Our 300+ employees have spoken: The Wills Group is a great place to work.
We’re proud to announce that we were recently awarded Great Place to Work® Certification — an honor granted to only the nation’s top employers in 2022 that offer exceptional employee experiences.
At the Wills Group, we’re committed to enhancing our employees’ lives at home and at work. We pride ourselves in offering a robust benefits package that’s packed with both the essentials and unique perks that strengthen our employee’s personal well-being and professional growth.
From a business perspective, Great Place to Work® is a great way for us to express to potential new hires what they can expect from our company and culture. It’s a globally recognized brand with a certification process that’s backed by research and honest feedback by employees – so candidates know they can trust it.
Candidates are drawn to workplaces with great company culture, and we offer that at the Wills Group. The Great Place to Work badge shows job hunters that our staff approve of our leadership, values, and goals. It signifies that our people like showing up for work and feel empowered to perform their best every day, and we’re here to support them both in the office and at home.
From an employee perspective, the familiar red badge is proof that people love working for the Wills Group and our family of businesses, including Dash In, Splash In ECO Car Wash, and SMO Motor Fuels.
Our team feels the distinction and pride of working for a Great Place to Work winner, and that pride is evident in our successful and collaborative approach to serving the communities in which we live and work across the Mid-Atlantic region.
The Certification Process
Our path to Great Place to Work® certification was a multi-week process. We started by surveying our employees using Great Place to Work’s employee experience platform, which anonymously gauges employee satisfaction in a quantifiable and actionable way.
The survey seeks to analyze the level of trust between management and employees. It achieves this by asking questions to measure the attitudes, perceptions, and opinions of employees with regards to credibility, fairness, respect, pride and camaraderie.
We are humbled by the results of the survey, showing that 82% of staff say that the Wills Group is a great place to work. Compare this to a typical U.S. company where only 57% report enjoying their workplace.
Other notable results include:
- 90% of employees report that they feel good about the way Wills Group contributes to the community
- 88% say our facility contributes to a good-working environment
- 88% say they were made to feel welcome when they joined the company
- 87% say they are given a lot of responsibility
- 87% say they are able to take time off of work when needed
The second part of the certification process consists of a culture audit. The audit is a series of high-level questions tasked with qualifying the Wills Group’s culture with respect to trust, values, leadership effectiveness, innovation, development and diversity.
What Great Place to Work® Means to Us
As beneficial as Great Place to Work certification is for recruiting top talent, we love hearing feedback from our current team. It’s a chance for us to learn what’s working well, and what areas we need to improve upon.
An 82% approval rating from our employees is proof that we’ve built something special. And our work’s not done. We’re continually exploring ways to improve our employees’ well-being and professional development.
For instance, we recently expanded our 401k program by opening it up to all Wills Group team members. Plus, contributions to a 401k qualify for a 7% corporate match. This benefit defies industry standards and shows that we’re committed to helping our staff build a financial foundation that will support them during their retired years.
Making this change company-wide was a no-brainer. Our staff live in the communities we serve, and we want our communities and our staff to thrive – what we refer to as keeping Lives in Motion.
Other financial wellness perks include a profit sharing program in which employees can benefit from the company’s performance. We also provide healthcare reimbursements, paid parental leave, pet insurance, life insurance, free consults with a financial planner, and more.
We’ve also made enormous strides in our professional development offerings. Staff interested in pursuing an undergraduate or graduate program are eligible for 100% tuition reimbursement. We also offer leadership training to interested employees and have partnered with GEDWorks to help team members complete their GED.
Beyond our best-in-class benefits, the Wills Group offers numerous perks like yoga classes, annual community volunteer days, and hybrid work-from-home and office options.
Closing
Exceptional company cultures are made from more than just benefits and perks. They’re born from the trust and mutual respect shared between management and employees. From the pride and work ethic that comes from believing in something greater than yourself. And from the sense of community that grows out of genuine care for colleagues and customers alike. These are the key components of what makes a company a great place to work.
