With a fresh new year comes an exciting new distinction: Goodway Group just ranked third on the Ad Age Best Places to Work 2021 list of marketing, media, advertising or ad tech companies with over 200 employees.
Ad Age produces the Ad Age Best Places to Work competition, now in its third year, in conjunction with Latitude Research. The final results were tallied based on the findings from two surveys, a company questionnaire and a confidential employee questionnaire specifically designed to capture how a company performs in the following areas that matter most to employees: company culture, company environment, employee benefits, employee development, employee engagement and employee perks.
Goodway’s top marks in the above Ad Age key scoring categories were what separated us from other well-known media agency and digital company contenders to go on to achieve one of the highest numerical scores on the list.
Why Goodway Was Chosen as an Ad Age Best Places to Work 2021 Top Scorer
“From the challenges of the pandemic and a recession to the opportunities to stand up for social justice, diversity and inclusion, 2020 was a remarkable year for the advertising industry,” said Dan Peres, editor-in-chief, Ad Age. “Amid all of this, the Ad Age Best Places to Work winners went above and beyond in supporting their employees and communities.”
For over 13 years, Goodway has been a remote work leader. When the pandemic hit, fortunately we were already structured to not miss a beat in a new world where working from home became the norm. So we assumed it was our remote work expertise along with our robust employee benefits and perks that propelled us to the top of the Ad Age Best Places to Work list.
Yet, Ad Age said those weren’t the deciding factors. What gave us the edge? It was how we put employees first during a tumultuous year. But this was no different than how we’ve operated for over ninety years: We’ve always succeeded by caring about one another and treating employees like family.
“When advertising revenue dropped in early 2020, we were really torn about how to keep our people and our team together,” Kandi Gongora, our VP of people and organizational development, said. But the solution quickly became clear. To ensure our entire team stayed intact, all our 371 employees, including our two owners, took temporary pay cuts to ensure zero furloughs or layoffs. The goal was Goodway would pay back every penny as long as it met its reduced annual target for the year, and we accomplished this by early December 2020. Not only were we able to pay our staff back in full, we also were able to return pay levels to normal.
In addition to keeping the team together in 2020, Goodway implemented new programs to boost employee morale and support as we navigated a remarkable year. Here’s a look at a few:
Voluntary Employee-Funded Financial Assistance Program
Goodway established a fund to offer employees confidential financial assistance for needs both large or small, such as supporting family members who lost their jobs or taking care of sick pets.
Respect, Inclusion, Support and Equality (RISE) Initiative
We respect our employees and are committed to workplace diversity and cultivating a culture of inclusion and belonging through our everyday practices to continually move Goodway forward. “As a family business, we want every person at Goodway to feel like they are part of the family,” Kandi said. “Since we are remote, connections are really important, and we saw this even more so during 2020. We strive to support our team members, enabling everyone at the agency to perform at their best while creating, fostering and preserving a work environment where everyone feels welcomed and heard.”
Community Resource Groups
Our community resource groups give employees the opportunity to share different perspectives and ideas, build skills for further growth and development and explore special interests by participating in cooking and crafting tutorials, fitness and meditation classes and more. For instance, to help working parents strike a better work-life balance during the pandemic, Goodway even offers company-led virtual childcare, tutoring services and kid-friendly events.
Goodway Cares
Through our nonprofit Goodway Cares, we were able to give back to the less fortunate who were rocked by the effects of COVID-19 by donating to a variety of causes close to our heart.
Front and center at Goodway will always be our people, and that’s why we’ll always lead the pack when it comes to continually strengthening our supportive work environment and unique company culture, within the U.S. and now internationally too. Interested in joining Goodway? See what else makes us different. Check out our job opportunities and apply today.