Walker Sands’ Company Culture Recognized by Crain’s Chicago and the Holmes Report
Courtney Beasley
Our motto for success is “Happy Employees, Happy Clients, Happy Business” – in that order. Throughout our tremendous growth over the last year (56% revenue, 46% employee growth), we have always prioritized an employee-first culture. At the end of the day, it’s our employees and the great work they produce that has driven our success and continues to push the envelope for our clients and industry alike.
Maintaining company culture throughout substantial growth can be a challenge, and it has always been a focus to stay true to our values and core beliefs. Because of this, we’re so very proud to be named the number 26 Best Place to Work in Chicago by Crain’s Chicago Business, number 6 for Midsize Companies. Additionally, we’ve been named the number 3 Best Agency to Work For (Small) by the Holmes Report. It’s an honor to be recognized in both our hometown of Chicago and in our industry.
Both the Crain’s Best Places to Work in Chicago and the Holmes Report’s Best Agencies to Work For lists use a mix of workplace policies, demographics and benefits, along with an employee survey, to determine their rankings. Knowing this recognition resulted from employee testimonials makes it even more meaningful, as we have been consistently committed to making sure our benefits and culture live up to the expectations of being a best place to work.
New in 2019, we’ve enacted flexible paid time off, meaning we have no maximum days allowed for PTO, along with a flexible work from home policy. Other perks include individualized learning & development programs, 12-week paid maternity and paternity leave and a commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), with employee resource groups including People of Color at Walker Sands, Walker Women and Walker Sands Supports Working Parents. We work hard together, and we have fun together too – with social outings like our annual summer Cubs baseball game, annual holiday party, quarterly trivia nights, happy hours and more.
Year over year, it’s humbling to see our growth surpass expectations of our leadership team, our work exceed goals for our clients and our opportunities for development grow the careers of our employees. By running all big decisions, from new hires to new policies, through our values of Learn, Support, Do, we’ve been able to maintain an employee-first mentality that motivates our team to do the best work of their careers. We’re truly grateful for those who work hard to make our goals a reality, and we look forward to continuing to accelerate all of this growth in 2019.