FORTUNate to have an award-winning culture

Earlier today, we received wonderful news. For the 14th year in a row, Plante Moran has been named to FORTUNE magazine’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For.”

As a firm, we pride ourselves on being a great place to work. For nearly 90 years, Plante Moran has been synonymous with our “we-care” culture, treating others as we’d like to be treated, and for being “relatively jerk-free.” (There’s a great story behind that last part; firm co-founder Frank Moran was fond of referring to Plante Moran as a “jerk-free” workplace. One staff member pointed out that we can all be jerks on occasion, which caused Frank to modify the statement to “relatively jerk-free.”) It’s incredibly validating to learn that our relatively jerk-free firm is once again on the list—especially since two-thirds of the total score are based on staff responses to an anonymous survey covering everything from culture to communication to community service. Each year is more exciting than the last, and having this kind of longevity—especially when most companies only remain on the list for an average of three years—is remarkable.

It’s important, however, to emphasize that we don’t strive to create a good workplace to receive “top workplace” awards; we receive the awards as an outcome of what we do. Stated differently, we’re not defined by how the outside world measures our accomplishments; instead, we’re defined by our core values that form the foundation of those accomplishments and enable us to succeed.

We, at Plante Moran, are very fortunate. We have a great group of remarkable staff. We work with exciting, challenging clients. And we get to do it at a firm with a culture unlike any other company out there. Today and every day, I feel very fortunate indeed.

Now let’s hear from you. What do you enjoy most about working at your organization? What makes you feel fortunate?