I don’t know exactly how long folks like Kenley Penner and Christina Hardy have been employed at Plante Moran in St. Joseph’s Edgewater District, but I’m pretty sure that I can safely say that they have worked for one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For for the majority of their working careers if not since their very beginning. For the 20th consecutive year, Plante Moran — one of the nation’s largest certified public accounting and business advisory firms — has been named to Fortune Magazine’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For.”
The full list, which was announced last week, ranks Plante Moran No. 20 and will appear in the March 1st issue of Fortune magazine (www.fortune.com). In fact, Plante Moran has been named to the prestigious list each year it has applied. Kenley Penner is Managing Partner at the St. Joseph office at 511 Renaissance Drive in St. Joseph, and Christina Hardy is a Senior Associate there.
Another Managing Partner Jim Proppe says, “Twenty years feels like a lifetime ago, but the powerful culture we had then has not changed.” He adds, “Fast forward to today, and the culture that puts our staff and our clients at the center of everything that we do has propelled our growth, while allowing us to stay true to our principles.”
Since 1999 when Plante Moran first appeared on the Fortune list, the firm has more than tripled its staff, increased revenue by more than 500-percent, and expanded to 20 offices throughout Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio, along with international locations in Mexico, China, India, and Japan. The firm now serves clients in all 50 U.S. states and 124 countries. Throughout this growth, the firm has shown that its “We Care” culture stands the test of time and change.
As Proppe says, “Growth and change are necessary to maintain a successful business.” He notes, “Growth is not only how we offer new and enhanced service to clients; it’s also how we provide opportunities for our staff. If we’re not growing, we’re standing still.”
While Plante Moran is focused on growth, the firm is careful not to leave behind its most valuable asset: its people. From innovation groups and an open suggestion process, to staff surveys and a culture of piloting programs before adoption, the firm encourages staff to drive the firm’s growth and change.
Plante Moran was founded on the understanding that most successful organizations not only develop, mentor, and reward their staff, but they also listen. This philosophy has led to a firm culture that promotes staff development, retention and a focus on client service. The result is highly motivated staff providing exceptional client service.
Proppe suggests, “The world has changed, technology has changed, our firm has changed — but our culture and commitment to staff and clients is unwavering.”
Plante Moran is among the nation’s largest accounting, tax and consulting firms and provides a full line of services to organizations in the following industries:
- Manufacturing and distribution
- Financial institutions
- Service
- Health care
- Private equity
- Public sector
- Real estate
- Construction.
Plante Moran has a staff of more than 2,200 professionals in offices throughout Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois with international offices in Shanghai, China; Monterrey, Mexico; Mumbai, India; and Tokyo, Japan. Plante Moran has been recognized by a number of organizations, including Fortune magazine, as one of the country’s best places to work. For more information, visit plantemoran.com.
Great Place to Work is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services, and certification programs, including Best Workplaces lists and workplace reviews, Great Place to Work provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures. In the United States, Great Place to Work produces the annual Fortune “100 Best Companies to Work For” list and a series of Great Place to Work Best Workplaces lists including lists for Millennials, Women, Diversity, Small and Medium Companies and over a half dozen different industry lists.
Great Place to Work U.S. measures companies on the following characteristics:
- Great Place to Work for All
- Executive team effectiveness
- Innovation
- People-focused programs
In a Great Place to Work for All, employees report high levels of trust, credible and respectful leadership, pride in the work, and camaraderie. They also look to see that employees consistently experience this great workplace, regardless of who they are or what they do. Each company is scored on an analysis of anonymous employee responses to more than 50 survey questions on a Trust Index Survey, together with an evaluation of company programs and practices as measured through a Culture Audit assessment.
More than 315,000 employees provided feedback to determine the winners of the 2018 list. To be considered, companies needed to have at least 1,000 employees and receive enough survey responses to achieve a 95-percent confidence level with no more than a 5-percent margin of error.
