Late last year, a child of one of the senior executives at RiteLine (asi/82498) had a serious medical emergency. For the leadership team of RiteLine, there was no question about what to do. “We told her, ‘Your job is safe. Take off as much time as you need,’” says Mike McMillan, the company’s VP of sales. “Well, she’s been off three months. And she still has a job here. Whenever she’s ready to come back, she can come back.”

That sums up the priorities at RiteLine: taking care of the people who matter most. Whether it’s aiding a family member or swallowing an order mistake to do right by a customer, the supplier – the highest ranking mid-sized company on this year’s Best Places to Work list – strives to support its employees to do the right thing. The family atmosphere pervades the company.

“That atmosphere is what makes people comfortable here,” says McMillan.

McMillan can tell from experience. The veteran of nearly 35 years joined RiteLine in 2019 after working for many of the biggest names in the industry, including a quarter-century stay at BIC Graphic along with additional stints at HALO, Hub Pen and Visions. RiteLine, meanwhile, was founded in 2014 as the U.S. arm of Aihao, a China-based company and according to McMillian the largest writing instrument manufacturer in the world.

“Pressures shouldn’t come from a manager standing over your shoulder, breathing down your neck. That’s not our environment.”Mike McMillan, RiteLine

It’s not that RiteLine doesn’t take its pens seriously. But McMillan also likes to remind the team that they’re not dealing with life-and-death situations, and gives employees the breathing room they need. “There’s going to be natural internal pressures for anybody who wants to do a good job,” he says. “But those pressures shouldn’t come from a manager standing over your shoulder, breathing down your neck. That’s not our environment.”

After a brief shutdown at the beginning of the pandemic, RiteLine has been working completely in person. Before COVID tests were free, the supplier would pay for a test if an employee had an exposure. And if that employee tested positive, they would still earn full pay over the entire length of their quarantine.

Hiring has been more difficult than before, especially as the supplier’s customer service department has doubled in the past couple months. RiteLine went through lots of resumes and interviews but struggled to find qualified candidates that were up to the company’s standards. RiteLine puts a particular emphasis on conscientiousness. ”When I was at BIC and I managed the salesforce, I used to tell the salespeople, ‘80% of the equation is showing up and following up,’” says McMillan. “You can be talented, you can be creative, but that’s only 20% of the equation.”

On the Best Places to Work survey, RiteLine employees gave the company perfect marks in a number of areas, including job satisfaction, involvement in decisions, recognition and staff cooperation. The supplier prioritizes camaraderie with bigger events – such as a picnic last summer at Lake Arlington – and more everyday occurrences, including birthday celebrations and food for the office. (In fact, the production manager cooks a big meal once a month for the production staff). It enhances the sense of fellowship and strong bonds among the 38 employees.

McMillan credits the company’s president David Zheng (who rarely seeks the spotlight) for driving the culture, adding how ethical, considerate and generous Zheng is. Says McMillan: “He has a lot to do with the environment here.”