For the first time in three years, we’re honoring great companies in the promotional products industry with our Counselor Best Places to Work list.  Employees and businesses have been through so much since 2020, and the best companies have adapted to become a source of stability, respite and happiness for workers in very difficult times. 

So what defines a Best Place to Work now? And how can you turn your business into a great workplace? To answer those questions, we recruited representatives of three companies on this year’s list to share the lessons they’ve learned. Appearing on the panel were Carolina Junghans, managing partner of Blink Marketing Inc. (asi/141424); Jill Haspert, CEO of Foxtrot Marketing Group (asi/170720); and Stephanie Maday, VP of sales, as well as Bridget Dahlgren, VP of marketing, from Crystal D (asi/47759).

The overriding themes? Embracing flexibility, figuring out how employees work best, finding ways to celebrate and being open to new ideas during difficult times.

“As a leadership team, we learned not that we weren’t humble or transparent before, but we are even more now,” said Dahlgren. “The whole pandemic, nobody knew how to navigate it. These were all new challenges for many businesses. It made a difference to communicate: ‘We don’t have all the answers today, and we’re trying to figure it out. We need your feedback.’ Bringing them in on those decisions to help explain the why and saying ‘We’re not perfect, we’re just doing the best we can,’ was important. That really helped with engagement because there was a new level of trust.”

In this episode of Promo Insiders, the panelists explore the merits of remote vs. in person, share their strategies for reinforcing company culture, and reveal what they look for in job candidates. There are many great ideas that can help make your business a better place to be.