Two months after Madeline Hardy started as an assistant project manager at Whitestone Branding (asi/359741) in January 2020, the pandemic pushed people into their own private silos.

While many struggled to find professional engagement, feeling disconnected and alone, Hardy found purpose. Her work with Whitestone ignited creativity and spurred collegial relationships. She felt secure, motivated and inspired. “From the get-go, I appreciated the company’s ethos that put collaboration and the human at the forefront,” Hardy says. “It was a positive environment around me with colleagues willing to help one another.”

That ethos, engrained in the 11-year-old company’s DNA, has propelled Whitestone’s success – and its position as the highest ranking mid-sized company on this year’s Counselor Best Places to Work list.

Launched out of a one-bedroom Manhattan apartment in 2013 by 23-year-old Joseph Sommer, Whitestone has grown into a fully remote, 45-person company with annual sales totaling $16 million. Sommer’s secret?

“I try to create a place where I’d be proud to work,” he says.

Whitestone features clear paths for growth, promotions and compensation. With sales staff, for instance, Whitestone eschews the industry’s traditional commission structures in favor of salaries based on how much business they manage on a rolling, trailing 12-month cycle. The company then supports sales associates with a business development manager tasked to help them grow their book of business, as well as operations and support staff incentivized to hit company sales targets. In this way, Sommer says, cooperation becomes the norm and people “show up” for one another – consistently.

Despite having a fully remote workforce – something Sommer touts as a clear advantage in staff recruitment and retention – Whitestone has invested heavily in creating a collaborative culture in which people feel connected to a larger team. A full-time trainer onboards new hires while a comprehensive learning management software system provides personalized training paths for an individual’s first months on the job.

Each week, the company hosts a kickoff call on Monday and a roundup call on Thursday, the latter devoted to celebrating recent wins. An annual company retreat, meanwhile, brings Whitestone’s entire domestic team together for four days of team-building endeavors, social events and intimate business sessions. Last September, Whitestone’s staff gathered in San Diego. This fall, they’re hitting Denver.

Thoughtfully categorized Slack channels further unite team members. On the Creative Brainstorming channel, employees can explain a project and solicit ideas from Whitestone peers. On the Water Cooler Talk channel, employees discuss life beyond work, such as hobbies and sports, which helps individual team members learn about each other’s backgrounds and interests.

Like “Cheers,” everyone knows everyone’s name at Whitestone, says Chris Ambrose, the company’s Pittsburgh-based people and talent manager. In a growing company with employees scattered across the country, Ambrose acknowledges that’s a rarity.

Sommer takes pride in building a modern and progressive workforce centered on goal-oriented people. Regardless of an individual’s professional, educational or social background, those with the right attitude, work ethic and soft skills find success at Whitestone through training, skill development and continuing education.

“From the get-go, I appreciated the company’s ethos that put collaboration and the human at the forefront. It was a positive environment around me with colleagues willing to help one another.” Madeline Hardy, Whitestone Branding (asi/359741)

“People are our number-one investment,” says Sommer, who also touts a benefits package headlined by 100% healthcare coverage, a 401(k) match, volunteer paid time off, a monthly fitness stiped, paternal leave and a five-year anniversary trip stipend. “I want to develop and foster talent so people have careers.”

Folks like Hardy feel Sommer’s mission, too.

Now a senior account manager at Whitestone working with financial firms, beauty businesses and museums among others, Hardy relishes the dynamic, ever-changing nature of the work and her role in a fast-moving, collaborative enterprise.

“Anytime I have an issue, there’s always someone I can tap for support,” says Hardy, one of five Whitestone employees in Southern California. “People are positive, not competitive, and we’re all growing together.”