Wingard was recently recognized as one of Florida Trend’s “Best Companies to Work For in Florida,” ranking #23 among the state’s best small companies.

While every award is a reason to celebrate, this one feels extra special. Maintaining a strong company culture is no small feat, especially throughout the challenges of the past two years. Like many of our peers across the industry, we transitioned to remote operations in March 2020 with no clue that the way we work — independently, collectively as a team, and collaboratively with our client partners — was about to permanently change.

Technology helped to smooth that transition. Our client partners reciprocated our commitment to being nimble as we all adjusted. But the real secret to our ability to pivot, adapt, and grow is no secret at all: our people.

Every team member plays a role in making Wingard a great place to work, regardless of where that work happens. In observance of this achievement, here are three strategies our leadership team credits with making Wingard’s culture one of the best in the Sunshine State.

‍Seek feedback — often.

Open lines of communication are crucial to maintaining a culture of trust. Here at Wingard, we use a mix of qualitative and quantitative tactics (like annual employee reviews, surveys, and one-on-one meetings) to capture feedback throughout the year. This approach has illuminated opportunities to improve processes, enhance benefits, and implement new ways of working. For example, this year we added more company-wide days off during the holiday season. After hearing this request from several team members, we looked at workload data to help us make an informed decision. We doubt anyone would have objected to more days off (for any reason), but knowing this change was driven by employee feedback made it an even more enjoyable update to share.

‍Lead with your values.

Our vision statement has three distinct pillars: our client partners, our community, and our people. Doing our best work on behalf of our client partners is an ever-present priority every day. When it comes to benefits for our people and our community engagement philosophy, this vision statement provides a clear guide for determining where to focus our efforts.

We have intentionally focused on adding benefits that support our team’s physical, financial, and mental health in recent years, while encouraging individuals to pursue professional development opportunities. Investing in our team’s resources has also paid off; in the past year alone, our staff grew by over 30% as we added new positions to bolster our staff’s collective potential for positive impact.

Our community commitment shows up in various ways: through volunteer outings, in-kind work with nonprofit partners, and two paid days per year for each member of the team to give back to a cause that matters to them.

Be creative (and consistent) with tried-and-true tactics.

Many companies celebrate an “employee of the month,” work anniversaries, and birthdays. In the “old days” (read: before the pandemic), we developed a monthly “Third Thursday” event where we could celebrate all three in a casual gathering.

And then, well… you know what happened.

During the pandemic, we shifted this tradition to a virtual format. Was it the same? No, of course not. But being able to connect in person at least once a month kept the tradition going. And now that we’re able to gather in person again, we can look back and appreciate the role that this small ritual has played in shaping our culture.

Our monthly Third Thursday gatherings are back to an in-person format, with a few team members joining by phone or FaceTime as necessary. Now that we’ve settled into a permanent hybrid workflow, these gatherings are even more joyful as we reconnect, celebrate, and unwind — together. Each month, we choose a destination or experience that can be enjoyed as a team. Recent highlights have included a St. Johns River Taxi tour of our client partners’ projects in Downtown and Riverside, and a team lunch followed by a volunteer service project at Rethreaded.

‍Like what you see? Then you’ll love working at Wingard.

‍We’re proud to be recognized among the state’s best employers. If Wingard sounds like the kind of place where you’d like to continue growing in your career, check out our current openings.