New year, same high honor. For the second year in a row, Goodway Group has made the Ad Age Best Places to Work list – for pioneering an innovative remote workforce model, enhancing the workplace experience and supporting employee wellbeing by putting employees first.
Now in its fourth year, Ad Age’s Best Places to Work competition is based on two survey results, a company questionnaire, and a confidential employee questionnaire, which gauges six key employee satisfaction areas: company culture, company environment, employee benefits, employee development, employee engagement and employee perks. Receiving this award highlights Goodway’s long-standing expertise in fostering a progressive work culture and managing a fully remote workforce for nearly 14 years, and we’re ecstatic and grateful to make this esteemed list for the second consecutive year.
“At Goodway Group, we’re committed to creating a supportive workplace that fosters growth, connection and balance. It’s an honor to be recognized by Ad Age for our continued investment in people and culture, validating our principles for the future of work,” said Kandi Gongora, Goodway Group’s Chief Transformation & People Officer. “As a fully remote company for over a decade, we’re enthusiastic about continuing to pave the way for others to evolve the employee experience at a time when the way we work is constantly changing.”
What Makes Goodway Group a Best Place to Work
Goodway Group is a best place to work for the second time because our employees truly embody the spirit of our guiding behaviors that lead us to have heart, be smart and give grit. Our employees know they can count on each other when they have to take a break in the middle of the day to care for a child or leave early to take a family member to a doctor’s appointment. Our teams have the power to review workloads, client needs and personal commitments to make schedules that work for them. Employees are smart by questioning the status quo and constantly looking for more efficient ways to complete tasks. We reward innovation and highlight individuals who produce novel solutions for both internal and external issues. Our employees think about what it’s like to walk in clients’ shoes and strive to go above and beyond to make our clients heroes.
The last year has been one of monumental change and business acceleration for Goodway as we’ve pivoted and built upon the post-pandemic realities. COVID-19 has affected how we do business and has continued to impact our employees and families. No matter the obstacles, we have a true awareness and concern for our employees, a commitment to improve and a level of transparency that’s atypical of private organizations.
Our unique programs and initiatives have elevated our employee experience, set us apart in our industry and helped us rank #11 on the this year’s Ad Age Best Places to Work list. Here’s a look at a few.
Dedicated Development Days (aka D3 Days)
These are special days we set aside monthly for learning and development. Our employees can take peer-led or other recommended courses and also get the independent quiet work time they need to advance their personal growth and career goals.
Summer Fridays and No-Meetings Fridays
Goodway is committed to ensuring every Goodway employee has time away from work to enjoy some fun in the sun. From the end of May through early September, Goodway employees can end their day every Friday at noon in their respective time zone, all summer long.
For better work-life integration throughout the year, Goodway strives to not hold meetings on Fridays if possible so employees can count on a pocket of uninterrupted, focused time each week to think and get work done.
Paid-Time Off (PTO) Incentives
MyTime, our unlimited PTO program, allows employees to take time off when they need to and for any reason, without the worry of losing days.
In fact, Goodway even offers bonuses to encourage our team members to take off at minimum 15 days throughout the year.
Employee Health Initiatives
Our people make us, so our primary focus has to be on employee mental health and self-care.
To help our virtual employees feel more connected, we offer clubs around hobbies and interests such as mindfulness, cooking, fitness, yoga, crafting and more. We also regularly host optional monthly virtual happy hours, which are afternoon events that allow employees time to unwind and be social. Our activities vary but include cooking demos, crafts, trivia games, speed chatting and so on.
Another way we keep employees connected and knowledgeable is through The Goods, our biweekly internal newsletter featuring company news, employee stories, tips and more.
Goodway also provides employees and adult dependents free access to Wellview Health, a benefit that gives them access to free, unlimited mental health counseling and other assistance, including personal trainers, financial advisors and parenting experts.
Additional Talent Hiring
Goodway is always investing in bringing on additional talent to better distribute workloads.
We’re in the initial stages of crafting a wellbeing immersion program for new employees so they can onboard even more seamlessly and get the tools to better manage stress.
Biannual All-Company Trip Flexibility
Our week-long trips twice a year are about work and fun. All our employees meet at a different U.S. location each time and come together to strategize, plan and learn – with a variety of social events and team-building experiences built in too.
Due to the pandemic, for now, our employees can attend our trips either in person (based on CDC guidelines) or virtually, however they’re comfortable, yet we can still all be together using Zoom and virtual reality programs.
Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives
Our ability to grow and become a stronger organization requires diverse views and the ability to see our organization through different lenses. We’re continually looking for ways to create a more inclusive and diverse workforce.
Our Respect, Inclusion, Support and Equality (RISE) program’s goal is to create a workplace where everyone is embraced and celebrated for who they are, exactly as they are. In addition, our monthly internal GoodTalk program gives us the time and space for open dialogue so we can learn from one another and discover how we can better communicate across our various positions, ethnicities, genders and viewpoints when that’s so needed in the world.
Diversity is also a focal area of our recruiting initiatives as we build out our talent acquisition team and ensure diversity in candidate backgrounds across roles. In the last year, Goodway has increased our overall diversity by 3% through organic talent acquisition efforts.
Goodway Cares
Goodway is also about giving back. Through our charity, Goodway Cares, we offer pro-bono marketing strategy and consulting to nonprofit organizations to help them further their mission, increase their impact, achieve their goals and shape a better tomorrow.
In 2021 alone, Goodway Cares was able to donate $42,500 to 45 nonprofits! Employees who participated in virtual activities and in-person service projects helped decide which diverse causes received a donation.
The One Thing We Prioritize Most at Goodway
At Goodway, we prioritize our employees and focus on people management over results management. We specifically designed our remote workplace to give our employees flexibility and more balance in their work and home lives, and we celebrate the diversity of all our employees.
Caring for our clients and providing them with the best customer service possible starts with caring for our employees and giving them the best experience possible. In fact, several new hires have told us that after a few months here, they were still waiting for the other shoe to drop because working here at Goodway is unlike working at other agencies.
But here’s the thing, that shoe will never drop. The camaraderie you’ll find here is real, the commitment to smart client solutions is real and the focus on employee wellbeing is real. Learn more about us, see what we have to offer and join us!