Company Culture: There may be families that don’t speak to each other and prefer to hide in their rooms. Not so for Pacesetter Awards (asi/75640). Executive Vice President Jim O’Neill highlights the company’s family environment and open-door policy – which extends right to the top with higherups making it a point to check in on people. “Most organizations don’t have that,” O’Neill says.

COVID Changes: Despite going remote for a while during the beginning of the pandemic, Pacesetter Awards is now back in the office full-time. O’Neill says because of the supplier’s strong culture, team members were excited to get back to work in the office “because they’re with family, not just co-workers.” In-person work is an important part of the organization’s functioning, and the company has implemented stringent safety precautions that include masking and daily rigorous cleaning of work environments. “We’ve found being in the office to be the best catalyst for new ideas to be born,”' O’Neill adds.

In this new era, O’Neill says the company’s pre-established culture of recognition, from daily check-ins to bigger awards, became even more important. “It reiterated to us that we’ve been doing the right thing all along,” he says. And the company’s “Corona Fridays” have been a hit, with employees enjoying a beer or other favorites while finishing up their work for the week.

Parting Tip: “It’s important to recognize your employees,” O’Neill says. “And it’s more so than just money and titles. It’s saying ‘Thank you’ and ‘Great job’ or giving a high five after a big project was done.”