Every year, hundreds of businesses compete to be among the best companies in the Metro Detroit area.
And, every year the very best make the list. This year is no different.
The National Association for Busi-ness Resources recently honored Metropolitan Detroit’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For, rewarding the companies who set the best examples, through HR best practices and innovative HR programs.
Not only were the winning companies honored, but the list of the top companies included Elite winners vrepresenting fourteen different award categories who were also honored (find the full list of the winners here).
“These companies have shown fortitude and have inspired others to make critical decisions for the betterment of their teams,” said Jennifer Kluge, President and CEO, National Association for Business Resources and the Best and Brightest Programs. “They focus on the needs of their employees as a primary objective and are the leaders of the Metropolitan Detroit community.
“The companies that made the list are truly remarkable,” Kluge added. “These companies have proven they are elite thinkers, and this honor demonstrates their commitment to excellence. We are very proud of this powerful community of the nation’s elite leaders who share ideas, practices, and have proven they are employers of choice.”
Organizations are assessed based on categories such as communication, work-life balance, employee education, diversity, recognition, retention and more.
“We are very proud of this powerful community of elite leaders who share ideas,
practices, and have proven they are employers of choice,” Kluge said.
Metro Detroit’s elite winners included:
Best of the Best – Large Business
Barton Malow
Best of the Best – Medium Business
Amerisure Mutual Insurance Company – Metro Detroit
Best of the Best – Small Business
Prudential Advisors, Great Lakes Financial Group
Work-Life Blend
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Recruitment and Selection
Towne Mortgage
Leadership, Strategy and Company Performance
Total Quality Logistics
Employee Enrichment, Engagement & Retention
DTE Energy
Employee Education and Development
Walbridge
Employee Achievement and Recognition
UHY Advisors MI, Inc.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Panasonic Automotive – Metro Detroit
Creative, Wellness and Wellbeing Solutions
Honigman
Compensation, Benefits and Employee Solutions
Digitas
Community Initiatives and Corporate Responsibility
Lake Michigan Credit Union
Commumication and Shared Vision
Epitec
The leaders of the winning companies were asked to talk about a variety of topics, including best practices to help with recruiting talent, the key elements to business culture that keep employees engaged, practices they’ve implemented to help with hybrid employees, and what new and creative benefits packages they’ve employed over the last couple of years.
More winners
GTS added three new staff members to its small team this year. GTS has the unique ability to stay connected and nurture relationships throughout the massive ecosystem it calls the “channel,” connecting with professionals who are actively looking to pursue a career change, and its advancement in technology.
GTS has a culture of giving back, both internally and externally, being committed to nurturing a culture driven by serving others in the communities GTS calls
home, and to its staff.
With most of its team remote, GTS works to come together every Monday morning for a check-in call, primarily focused on “personal and professional check-ins.”
It’s important for leadership to gauge how everyone is doing, and maintaining that feeling of connectedness.
At least two times a year, GTS invests in the team’s health and wellness. GTS offers opportunities for staff to disconnect and focus on their mental and physical health. GTS provides “feel good” gift baskets to staff, mixed with elements that show them the company cares, and bring them joy.
As part of Flagstar’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiative, its recruiting team has continued to enhance diversity in candidate pools and new hires to reflect the current and emerging market. Flagstar maintains a college recruiting relationship with select universities and has expanded its internship program to fully immerse student-interns into the Flagstar corporate experience with the goal of offering them full-time roles at graduation.
Flagstar offers one company-paid day to each employee to work in their community, one company-paid day to each employee to use for wellness/health needs, and, in addition to a competitive paid- time-off program, a floating holiday. Flagstar also offers a competitive employee assistance program, discounts to various retailers, and tuition discounts at a select university.
In 2021, Flagstar introduced Mentoring Circles, a program to provide employees at various career stages with advice, motivation, sponsorship, and direction to help them advance their skills and move forward on their professional paths. Participants are also able to enhance their professional development through networking and relationship-building.
In the past year, Michigan Medicine modernized its approach to be more inclusive and to invite applicants into the organization in new ways. In late 2022, it began holding the first-ever job fairs at Michigan’s football stadium. In early 2023, it moved to have hiring managers present so that critical roles were filled on-the-spot.
Mental health and wellbeing have been prioritized in the latest update of the Michigan App. Nature Rx, a collaboration with Voices of the Staff and Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, now available for Michigan App users to quickly find a bit of nature near them to explore. This app has many locations throughout UofM Campuses and Michigan Medicine to relax and unplug to relieve stress. It’s a new take on taking a break in nature: Get there, detach, and just be.
The latest version of the Michigan App with Nature Rx, including a list of nearby locations and a map view, can be found in the App Store and Google Play by searching “University of Michigan.”
One of the key elements of the Community Financial Credit Union (CFCU) culture that keeps employees engaged is its focus on Voice of the Team Member (VOTM). VOTM is how we listen to our team members and engage with them and their feedback. We activate this through continuous listening sessions all year long, quarterly engagement surveys, our Feedback Loop ticketing system and a Deep Dive process. To engage hybrid team members, CFCU launched both Connection Groups and CommUnity Resource Groups (CRGs). Connection Groups are voluntary, team member led groups focused on interests, hobbies and wellbeing and our CRGs are also voluntary and team member led but are focused on identity and communities.
One major benefit update CFCU launched in the last year was additions to its Paid Time Off Bucket, including up to 12 weeks of paid Parental Leave to support team members during the birth or adoption of a child, up to 10 days of Caregiver Time to provide direct care, assistance or aid to a spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild (including corresponding step and in-law relatives), and up to 5 days for Family Event Time to support and/or attend events of any kind for a family member.
OneMagnify hiring managers can view all applicants and get real-time updates from the recruiting team throughout the process. Once an employee has accepted an offer, all onboarding documents can be filled out online prior to their first day. Our new hire orientation, The Welcome Mat, includes an overview on every department and how they work together.
OneMagnify’s culture starts with work/life balance. Everyone has a life outside of the office, and making sure they have time to enjoy it is important. So is keeping our people healthy, both physically and mentally. We make sure our employees have the right healthcare options, retirements plans, flexible work schedules, and personal time off they need to thrive.
OneMagnify offers a fun and flexible work environment for our employees. While continuing to work in a hybrid work model, the company is always looking for ways to energize, excite, and engage employees both virtually and in the offices. Throughout the year, employees enjoy events such as themed lunches for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween (costumes encouraged!), and a big summer party.
OneMagnify offers competitive benefits and compensation and continually makes changes to benefits to meet the needs of the business and employees and their families.
The secret to the Total Quality Logistics winning culture is its familial environment, keeping employees engaged year-round through events, activities and social opportunities. Its 350-plus annual culture events are testaments to the variety and depth TQL goes to to ensure engagement. People work closely together and develop genuine friendships. By nurturing bonds through fun activities, we ensure quality relationships and trust.
We are committed to an in-person office environment as opposed to work-from-home setups. Logistics is an intense industry. Our roles require teamwork and constant communication, and we can’t do them efficiently in isolation. We have continued to prioritize engagement through investments into initiatives like the Workplace Experience Team, which is accountable for creating a collaborative and comfortable TQL experience in all 56 offices.
TQL believes it’s important to promote engagement within our staff. In the last two years, we have implemented a host of new creative benefits and perks, including monthly financial education classes on Microsoft Teams for all employees; Chip/Snack drops for employees, delivered by office leaders during the workday; Earth Day Challenge, our first companywide competition to celebrate Earth Day and Sales Support Appreciation Day, complete with breakfast, hourly prizes and a beer drop.
Marsh McLennan Agency developed a tracking mechanism that holds its teams accountable to sourcing, engaging and meeting a certain number of new candidates. It is considered an important goal and the team meets weekly to review the results of the prior week.
The company’s “Empowering You” appreciation program is comprised of a year-round calendar of social events, DE&I activities, community service opportunities, life stage celebrations, etc. All employees receive a program guide with a comprehensive calendar of events. The company has colleague engagement days that bring all colleagues into the office the first and third Tuesday of each month, with lunch brought in and team building activities, happy hours, workshops, etc.
As many other organizations have, Marsh McLennan Agency added Pet Insurance to its benefits last year. This benefit has been a huge win for employees as pets are an important part of their lives.
Over the last two years, Gordon Advisors, P.C. has increased the amount of time spent networking and developing connections with individuals that might be interested in working for the firm. With its entry level recruiting program, more time has been dedicated at several college campuses attending mixers, networking and making presentations about our firm and our industry to students to get them excited about public accounting.
Furthering the skills, capabilities, and developing clear career paths for team members is a cornerstone of staff engagement and retention efforts. The firm has a “staff development” committee that is focused on activities to further the career growth of our team. Some of the initiatives we have implemented include developing career paths that outline the progression from an entry level position up through a Sr. Manager role, making it very clear and transparent regarding the skills the staff needs to acquire in order to grow, develop and advance in their career.
When offices reopened part-way through the pandemic, the original hybrid policy was to allow our team members to choose up to 2 days per week to work remotely. Once the pandemic stabilized, the firm set a standard hybrid schedule for full-time team members. In May 2022, the firm implemented its half-day Friday “summer days” program. As a public accounting firm, team members work extended hours during tax season in order to meet tax filing deadlines.
To help with recruiting, Billhighway’s interview process has changed to be 100% virtual for most positions, with an option to come into the office for the realistic job preview and assessment portion. Billhighway realigned the way positions are posted and has the tools and technology to work from almost anywhere.
Billhighway’s flexibility plays a crucial role in keeping team members engaged, understanding that flexibility is important in today’s work environment and offering hybrid work as an alternative work arrangement. This flexibility allows work requirements to be fulfilled from home or in a satellite location as part of the regular workweek.
Billhighway provides benefits for a positive work-life balance and healthy work environment. Along with a generous compensation and benefits package, all team members receive four weeks of paid vacation, two full days of charitable time off, flexible schedules and paid holidays every year. In the past two years, a floating holiday was added that team members can use to celebrate a religious or cultural event of their choice or simply take the day off to relax and recharge. In addition to our list of paid holidays, last year we added Juneteenth as a paid company holiday.
Clear Rate Communications implemented a new electronic recruiting module into its system in order to automate and streamline recruiting and onboarding practices. It has expanded its reach to a wider pool of candidates on numerous talent sites. The new tool also improves our ability for tracking recruiting metrics and reporting on performance. Flexibility with in-office and remote work, as well as an unlimited time off policy. HR promotes the concept of flexible work arrangements without a spelled-out policy for the organization.
HR sent an all-employee survey to gauge remote/hybrid preferences. A good balance of 2-3 days in-office and/or remote was determined, allowing employees flexibility to choose their days but also be in office when needed to maintain team collaboration. Clear Rate makes sure to offer a video conferencing option to all meetings so all employees can join whether onsite or remote.
Flexible work arrangements, including more vacation and sick days, were added to the benefits package. There’s an unlimited PTO program, and more paid holidays were added, as well. They added several workshops and resources for all facets of wellness. We send out a monthly wellness email, and added several new benefit perks such as pet insurance and legal insurance.
Recruiting has been challenging for Acro Service Corporation as the talent acquisition landscape has evolved over the past two years. Acro has found that having genuine conversations with applicants rather than screening them out based on their resumes produces high-quality talent and results in a successful fill. Inclusivity and diversity are key elements in keeping employees engaged by fostering a sense of belonging and creating a more enriching work environment. Engaging hybrid employees is a crucial challenge in today’s work landscape, where some team members work in the office, while others work remotely. To address this, we’ve implemented a comprehensive strategy aimed at fostering a sense of belonging, collaboration, and productivity among our employees.
Engaging hybrid employees requires a thoughtful and ongoing effort to bridge the physical and virtual divide.
In addition to the standard benefit packages that include medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance, Acro offers many other benefits and perks that help provide overall well-being and job satisfaction to its full-time employees, including things such as generous employer 401k match for corporate employees, up to 25% match of employee contributions; short-term disability provided by the company at no cost to corporate employees and increased employer share of premiums on medical plans.
HRPro/BenePro works to maintain a reputation in the industry as a fun, collaborative place to work, working diligently to get name recognition by winning multiple awards and continuing to make the office a great place to work. Employees give great reviews online, and often recommend the company to friends.
Every employee at HRPro/BenePro is just as important as the next. Leadership understands that by taking care of employees, they take care of the clients. Whether it is through recognition, rewards, benefits, perks, employees know they are important. When the company was fully remote, it stayed engaged through scheduled zoom meetings, incorporating “themes” or fun virtual events. With employees back in the office, the firm has continued to allow a hybrid schedule.
Employees are enjoying the opportunity to work from home a couple of days a week.
The company has adopted a hybrid work schedule allowing our employees to work from home. Other perks have also been put in place to help employees manage their personal lives, such as dry-cleaning concierge services, Lifestyle Spending Accounts, that allows our employees additional funds to apply to areas of financial, mental and physical wellness and a student loan reimbursement plan to help our employees pay back outstanding debt.
mCubed Staffing has put a larger focus on diversity hiring along with investing in additional recruiting tools in order to better serve its clients and provide a larger pool of qualified candidates. Upgrades have been made to the benefits package to attract talent, and a revamped onboarding process makes it more seamless for all employees.
There are many ways that mCubed Staffing prioritizes a positive work culture and the well-being of our employees. The company strives to provide an engaging workplace culture so that employees have the opportunity to thrive, speak freely, share their ideas and be successful. mCubed Staffing provides a flex schedule to accommodate “life” and believes in creating a fun environment that employees want to come back to.
The company has implemented Microsoft Teams video meetings in order to allow for “face to face” meetings with those who are working hybrid and communicating via phone calls in order to foster collaboration with everyone on the team. It also brings these employees into town for big meetings and events.
Recently mCubed Staffing implemented the mCubed Top Performer – MVP Award, presented each quarter to the individual management feels has gone above and beyond with the best interest of the organization in mind.
Michigan Financial Companies has added an optional “interview” to its process to sit with 1-3 employees who are in similar roles as the role the applicant is interviewing for without a leadership team/management team member present. This gives the applicant the opportunity to ask open questions and get honest answers as to their experience with the firm.
The company has employee appreciation or team building events at least quarterly to re-engage with the employees, which is especially helpful for them to build friendships with our employees that are in different departments.
The company hosts roundtable discussions every other month with employees of similar job descriptions. All are welcome to attend across its 30+ locations to share best practices and ask open-ended questions to their counterparts.
WOW Internet, Cable and Phone recently launched a new employee referral program that is automated from its HRIS system. The change enhances the candidate experience, and rewards employees for referring others to work for the company with two payouts per one hired employee.
WOW continues to have a large population of work-from-home employees. The company offers a great work-life balance for all employees, including those who report to an office. WOW also hosts quarterly town halls and annual picnics on a larger scale. On a team-based scale, employees have frequent team meetings, with a formal recognition program.
Employees have the option to report to an office if they wish to do so. The firm utilizes a hotel-style software to encourage employees to take advantage of office space. Many teams have daily stand ups, or ongoing text/chat threads to stay connected more frequently in a hybrid workplace.
In 2023, WOW enhanced its wellness offering with a “Passport Program” fostering good mental and physical health, respect, belonging, and community at WOW! The program is open to all employees. Participation in eligible activities earns a passport stamp and, in many cases, wellness points redeemable for prizes at the WOW! Wellness Store.
The Taubman Company believes the strength and success of the organization is a direct reflection of the people that work there. The employee-focused culture starts with a commitment to provide a wide range of wellness programs, including Self-Managed Time and Flexible Work Arrangement programs. Over the past years Taubman has recognized the increasing importance of work life balance and total overall wellness to our employees.
People who work at Taubman say time and again; “This is the best place to work!” It’s a testament to an amazing work environment and culture. This didn’t happen just by accident. The team works hard together, innovating and collaborating, while celebrating individual and collective achievements.
Taubman’s recently renovated corporate office includes a Plum Market eatery and a state-of-the-art fitness center. Employees receive a monthly amount to cover their daily lunches when onsite, which can be used toward lunches or snacks throughout the day. The fitness center includes various cardio machines, weights and a classroom.
To partner various wellness programs and state-of-the-art onsite offerings, Taubman began offering additional growth and connection opportunities through its Toastmasters club and mentorship programs. Taubman Toastmasters connects employees from all levels and areas of the company where they practice public speaking, leadership and organization skills, among others.
One of the things Centric Solutions Group has implemented is moving its prescreening process for recruiting to an online format versus manual/hand-written form. It has made screening candidates more efficient and allows for the Talent Specialists to obtain more pertinent information.
One of the company’s core values is “Showing up With Passion.” The team is made up of passionate, positive people who support and encourage each other. Recruiting and Talent Acquisition can be mentally challenging at times. Team members lift and support each other to work for the greater good of the team.
Centric Solutions Group used Teams for interoffice messaging and file sharing prior to the pandemic. Since then, the company has implemented using Microsoft Teams for video conferencing. It has made a great addition to engage employees when they work from home. The ability to share screens and work through problems together has been a game changer.
The company added a hybrid work environment to allow employees to work in the office three days. This has created a highly productive work environment while allowing employees to take care of personal matters.
Leaders at Real Estate One Family of Companies believe their most effective recruitment tools over the last two years have been hybrid workplaces and flexible schedules, while the most engaging element is the transparency of decision making and communication by its leadership.
In an effort to engage hybrid employees, the company has implemented regular virtual and in-person meetings, frequent coaching conversations, and in-person events to build relationships.
Among the new and creative benefits and perks the company has added in the last couple of years are unlimited volunteer days, company-sponsored sporting events for employee and their families and introduction of employee engagement portal “Family Room” where employees can interact, provide peer recognition and have easy access to real-time information.
NTH Consultants, Ltd., is a 100% employee owned, 50+-year firm, successfully completing its leadership transition to a third generation. Many companies are employee owned, but a key element that keeps NTH employees engaged is the Ownership Communications Committee and Employee Stock Ownership Plan Council, comprised of employee volunteers, who are dedicated to representing, educating, and engaging employee owners.
In 2023, NTH implemented an in-person extended onboarding program called the NTH Next Generation, a vital component for attracting and retaining talent, developing employees, building community, and fostering belonging at NTH from both an employee and business perspective. It’s a rolling 12-month program featuring in-person learning sessions, social events, community service activities, and management meet-and-greets.
In 2022, NTH modified the parental leave policy so that any employee is eligible for paid time off for the birth of a child or the placement of a child with an employee in connection with adoption or foster care. Eligible employees receive a maximum of four weeks of paid parental leave. NTH launched the first annual Chief Pet Office Competition in 2023. All types of pets were welcome, and staff voted to choose the CPO, Scotty, a Shetland Pony. Scotty is serving a one-year term as NTH’s CPO while bringing smiles to NTH’s faces.
In the past two years, SME has made significant strides in optimizing its recruiting processes. One noteworthy effort has been the implementation of comprehensive training programs for hiring managers and emerging leaders involved in the recruitment process. This initiative has been instrumental in enhancing our overall recruiting effectiveness. A core component of its Recruiting Guide is its emphasis on inclusivity and diversity.
A key component of SME’s organizational culture that fosters high employee engagement is an unwavering commitment to nurturing an environment for individual growth and development. At the heart of this commitment lies the principles of autonomy and empowerment, which resonate with our team members.
To engage hybrid employees more effectively, SME has implemented a multifaceted approach that accommodates flexibility, varying work preferences, needs, and fosters a strong sense of teamwork and collaboration.
One of the key initiatives is SME’s flexible work policy, which allows team members the option to work remotely a few days a week.
One of the innovative benefits and perks SME has introduced in the past two years is its Adoption/Surrogacy Leave Policy, which recognizes that traditional Short-term Disability and Maternity Leave policies were becoming dated and did not provide equitable benefits to team members who expanded their families through various means.
The best recruiting practice Michigan Staffing LLC has implemented in the last two years was designed to drive recruitment results for Light Industrial and Logistics/Distribution staffing requirements. In response to the diminished workforce and lack of available candidates, its Recruitment Team implemented a grassroots initiative to bring recruitment efforts into neighborhoods throughout Metro Detroit.
A key element of the Michigan Staffing culture that keeps employees engaged is a sense of mission and higher purpose. Although sales numbers are important, they stay focused on how to make a difference every day for clients, employees on assignment, fellow team members and the community. A culture based on a higher mission and strong values allows all Team Members to feel in control of outcomes every day. Prior to COVID Michigan Staffing team members worked in the offices daily. The company now offers 1-2 days per week working from home to all recruitment team members.
Among other initiatives, the company has reimplemented a 401(k) program, implemented additional PTO as rewards for goals attained, added Fun Fridays in the Summer whereby everyone gets 1-3 Fridays off during the summer months and a Holiday Shopping Day offered to employees.
The Detroit Athletic Club (DAC) has had great success with its referral program after amping it up a bit. When an employee who has been referred by another employee starts, the referring employee gets $100 the week after the new employee starts, another $100 after 60 days and another $100 after 90 days. The DAC has an employee who was so successful in recruiting new hires that he was able to purchase his first car with his referral money.
Employees are engaged in the DAC training program, allowing for team members to be part of training the staff, which enables an ownership and pride of well-trained staff. Being in the hospitality industry, the DAC has little opportunity to be remote. Team members pride themselves on being here for club members and staff. There are some positions that allow for remote, and leadership accommodates this type of work.
While it is not the actual benefit, the DAC has transitioned from a paper enrollment program to an online benefits enrollment program. Benefits are tied to the time, attendance and payroll system. This allows for staff to have benefits information readily available. A new, integrated payroll system has made employees much more a part of the process. In the hospitality business a large percentage of staff are variable hour and tipped employees. The new payroll system allows staff to approve their paycheck prior to it being processed. The staff is part of the process and there are far fewer discrepancies.
Towne Mortgage Company hires team members who can enhance and become an advocate of company culture. To help new team members succeed Towne Mortgage created a new-hire experience providing an extensive library of resources along the way, including a PolicyTech program that holds all policies and procedures, the Towne Connect that shares its Towne Tree and Team Member contact list and a full benefit overview with our HR team.
Towne Mortgage has implemented many best practices to drive company culture, engagement and retention, including a dedicated culture committee, engagement sessions with the Senior Leadership team with all newly hired team members and a Team Member spotlight program that spotlights a different Team Member every week.
Towne Mortgage’s teams have been almost 100 percent remote since March 2020. The company continue to look for ways to keep teams engaged including engagement activities like bingo and trivia, and Shadow Sessions that give the opportunity for members to learn from other areas in the business.
Offering a comprehensive and competitive benefits package is one way Towne Mortgage recognize team members’ contributions to the success of the organization and help team members and their families stay healthy and maintain a flexible work life. Towne is constantly looking for ways to enhance its benefits package.
The Total Security Solutions (TSS) HR team works hand-in-hand with company leadership to ensure the hiring of the right people into the right positions, thus providing a direct impact on how TSS can best deliver on its core values and provide the best possible customer experience.
TSS runs on the Entrepreneurial Operating System, giving employees a well-defined structure in which they can grow, feel more fulfilled in their work, and achieve personal goals. It helps employees feel more “in-the-know” about what’s going on and allows TSS to routinely recognize those who go above and beyond.
To connect with hybrid employees TSS utilizes video meetings and regular electronic communication to the whole team. TSS recently transitioned to live streaming its quarterly State of the Company meeting for team members across the country to join. Additionally, TSS holds a number of annual events where all employees are brought together on-site for training, family events and department-specific meetings.
In the last two years TSS has developed its own online TSS University site for the express purpose of aiding in the success of employee onboarding and continued education/support. There is also an internal management training curriculum for aspiring leaders within the organization.
The Human Resources team at Greenleaf Trust is involved in all aspects of strategic planning, allowing leadership to budget for new team members, a robust onboarding program designed especially for them, individualized gifts, coaching, engagement, DEI education, excellent comprehensive benefit package, training and equipment. Greenleaf wants its workforce to represent the communities in which it lives and works. Greenleaf has had a focus on diversity recruiting, increasing its minority population to 18% in 2022.
Team member engagement at Greenleaf Trust is a top priority. Nineteen years ago, Greenleaf Trust formed a Communications and Culture Workgroup. This team organizes numerous opportunities for social engagement and team building activities throughout the year. Greenleaf Trust has also partnered with a behavioral sciences partner to survey and measure team members engagement. These results are reviewed and compared to past year results.
