teams. We understand and trust each other more than ever.”
The fast-growing firm has doubled its number of employees since 2015. COVID-19 “decelerated our rate of hiring,” Harris says, “but our need to grow resumed in earnest in 2021.”
VLK seeks feedback from employees several times per year. “It’s great to read comments about what employees love most about the firm: that it’s like a big family, that they feel supported, that they love the work they do, etc.,” Harris says. “But the higher purpose of engagement is to understand what we can do to make the VLK experience even better.”
This year, for example, VLK added paid parental leave to its employee benefits package to “underscore” VLK’s emphasis on work-life balance, Harris says. “The demands of our work can be intense at times, so we’re cognizant of providing extra time off when our schedules are typically lighter, like the days between Christmas and New Year’s Day.”
Cassady Fredriksen - Emerging professional
“The greatest thing about VLK is its people. The company comprises a team of extremely talented individuals representing a broad array of different roles and experience levels, who are enthusiastic about their work and its impact on our society.”
26 Schaefer Advertising - Fort Worth
What they do: Marketing agency
Employees: 30
Ken Schaefer’s Schaefer Advertising Co. is another denizen among our Best Companies to Work For. The company lives by the motto “Make Life Better.” “It is a simple statement that focuses our efforts to improve the lives of those around us and guides how we foster relationships with each other, our community and our clients.”
For work anniversaries, the agency gathers around the celebrated employee at the end of the day, and co-workers share what they admire about that person. The company travels to Gruene in the Hill Country annually for the agency’s Boonedoggle retreat. The agency distributes 10% of profits to employees each year. Schaefer encourages employees to be active in their communities and gives them flexibility to volunteer and spend time with their families. The agency itself is active in the community.
27 Tarrant Appraisal District - Fort Worth
What they do: Tax appraisal
Employees: 198
The Tarrant Appraisal District is the organization that determines the market value of property that local tax units use to apply tax rates. “This work, that happens in a compressed time period, can create a stress-filled workday for staff,” TAD acknowledges.
TAD provides competitive salaries and benefits to attract and retain people employees. The benefits include paying 100% of employees’ medical and dental insurance and participation in what it calls a “wonderful” retirement system. “Flexible work schedules and the ability to work remotely are other ways that TAD manages the workload,” the agency says.
28 Muckleroy & Falls - Fort Worth
What they do: Commercial contractor
Employees: 51
Muckleroy & Falls, a respected Fort Worth commercial contractor founded in the late 1970s, has made the transition to new owners, including Zach Muckleroy, son of co-founder Harold Muckleroy, who recently retired along with longtime partner Max Falls.
The firm, which recently moved to a new headquarters fronting the Trinity River off of University Drive, has retained its cultural values centered on leadership, honesty, loyalty, and work ethic. “When we focus on these values, the cultural spirit of the company flows almost organically,” Grant Tedford, senior project manager, says. “When you combine good people with good clients, good partners, and good projects, great things can happen.”
The firm promotes its entrepreneurial energy by looking to “promote leadership at all levels,” Tedford says. “It’s exciting to be a part of growth. Our founders Harold and Max, have paved a lasting culture here.”
The firm promotes 90% employee retention as one of its “Big Hairy Audacious Goals” — a moniker often cited by the founders. “One-hundred percent would be ideal, but we needed to keep ourselves honest in what’s realistic and attainable. We put our people first. It’s what we do. We’re builders. Projects powered by people, for people.”
To infuse a familial aspect into the culture, the firm schedules regular golf, fishing, and hunting outings; chili cookoffs and barbecues; pick-up basketball games, dodgeball, and softball; office Olympics; holiday parties and raffles; and employee recognitions. Its new riverfront offices promote use of the Trinity Trails and other nearby amenities.
One of COVID’s biggest challenges came to the in-person recruiting the firm likes to do at job fairs at Texas Tech and Texas A&M. Those went virtual through Spring 2021. “Doing so creates a struggle in gaining a palpable connection to would-be interns and new hires,” Tedford says.
Grant Tedford - Senior project manager
“We are growing. We have a mixed bag of individuals and where they are at in their careers. We have key individuals with a lot of wisdom gained in their tenured careers. We also have folks that have a hunger and drive for growth and knowledge. When you combine that with the dynamic of family culture, servant leadership, scalable market strategies, honesty, loyalty, and the unsolicited extension of helping hands, you’re bound to continue achievement through a success model created in 1979.”
29 Comfort Experts, Inc. - Fort Worth
What they do: Air conditioning and heating
Employees: 74
Comfort Experts is another returnee to our Best Companies lineup. The company was an early adopter of work-from-home practices years ago, finding the people in its business office could easily do their work on flexible schedules and by remote.
President Brett Hobson made the change to work-from-home practices after a requests by an employee.
HVAC techs can’t work from home, but the company’s scheduling system gives preference to techs who score highest in formulas that use data such as customer feedback. The company also operates its own HVAC school.
Comfort Experts also makes the first payments for employees on purchases of homes and vehicles, and distributes the checks at celebratory staff meetings.
30 Loftwall - Grand Prairie
What they do: Room dividers
Employees: 48
Loftwall manufactures room dividers and privacy partitions for commercial and residential spaces. The company is centered on core values that include "Win Together, Lose Together" and "Be Boldly You." As a growing company, Loftwall has made significant investments in employee benefits, headquarters infrastructure, and training. The company has added numerous fun perks to its workplace, including table tennis, regular celebrations, and quarterly breakfasts.
“Building a company where people feel appreciated, challenged, and are given an opportunity to grow has been a foundational piece of our success as a company,” the company says. “The longevity of many of our employees and retention are indicators that we're doing something right.”
Olaf Growald
Lori Loftis - LanCarte
31 LanCarte Commercial - Fort Worth
What they do: Commercial real estate agency
Employees: 21
LanCarte Commercial, the fast-growing agency headed by broker Sarah LanCarte, has doubled in size in the last year, going to 21 employees. It focuses on brokerage, property management, and investments. “Our clients are the priority, and we treat every engagement as an opportunity to build a relationship. By combining streamlined processes with transparent communication, we are reintroducing integrity in our industry.”
Jasmine Dominguez - Client and transaction manager
“We work for a firm that makes us feel valued and inspired each and every day. LanCarte Commercial pushes us out of our comfort zone and challenges us every day to be the best versions of our selves not only professionally, but in all aspects of life. We truly are a family and are reminded of how every person on the team no matter the role is an essential part of what makes our company work.”
32 University Building Specialties - Haltom City
What they do: Distributor of architectural door and hardware
Employees: 35
Transparency from the owner is a big part of Willie Dubuis’ game plan at University Building Specialties, a distributor of architectural doors and windows whose work can be found at Texas Motor Speedway, TCU, Kimbell Art Museum’s Piano Pavilion, Tarrant County College downtown, Dickies Arena, Texas Health Huguley Hospital, and the new Hotel Drover in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
Last year was shaping up to be another strong one until COVID-19 hit, forcing the cancellation of two large jobs, Dubuis says. This year will likely be break-even at best, Dubuis says, but “2022 is looking to be a very good year, maybe our best ever. Inflation is the really tough unknown at this point.” And “the biggest problem that we have is attracting new young talent.”
When the company faced its first COVID-19 scare with an employee in mid-March last year, Dubuis found himself on the phone with every employee, first to let them know he was closing the office for two days, then a second time to let them know he’d had the facility cleaned and was able to reopen it. Dubuis assured employees they would continue to be paid, their vacation was unaffected, and they could work by remote if able.
“All I tried to do was provide good strong leadership,” Dubuis says. “If I panicked, so would everyone else. The main thing that I tried to accomplish was to not make anyone do something that they were not uncomfortable with.”
Dubuis hopes to restart the company’s popular social outings to places like Top Golf soon. He pays monthly bonuses for meeting sales goals and holds monthly ice cream and cake and cookie socials for employee recognition and to keep employees up to date.
“While 2020 was challenging, I think that 2021 is more challenging,” he says. “The seeds that we plant take a year to 18 months to produce anything. During the COVID shut down, we were not able to plant many seeds. If our government will get out of the way, I think our future is very bright.”
Ashley Nombraña - Project manager, sales
“UBS is a place of familiar and warm faces. From its 15-plus year veterans to its up-and-comers, UBS is an exciting mixture of talent and diversity. In its 35 years of business, UBS has brought experience, knowledge, innovation, and unmatched customer service to countless general contractors, ranging from the little guys to the Fortune 500s. What I appreciate most about UBS is its desire to grow. On a day-to-day basis, there is a sense that we are working toward an achievable vision.”
33 Cancer Care Services - Fort Worth
What they do: Free cancer support services
Employees: 33
Cancer Care Services, which has provided free cancer support in Tarrant County since it was founded in 1946, is on the hunt for resources to expand its team further. Studies show an 80% to 90% decline in cancer screening for breast, colorectal, and cervical cancers in 2020, CEO Melanie Wilson says. True incidences didn’t decline; rather, the decline represents delays in diagnoses.
Cancer Care Services recently added a Spanish-speaking community health worker to advocate for the Hispanic community, including providing expertise on financial issues relating to health insurance and paying for treatment.
Cancer Care Services also created an unbudgeted COVID Emergency Fund to help its clients meet life-sustaining needs, like paying rent and keeping food. “These emergency funds were distributed directly to clients in crisis, in addition to maintaining our standard financial assistance programs,” Wilson says. “Since the pandemic is still with us in 2021, we are committed to keeping this special emergency fund open for as long as those impacted by cancer in our community need additional aid.”
Many of Cancer Care’s employees are cancer survivors or cared for loved ones with cancer. Wilson is a survivor and lost her daughter to cancer at 21 years old.
“We pride ourselves as a mission-focused agency, and our staff believe that the services we provide are vital to someone else’s life,” Wilson says. “Ensuring that our staff is focused on the betterment of others helps ensure that we have the right people serving our clients.”
Large companies - 251 and more U.S. employees
Olaf Growald
Brandon Robinson - Vice president and USI’s Fort Worth practice leader
1 USI Insurance - Valhalla, New York
What they do: Insurance and employee benefits
Employees: 8,000 (35 in Fort Worth)
USI is a newcomer to our Best Companies to Work For. It opened an office in 2019 in Fort Worth and substantially increased its footprint in Fort Worth last year when it acquired Forte Benefits, an employee benefits company that had been a regular on our annual rankings.
USI is one of the largest U.S. insurance brokerages (Hub, which bought Best Companies denizen Gus Bates last year, is another). For the third year in a row, USI was named as a ‘Best of the Best’ employer for multicultural women in the insurance industry by Professional Woman’s Magazine.
USI is on the hunt in Fort Worth for a larger office space, having outgrown Forte’s quarters at the former Mallick Tower. Post-COVID, the company will likely function in a hybrid model of work from the office and at home, Brandon Robinson, vice president and USI’s Fort Worth practice leader, said in an interview.
“You’re not wasting time coming back and forth to the office,” Robinson says.
2 HUB Fort Worth|Gus Bates Insurance & Investments - Chicago
What they do: Insurance and investments
Employees: 13,000 (70 in Fort Worth)
Gus Bates was purchased by Hub International — one of the country’s largest insurance brokerages — in July 2020, midpandemic, after the company’s owners and leaders went on the hunt for a buyer that could carry on the Bates’ familial and community culture. HUB continues to search for small agencies to buy. “I believe we will continue to grow the Texas Market for quite some time,” says Tara Daniels, service team lead in the Employee Benefits Division in Fort Worth.
Gus Bates served as a “lifeline to companies during the pandemic,” Daniel says. “Our clients were probably faced with the biggest challenge of their lifetime. How to navigate all the [Department of Labor] requirements? The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, The SBA Loan Program, the Paycheck Protection Program, The CARES Act, [Texas Department of Insurance] making emergency rulings, The American Rescue Plan Act.”
Gus Bates hosted several webinars to help clients navigate the changes and requirements. “And because several of our clients have become like family, it was also heartbreaking to see the challenges they faced. Trying to keep their businesses open. Trying to keep jobs available for their employees. So many things were out of their control, but we knew we could provide support.”
Tara Daniels - Service team lead, Employee Benefits Division
“Our culture is what makes our company so different. It truly is a family. We maintain it by having mutual respect for everyone and a core belief that every role is so important in reaching our team goals. I think hiring the right people helps us maintain our culture and trusting that each member will do the best they can do every day.”
3 The Beck Group - Dallas
What they do: Commercial construction and architecture
Employees: 698
The Beck Group, large company winner on our 2020 Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth ranking, is back again. The company likes to say its employees are the reason the company ranks on many best workplaces lists. “When it comes to being a great place to work, we … think about how our decisions affect our people, give them the opportunity to design their careers around their strengths so they can build a future with Beck.”
Beck invests in its employees’ wellness with quarterly workout, step, and hydration challenges, and offers of rewards. Beck provides employment and reemployment benefits to veterans and eligible members of Reserve and National Guard.
The company offers its employees opportunities to give back through volunteering and the Beck Community Development Foundation.
Beck employees regularly engage in company-sponsored activities, such as Canstruction, leadership training, internal kickball tournaments, trike races, chili cook-offs, doughnut socials, popsicle deliveries to job sites, team-sponsored 5Ks, “Pancakes with Santa Claus,” company picnic, Habitat for Humanity, and hosting job site tours and happy hours.
“Our employees also … can take pride in the fact that learning, healing, and working spaces that they design and build are making a positive contribution to communities,” Beck says. “Over the years our work has been groundbreaking, trendsetting, and award-winning.”
In 2018, Beck rolled out a new family leave benefit to employees, which offers paid maternity leave for mothers, paid family bonding time for fathers, and paid leave for our families that adopt. In 2021, Beck rolled out a program to help cover costs of mental health visits.
During the pandemic, Beck adjusted in-person work schedules, moving to A/B weekly schedules with social distancing in place.
4 Apex Capital Corp. - Fort Worth
What they do: Financial services for trucking companies
Employees: 310
Apex Capital’s response to COVID-19 sums up its approach to its people. On Friday, March 13, last year, CEO David Baker was traveling when he got the call from his senior leadership team. The company moved quickly to send its employees home with the necessary technological tools to work by remote.
“Our IT and Operations managers already had a truckload of laptops on their way with a plan to get them all operational and in the hands of our folks,” Baker recalls. “By Monday, 90% of our staff was working from home and fully operational. We went from about 300 people in our office down to about 30 in one weekend. By the following Monday, we were down to only 12 of us in the office. Everyone at Apex did an incredible job with the transition, and our ability to pivot quickly demonstrated how much we care about each other, our clients, and this place called Apex.”
Apex buys freight bills from small- to medium-sized trucking companies nationwide at a discount and operates a fuel discount card company that offers our clients savings on diesel fuel and service.
From COVID’s onset, “we made sure our clients had the cash flow and fuel they needed to operate their businesses, and that we had plenty of toilet paper,” Baker says. One client sent the company a photo of a 53-foot flatbed with one package of toilet paper strapped to it.
Apex began allowing employees to return to the office at year’s end, based on its needs and employees’ comfort.
“Working from home has proven to be beneficial for our organization,” Baker says. “We have been more productive, people have a better work-life balance, and they have saved time and money by eliminating their commutes. We’ve also found that adopting new technologies for meetings and video conferencing have been wise investments that helped people stay connected, and in some cases, brought them closer together.”
Employees, however, miss the company’s numerous spontaneous office celebrations. “There is nothing that replaces face-to-face interaction. People miss that part … As we move forward, our challenge is to find the balance between working remotely and being together in the office.”
Olaf Growald
Haylee Emerson - Burns & McDonnell
5 Burns & McDonnell - Kansas City, Missouri
What they do: Engineering, architecture, construction, environmental, consulting solutions
Employees: 7,600
Burns & McDonnell is the only employee-owned company among our 2021 Best Companies to Work For in Fort Worth. Being 100% employee-owned is what “drives our success, guides our decisions, and inspires our powerful and unique culture,” the company says.
Employee ownership is automatic and free to all employee-owners. “Our team knows employee ownership means opportunity: to work on meaningful projects, to have ideas heard, to achieve a higher level of financial security,” the company says. “Plus, our clients tell us that our employee ownership translates into enhanced effort and extraordinary work.”
Burns & McDonnell celebrates employee ownership with fun activities and events throughout Employee Ownership Month in October. Activities include an annual pancake breakfast, a treat week, family trick-or-treating and a lunchbox trivia competition.
The company has numerous recognition awards throughout the year. Diversity Month “celebrates the differences that strengthen our firm,” with activities include inspirational speakers, training, and networking opportunities.
In 2020, Burns & McDonnell raised over $4 million for United Way chapters nationwide. In Fort Worth, Burns & McDonnell donated over $45,000 to the United Way of Tarrant County. Burns & McDonnell also has programs that connect its employee-owners with opportunities to give back through STEM outreach, giving, and volunteering.
6 Tokai Carbon CB Ltd. - Fort Worth
What they do: Producer, furnace-grade carbon blacks
Employees: 388
Tokai Carbon CB Ltd. Has been a leader in producing high-quality, furnace-grade carbon black in the U.S. since 1961. The corporate headquarters and state-of-the-art research and development center is in Fort Worth, in the City Center downtown and on the North Freeway, respectively. Carbon black is used in tires, rubber and plastic products, printing inks, and coatings.
Tokai Carbon’s vision is to produce carbon black efficiently and sustainably, while protecting the environment, maintaining a safe and clean workspace, and prioritizing the needs of employees and their families.
Management practices an open-door approach. “It is common to see employees in the president’s office offering new business perspectives.”
Tokai Carbon offers robust benefits, with immediate eligibility to new hires. Benefits include generous sick leave, half of the membership costs for performances of resident companies at Bass Hall and Broadway at the Bass, and paid parking in the City Center garage.
“We understand that the foundation of a great workplace lies in a culture of trust and engagement unifying all employees,” the company says.
At the onset of COVID, Tokai sent employees to work from home — “if the positioned allowed” — and gave them tools such as monitors and printers to work from home. The Fort Worth Research Center has immovable equipment, and an employee must be on-site to conduct research, the company noted.
Olaf Growald
Mike Wilson - Elbit Systems
7 Elbit Systems of America, LLC - Fort Worth
What they do: Defense, homeland security, and commercial technology
Employees: 2,299 (700 in Fort Worth)
Elbit Systems’ appeal as a workplace starts with its mission: homeland security. One machine the company developed is being used in COVID testing.
“We have a very compelling mission, creating innovative solutions and saving lives,” Raanan Horowitz, president and CEO, said in an interview. “That compelling mission is important to our workforce. So that’s No. 1.”
Second, “when you come work for us, you’re part of the family. It’s not just a place to work,” Horowitz says. “We expect and give people an opportunity to make a difference. The large companies, you’re very siloed and encouraged to stay within your lane.”
The company also emphasizes “doing the right thing” and has found its way onto a listing of the world’s most ethical companies. “Doing the right thing from our legal perspective. Doing the right thing from our ethical perspective.”
Another focus is inclusivity. “We want a place where people know they’re expected to be bold, to take some risks, to learn lessons and move forward. I think we’ve created a culture that people are aligned with. You see a very open, friendly — all the way from the front line to the warehouse — environment. It’s a very cohesive, very unassuming environment.”
On family, the company did away with reserved parking spots. “Small thing” but significant symbolically, Horowitz says. The company’s looked to boost its benefits and social activities. “When we started doing virtual” during COVID-19, “we started adding spouses” to the socials.
Lobby screens help celebrate marriages, births, and graduations. The company also has offered opportunities for employees to create and join tribes, such as bicycling, soccer, women in defense, and reading. The company has started offering college scholarships to the children of employees. This year, the company awarded 102, $1,000 scholarships. “It’s not a huge amount, but it’s very popular, and it connects us to the next generation.”
During the peak of COVID-19, Horowitz recorded periodic messages containing business updates, encouragement, and sometimes even a recognition of national events, like the death of George Floyd in police custody. Horowitz distributed the messages via email and text. “It allowed people connect with me.”
In late summer last year, “we realized this [COVID] thing is not finishing, it’s continuing. We wanted to recognize people for working hard. We gave every employee an opportunity to select a gift. Most popular gift was an air fryer. After that was something associated with Alexa.
It was not an inexpensive thing but hugely welcomed by employees. Really paid in spades with people’s commitment and willingness to go the extra step.”