Culture of Winning
Top Corporate Culture Awards
Anyone looking for an example of the importance of workplace culture need only to look to the Detroit Lions.
At the end of the 2020 NFL season, Sheila Ford Hamp, who had succeeded her mother, Martha Firestone Ford, as principal owner and chair of the team the previous June, laid out a new vision for the organization.
Following the 2020 season, which ended with a 5-11 win-loss record and the dismissal of General Manager Bob Quinn and Head Coach Matt Patricia, Hamp set a goal of establishing the Lions as a workplace built on a collaborative culture.
President and CEO Rod Wood, COO Mike Disner, and Special Assistant Chris Spielman, a former Lions linebacker, also contributed to the new organizational vision.
Another former Lion, Dan Campbell, was hired as the new head coach. Brad Holmes was brought aboard as the new general manager. The two have since bought into the owner’s vision.
“We talk all the time and Brad and I’s relationship is as good as ever,” Campbell said in Sports Illustrated in 2022. “It’s as good as ever. We communicate on a daily basis, multiple times, on everything. If he’s got something, he presents it to me and he tells me what he’s thinking, and he asks me what I think.
“I would say, at the end of the day we take each other’s opinion and whether we make a move or don’t make a move, we’re both in lockstep with each other.”
When the team started off 1-6 during that 2022 season, Hamp made a rare public statement saying she believed in her vision for the team and in her relatively new coach and GM.
The team rebounded to finish the year 8-2 for an overall 9-8 record.
This past season, that shared culture and vastly improved play on the field resulted in a 12-5 regular season record, two home playoff wins, and a 3-point loss to the San Francisco 49ers that prevented the team’s first Super Bowl appearance.
A positive corporate culture leads to winning in the business world as well, regardless of how one defines winning.
The companies represented in the third DBusiness Corporate Culture Awards have been focusing on their work environments longer and have been reaping the rewards for their efforts.
Overall Champions
The Large Company Overall Champion is the Farbman Group in Southfield, which has 115 full-time employees and more than 85 independent contractors. The Small-Business Champion, with eight employees, is Assembly Ventures, a specialized venture capital firm in Detroit.
Farbman Group President Andy Gutman says the key to having satisfied employees is to treat them like family rather than workers. “Woven into the fabric of Farbman is a kindness culture,” Gutman says. “It starts by listening to people.”
There are several ways the Farbman Group goes about listening to its people. There’s an anonymous message board where employees can air grievances. There are monthly think tank forums, and there’s a committee called Farbman 3,000 dedicated to technology and the future of the organization.
“If there are barriers to the success of our employees, it’s our job to remove them,” Gutman says.
Other ways Farbman treats its employees like family include loans for employees who are facing financial difficulties, catered lunches two or three days each week, and a fully stocked kitchen.
“We have a mixture of healthy and unhealthy snacks,” Gutman says. “We tried all healthy for a while, and that wasn’t very popular.”
Active in the community, Farbman supports several charitable organizations. What’s more, employees volunteer to represent the company at events, and they can participate in activities like whirly ball games.
The firm also excels in the workplace flexibility category, a longtime staple.
“We were doing workplace flexibility before it was COVID-19 cool,” Gutman says. “And we foster a culture where you’re allowed to make mistakes, as long as it’s not intentional, repetitive, or from a lack of work ethic. We can learn from mistakes.”
Perhaps most important is the company’s overall dedication to its workforce.
“When the Great Recession hit, we didn’t lay a single person off,” Gutman says. “We decided to carry a little bit more overhead during that time. We figured the loyalty would pay off because people will remember that.”
The strategy paid off.
“We have very little turnover here,” Gutman says. “The people who do leave are retiring. We have longevity here and I think that’s a statement about how we treat our people.”
Assembly Ventures Co-founder and Partner Chris Thomas says his focus is to treat every employee like a guest in his home.
“The way we treat the employees at any level of the company is the way that we would like to be treated,” he says. “There certainly are different roles in any organization based on background and experience, but every one of our employees is important. There’s the old phrase that you’re only as strong as your weakest link. We’ve put together a group of men and women who are truly extraordinary in what they bring. And we’re a team that’s made up of people with very different backgrounds.”
Another key to loyal employees is the company’s office space on the third floor of the Madison Building in downtown Detroit.
“I would say our office is second to none in the entire city,” Thomas says. “We’re overlooking Grand Circus Park into Comerica Park. It’s a beautiful space.”
The Assembly Ventures team also can be found straying from the Madison Building to pursue team-building activities like go-kart racing and visiting the various venues the city has to offer.
One major off-site event took place in January at the CES 2024 show in early January in Las Vegas. The entire team went.
“We’re investing in the companies that move the world, but we’re not just moving them from A to B, we’re moving them in the direction of our values and our morals and our underlying philosophies,” Thomas explains. “That really is something we take seriously, and that’s how our culture comes to work every day.”
Workplace Décor and Amenities
Workplace Décor and Amenities is one of the flagship categories of the DBusiness Corporate Culture Awards. Who doesn’t love coming to work at a place with comfortable lounges, full bars, and game rooms?
Near Perfect Media in Bloomfield Hills is the small-business winner in this category and the Detroit Foundation Hotel in Detroit is the winner among medium to large businesses.
“Our office is super clean,” explains Justin Near, president of Near Perfect Media. “Most everything is white. There’s a lot of clean artwork. We did work with a few designers, mainly on the lobby. We also have a lounge and a full bar. We do client meetings and other gatherings in there.”
Near Perfect Media’s 6,000 square feet of office space also features what it calls the Culture Club, which has pinball machines, games, and other activities to help employees decompress.
“We have a kitchen and a dedicated Cry Room, which is kind of hilarious,” Near says. “It’s soundproof. You can go in there and scream if you want.”
Near Perfect Media’s staff has their own offices and there are multiple conference rooms. Clients have been known to use the meeting spaces.
“I want to make the office someplace that I’d want to be,” Near says. “It’s about supporting our team so they can do their best work.”
The medium-large winner, the Detroit Foundation Hotel, the converted fire station across from Huntington Place, doesn’t lack for décor and amenities for guests, but what about the 120-130 employees?
“The overall design helps with the energy and enthusiasm when you come into the building,” says James Dannecker, general manager of the hotel.
Except for ticketed events, Dannecker says employees are “strongly encouraged” to attend community events at the hotel. Staff also is treated to curated meals from the Apparatus Room chefs every week, and wine classes are offered.
“We do a quarterly dinner with the executive team where employees can bring a plus one,” Dannecker says. “We’ll have a free throw contest during March Madness, where the winner can get an extra paid day off. We do a lot of things to show the love and appreciation of our team.”
Diversity and Inclusion
Leading the way in the Diversity and Inclusion category are Apex Placement & Consulting in Clawson on the small business side, and Attendant Care Cos. in Chesterfield Township on the medium- to large-business side.
Jennifer Gavin is founder and CEO of the 22-strong Apex Placement, whose staff is approximately 20 percent diverse.
“It’s definitely a specific focus that we talk about as we’re building the team,” Gavin says. “It helps that I have some diversity on my leadership team because I think when you talk network and reach, your referrals and your candidates who are pipelined are going to be more diverse because of your leadership team.”
Interestingly, to become more diverse, Apex had to recruit a few men to its all-female team last year.
“I really do believe in having a diverse team because when you come from different backgrounds, you bring different solutions and perspectives,” Gavin says. “Not having men on the team was really a gap for us.”
Renee Burgess is human resources manager at Attendant Care Cos., which provides in-home medical care for clients all around metro Detroit. She oversees approximately 250 employees, about 60 percent of whom are non-White.
“It’s something that we focus on because we’re in quite a few counties where there’s a diverse population,” Burgess says. “We want to make sure we have a good number of diverse employees and that they’re encouraged to join and welcomed within the company.”
Compensation and Benefits
Atnip & Associates in Rochester, with 15 employees, is the small-business winner in the Compensation and Benefits category. DOBI Real Estate in Birmingham, with its staff of 140 employees and agents, is the winner of the medium-large-business segment.
“We encourage a very comfortable work environment,” says Heather Atnip, owner of Atnip & Associates. “Our salaries are very competitive in the marketplace because that’s how you attract top talent. We’re also able to retain top talent by providing fully equipped home offices. We offer all major benefits offered by other large corporations.”
The health benefits are fully paid by the company, while the 401k program is matched at 3 percent to 5 percent.
This May, the company is planning a three-day 10th anniversary trip to the historic Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.
Simon Thomas, CEO of DOBI Real Estate in Birmingham, says he believes the compensation package his company offers is very competitive in the real estate world.
“I think we pay our staff well,” Thomas says. “We have great benefits and paid time off. We do a really good job with that stuff. We really care and we pay a little bit more.”
DOBI’s staff has four weeks of paid vacation, health, vision, and dental insurance, and a matching 401k program.
The real differentiator, according to Thomas, is how his agents are compensated. Agents, who are independent contractors, typically pay fees to their company for services like marketing and administration.
“Our fee structure is very competitive compared to the market, but the value they get for those fees are four times what any other company offers,” Thomas explains. “Those values include the type of space they’re working in; it’s an immaculate, beautiful facility. The marketing team that benefits them is better than any I’ve ever seen for a company of our size.
“The training and mentorship that they get, the culture, the events, the awards that we give, the recognition that we give, the technology they have access to — any other brokerage would probably be doubling fees.”
Career Advancement
It’s important for employees to know there’s a path for upward mobility at the company for which they work. DesignTeam Plus in Birmingham, the small business winner in the Career Advancement category, and Sachse Construction in Detroit, the medium- to large-business winner, achieve that in different ways.
Shari Stein, owner and founder of the five-employee DesignTeam Plus, offers education, training, and growth to advance workers’ careers.
“Our goal for 2024 is to grow each of our departments, which will make managers out of the people who are already here,” Stein says. “Today’s generations want to be empowered and involved in all aspects of the business. We want them to grow and not seek other jobs, because they’ll have it all here.”
To further that goal, DesignTeam Plus has a college tuition payment program, pays for team members to take licensing exams, and pays for any type of computer training they may need.
“We believe in education,” Stein says. “And we let them take the training during work time.”
At Sachse Construction, the career advancement program is more formal.
“We have individualized career development plans where a team member is kind of able to direct themselves,” says Myra Ebarb, vice president of people, perks, and empowerment at Sachse, which has 165 employees. “They say where their next potential role is, their intermediate role, and their ultimate role. Leadership looks at this constantly to determine the paths they can take.”
Like DesignTeam Plus, Sachse offers training to help its staff along their chosen career path.
“Our new team members get into a rotation where they touch every part of the company,” Ebarb explains. “We’re always promoting, always making changes to our team.
“If someone moves to an area of the company and it doesn’t work out, they can always go back to their original position.”
Gratitude
Edward Lippincott, owner of Lippincott Real Estate Advisors in Birmingham, says the key to showing gratitude to employees lies with the employees themselves. Lippincott and his seven workers were the small-business winners in the Gratitude category.
“The first thing is finding the people that you mesh well with, have good personality overlaps, good energy, and intellectual curiosity,” Lippincott says. “We celebrate small and large victories, and we celebrate life milestones, like a family having a child, to let them know we care.”
There’s a bell in the office that gets rung when a deal closes. “It’s cheesy but it’s fun,” Lippincott says.
The company, which deals exclusively with affordable housing, runs quarter-long contests with money prizes as high as $5,000. Along with sponsoring trips to trade conferences, the firm hosts multiple events, including an annual golf outing.
Mary Jane’s Friends & Co. in Warren is the medium-large company winner in the Gratitude category. Its 105 employees tend to their clients’ marijuana-growing operations, trimming, harvesting, and making sure everything is working properly in the grow operation.
“We feel showing appreciation and recognition of accomplishment is an important part of our business,” says Sasha Sokolovskyy, founder, owner, and CEO of Mary Jane’s. “We do a lot of events like movie nights, bowling nights, and parties.”
The company conducts raffles where the prizes can range from gift cards to air fryers, hover boards, or a finished product from clients.
Like Lippincott, Mary Jane’s acknowledges life events. It also sponsors company sports teams.
“We’ve built a lounge for employees where they can hang out after a long day of work,” Sokolovskyy adds. “We basically try to make them feel like family, rather than workers.”
Teamwork
Sports aren’t the only endeavor that benefits from teamwork. Just ask the folks at Mario Morrow and Associates and overall DBusiness Corporate Culture champion the Farbman Group, both in Southfield.
Mario Morrow, CEO of Mario Morrow and Associates, the small business winner in the Teamwork category, says a lot goes into the teamwork at his company of eight employees.
“Because we have a small group of folks that we work very closely with, we make it comfortable for everyone and we stress collaboration a lot,” Morrow says. “This whole collaboration thing makes people work harder and have a personal investment.
“We have a lot of team-building activities and staff meetings where we evaluate each other’s projects. We do employee engagement on a regular basis. We’ll call impromptu meetings just to get everyone’s input into a problem or a situation.”
Morrow adds that he keeps the company refrigerator stocked with everyone’s favorite soft drinks and lunch items.
“All these things contribute to a comfortable work environment, and keep people happy, and that helps the teamwork.”
Is it more difficult to encourage teamwork in a larger enterprise? Not according to Andy Gutman, president of Southfield-based Farbman Group, which has around 200 employees — 115 full time and more than 85 contract workers.
“It really starts with the Farbman family themselves,” Gutman says. “(The late) Burt Farbman was very big into teamwork. One of the things he used to do when he was running the company was to sit down and talk to every finalist for any position we had open in the company.
“He made sure they understood when they were coming aboard that we were all about teamwork, have a very flat org chart, and that there’s no one more important than anyone else. That’s part of our culture, and when I took over the day-to-day running of the company, I made a promise that I would do the same.”
Farbman Group also conducts regular meetings at the department and company level to get input from everyone on the team.
“We’re really big on fostering a sense of we, not me,” Gutman says.
Workplace Flexibility
Like most companies, workplace flexibility at Pophouse Design in Detroit was utilized more often during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pophouse and its 25 employees are the small-business winners in the Workplace Flexibility category.
“After the pandemic, we came back to the office pretty quickly because of the projects we were working on, and we really wanted everyone to appropriately manage their own schedules,” explains Jennifer Janus, president of Pophouse Design.
As a result, there’s no mandated schedule for Pophouse employees. There is, however, an all-team meeting every Thursday morning.
“Tuesdays and Thursdays are when the majority of our team is in the office,” Janus says. “Even though it’s not a mandate, people come in on those days because they like working together.
“We really haven’t had any turnover. Once the pandemic hit and they found out they could work from home and could do things like pick their kids up from school, taking that away is really hard.”
Kapnik Insurance in Troy is the medium-large company Workplace Flexibility winner.
Workplace Leadership
Leadership is a key element in the success of any operation, be it a sports team or a business. Joe Bamberger, founder and managing partner at Emerge Consulting in Royal Oak, and Jeff Glover, owner of Glover Agency Realtors, have different leadership styles but ended up winning the Workplace Leadership category in the DBusiness Corporate Culture Awards.
Bamberger’s Emerge Consulting, with seven employees, took the prize on the small-business side.
“We just trust people to be adults and take care of their own business and know what’s right for our clients and the business in general,” Bamberger says. “I don’t have a micromanaging style. I tend to explain what we’re looking for and the why behind it, and I trust people to be able to take responsibility on their own and ask for help when they need it. I give support and advice along the way when it’s needed.
“There are examples when it works perfectly, (but at times) a more hands-on approach is necessary.”
Glover’s 75 employees made his firm the medium-large business Leadership winner.
“I’m a big believer in leadership by example,” Glover says. “I still go on appointments and meet with buyers and sellers. I can share information with our agents because I’m in the trenches with them.”
Apart from himself, Glover says his leadership team has more than 25 years of combined experience and is willing to meet with agents personally to add insight and knowledge.
“We’re big on one-on-one coaching,” Glover says. “That doesn’t happen at a lot of real estate offices.”
Community Engagement
Sentinel Benefits and Financial Group in Troy is the small-business winner in the Community Engagement category, with 30 employees.
“We have a volunteering program,” says Lisa Hamill, people and culture business partner at the company’s Massachusetts headquarters. “We run giving campaigns for charities and causes, and a matching gift program. We give employees time off to volunteer. We always make sure we’re giving back to the communities where we have local offices.”
Hamill says the specific causes and organizations that benefit from Sentinal’s philanthropy are driven by the people in the company’s local offices. She also says community engagement is something that starts the moment someone new comes to the company.
“We talk about it with new hires and there’s always a community engagement update during company calls,” she explains. “We send emails with updates, and we have a website that tracks volunteer hours.”
Northwest Mutual, along Wilshire Drive in Troy, was the Community Engagement winner for medium-large businesses.
Finalists
Apex Placement & Consulting, Clawson
Arrow Strategies, Southfield
Assembly Ventures, Detroit
Atnip & Associates, Rochester
Attendant Care Cos., Chesterfield Township
BakerHopp Insurance Group, Harper Woods
Blue River Financial Group, Bloomfield Hills
Broder & Sachse Real Estate, Detroit
Brooklyn Outdoor, Detroit
Catalyst Media Factory, Detroit
Choice Telecommunications Inc., Clarkston
Colliers, Royal Oak
Cynerge Consulting Inc., Pontiac
Darden Wealth Group Inc., Ann Arbor
DeMaria, Detroit
DesignTeam Plus Inc., Birmingham
Detroit Foundation Hotel, Detroit
Detroit Regional Chamber, Detroit
DOBI Real Estate, Birmingham
Emerge Consulting, Royal Oak
Entech Staffing Solutions, Troy
Farbman Group, Southfield
Globe Midwest Adjusters International, Southfield
Glover Agency, Plymouth Township
Great Lakes Wealth, Northville
Greenleaf Trust, Kalamazoo
Harbor Computer Services, Royal Oak
HRPro/BenePro, Royal Oak
Joyful Treats Community Development Corp., Ypsilanti
Kapnick Insurance Group, Troy
KW Domain, Birmingham
Life Remodeled, Detroit
Lippincott Real Estate Advisors, Birmingham
Lormax Stern Development Co., Bloomfield Hills
MacKellar Associates Inc., Rochester Hills
Mario Morrow and Associates, Southfield
Mary Jane’s Friends & Co., Warren
MCEDSV, Okemos
Michigan Auto Law, Farmington Hills
Morrey’s Contracting, Detroit
Near Perfect Media, Bloomfield Hills
Northwestern Mutual, Troy
P.A. Commercial, Southfield
Pophouse, Detroit
POST Creative Agency, Troy
Sachse Construction, Detroit
seeds marketing + design, Birmingham
Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group, Troy
Strategic Wealth Advisors Group, Utica
Stuart Mechanical, Auburn Hills
Towne Mortgage Co., Troy
Zolman Restoration, Walled Lake
Winners
OVERALL CHAMPIONS
Small — Assembly Ventures, Detroit
Assembly Ventures invests in, and strategically supports, the entrepreneurs and mobility companies moving the western world.
Medium-Large — Farbman Group, Southfield
Farbman Group is a real estate brokerage, with capabilities in construction, property management, development and site selection, financial services, and receivership.
WORKPLACE DÉCOR AND AMENITIES
Small — Near Perfect Media, Bloomfield Hills
Near Perfect Media provides comprehensive public relations and marketing solutions for corporations, professionals, and celebrities.
Medium-Large — Detroit Foundation Hotel, Detroit
A sleek and fashionable hotel in downtown Detroit, across the street from Huntington Place. Originally it was the city’s circa-1929 fire department headquarters.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Small — Apex Placement & Consulting, Clawson
Apex Placement & Consulting is a full-service staffing and human resources provider that specializes in recruiting, staffing, direct hire, search, temp-to-hire, and contract labor. It also offers unique strategies and solutions for companies across Michigan, northern Ohio, and northern Indiana.
Medium-Large — Attendant Care Cos., Chesterfield Township
Attendant Care provides home health care and residential services to seniors, post-op patients, and anyone who shares the belief that there’s no place like home.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
Small — Atnip & Associates, Rochester
Atnip & Associates is a personal injury law firm that works to make a difference in its clients’ lives. Their team approach provides personalized care and support, and proactive, attentive legal representation.
Medium-Large — DOBI Real Estate, Birmingham
Founded in 2018, DOBI Real Estate embraces “The DOBI Difference,” which offers the services needed to enable growth and gives the agent, the buyer, and the seller the best experience.
CAREER ADVANCEMENT
Small — DesignTeam Plus Inc., Birmingham
DesignTeam Plus was formed in 2012 as a multidisciplinary design firm that promotes collaboration and long-term relationships with clients, consultants, and municipalities.
Medium-Large — Sachse Construction, Detroit
Founded in 1991, Sachse Construction has built millions of square feet of commercial, retail, multifamily, and institutional space in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
GRATITUDE
Small — Lippincott Real Estate Advisors, Birmingham
Lippincott provides advisory and brokerage services to owners and buyers of project-based workforce housing and self-storage facilities nationwide.
Large — Mary Jane’s Friends & Co., Warren
Mary Jane’s Friends & Co. is Michigan’s first legal, licensed, and insured cannabis maintenance company offering full service to assist growers with their growing needs including plant trimming, O3 generation, and UV-c sterilization.
TEAMWORK
Small — Mario Morrow and Associates, Southfield
Mario Morrow and Associates offers marketing, crisis management, media training, law, public relations, graphic design, polling, economic development, and economic analysis that helps clients influence change, while enhancing their reputation and furthering their business objectives.
Medium-Large — Farbman Group, Southfield
Farbman Group is a real estate brokerage with capabilities in construction, property management, development and site selection, financial services, and receivership.
WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY
Small — Pophouse, Detroit
Pophouse is a Detroit-based design studio focused on creating informed, curated, and human-centric spaces.
Large — Kapnik Insurance Group, Troy
Kapnik is an independent insurance brokerage offering a comprehensive suite of insurance solutions. It works closely with clients to help them make important and informed decisions when it comes to protection and their future.
WORKPLACE LEADERSHIP
Small — Emerge Consulting, Royal Oak
Emerge Consulting partners with businesses to develop long-term workforce strategies by helping them attract, develop, and retain talent.
Medium-Large — Glover Agency, Plymouth Township
Jeff Glover has been Michigan’s No. 1 Realtor for nearly 10 years. He empowers his agents and has created a collaborative, cooperative team. Glover also stresses the importance of building and maintaining client relationships.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Small — Sentinal Benefits & Financial Group, Troy
Wilshire Benefits Group helps is clients make appropriate business decisions regarding their employee benefit plans.
Medium-Large — Northwestern Mutual, Troy
Northwestern Mutual has helped families and businesses across Troy reach their financial goals for many years. Its version of financial planning brings the right insurance and investment strategies together.
MENTORSHIP CHAMPION
Chris Thomas, co-founder and partner at Assembly Ventures in Detroit, is this year’s DBusiness Corporate Culture Awards Mentor Champion.
Thomas is someone who takes mentoring and being mentored “very seriously” — and has since his school days, his time as a communications officer in the U.S. Army during the war in Iraq, and as an entrepreneur.
“I think I’ve been really lucky throughout my life — in school, in the military, and in business — to have had the pleasure, and in some cases the luck, of having great mentors who have truly shaped me and made me a much better person than I’d otherwise be,” Thomas says. “It’s important to have both at every stage of your life. There’s always something for us to learn. There’s always someone better than us at something we aspire to be better at.”
Thomas says he’s currently mentoring a handful of people, but he encourages others in his company to take on the mentor role.
“One hundred percent, and not only within our organization and in our portfolio companies, but within the community,” he says. “Little things like taking the time to read to a child during their lunch hour makes such a big difference.
“I’m a big believer in if you’re going to move the world, you start in your home, your city, your state, your country. The old adage is all politics is local. All impact is local. The only way we’re going to build the community and neighborhoods, the places that we care about, and be the very best versions of ourselves, is to be engaged.”
Mentoring can take many different forms, Thomas says. He recently had a phone call with a student at MIT who had heard him speak at an event and just wanted some career advice.
“We had a great discussion about what she was doing, and I gave her some things to think about,” he says.
He says it would be difficult to count the number of people he has mentored throughout the years, but “I’ve had the pleasure of mentoring some incredible people and I’m so proud of what they’re doing in life. Those opportunities have been very special.”
In addition to the colleagues he’s currently mentoring, he says he mentors his two little boys every day, and “they teach me some things.”
— Tim Keenan