The Miller Group

Here’s but one measure of how thoroughly we’ve scrubbed religious aspects from business life: The Miller Group stands alone among candidates in this program’s history to invoke a higher authority in its contest application: “God and family come first” is the prime directive for the south Kansas City company with 60 employees. “The Miller Group personifies the type of company that walks the talk,” says Chris Charlton, director of marketing. “They treat their employees with respect; they service their customers with the highest degree of professionalism; and they give back to the community more than any employer in Kansas City.” That last part is harder to quantify, but The Miller Group’s embrace of corporate tithing is indeed a rarity: “We give our time, talent, and at least 10 percent of our profits to the community,” Charlton notes. That approach, says chairman Sean Miller, comes from living the principles of your faith. “Were not a social service agency,” he says, “we would rather be giving good jobs to people so they can take care of their families” than see them cared for by charitable organizations, no matter how noble their cause. “It puts pressure on you as an employer,” Miller says of making faith a centerpiece of the value system. “I’ve had people challenge me on it, and ask ‘Why we would do this or that? It’s outside our core values.’ So I’m glad it’s part of their belief structure as employees, as well.” The 51-year-old private insurance brokerage builds from a competitive wage and salary base, but also incorporates a share-the-wealth mentality with finders’ fees paid to employees for new business referrals, healthy bonuses of $1,500 up to a whopping $10,000 for referring new associates to the group, and the monthly “Spin for Cash” gathering that literally piles some of the profits on the table in a popular employee competition. They take care of their own with an employee-assistance fund to help with personal emergencies, contributions made without Miller’s participation. All of that is channeled into bottom-line success; the company has grown 400 percent over the past decade, and it boasts a client-retention rate of 97 percent.

Digital Evolution Group

At Digital Evolution Group, employees are the most valuable asset, and you only realize the ROI on that if you create an environment where their ideas can take root. The company’s “best idea wins” philosophy means any associate—regardless of rank, tenure, or scope of responsibility—has the management’s backing to suggest new tactics, technologies and business products and services that provide superior results for clients. You can trace that kind of thinking right back to founder and CEO Neal Sharma. “Our core values were developed collaboratively, and during every new associate’s first week here at DEG, I sit down with them and we talk about those values, how we arrived at them, and what they truly mean to us,” he said. “The hope is that not only are those values responsible for DEG’s success, but that they transcend DEG’s success—meaning that these are attitudes that we exhibit in every part of our lives.” What’s that look like in practice? Doing the right thing in any given situation, Sharma said, exceeding expectations at every opportunity, demonstrating expertise, maximizing the potential of every associate, and collaborating effectively to benefit the company. But it also means “taking enough time away from work to be interesting and well-rounded people,” he said.

In addition to boilerplate benefits such as competitive pay and an unusually generous medical insurance plan—100 percent company-paid—Digital Evolution offers a 401(k) plan, flex spending accounts, and discounted gym memberships and corporate wellness programs. Here’s a standout perk, though: To encourage the same passion for travel in employees that the officers possess, associates who complete a fifth year of service receive two round-trip plane tickets—good for any destination in the continental United States.

Those are nice, Sharma says, “but what really sets us apart is that we are a place where you are empowered to become what you want to become. We’ve never been about punching the clock or just doing the work that’s on your desk on that particular day. We champion the person who sees an opportunity for themselves, for us, or for a client and capitalizes on it.”

SFP

Larry Sanders looks back 13 years with the hindsight of a true entrepreneur: “As a startup company, the best and only asset we could acquire quickly was people,” says the founder and CEO of SFP, a company that revolutionized products to improve crop yields. “We knew we needed the best people in their fields and they would have to be willing to take a chance on an untested company. It was because of these things that we realized we needed to offer the best salaries and benefits in our industry.”

The success of that strategy for the rapid-growth company based in Leawood, he said, “formed our ideals that there were really only two things that we needed to be successful: the best people and the best products.” The company has grown to 47 employees, but it hasn’t changed Sanders’ outlook. “What sets us apart is not just the understanding that everyone in the company has a role to play, but that that role is directly linked to the success of the company,” he said. Does it work? Judge for yourself: In 14 years, nobody has voluntarily left the company.

Among the other factors for that are an above-average salary structure for this market, full health and dental insurance programs, pre-paid flexible-spending accounts, paid fitness center memberships—for employees and family alike—and matching 401(k) retirement plan. They don’t use the term “SFP family” loosely; in addition to the fitness-center perks, SFP also offers company workers—and their children—a stipend for additional education outside the company. The corporate culture is casual while emphasizing innovation. SFP promotes team-building by reaching out to the community through various activities including: volunteering to sort food together at Harvester’s, hosting blood donation drives, and adopting families at Christmas and wrapping the gifts together. All of that is packaged within a casual atmosphere that promotes eating lunch together in the company kitchen, celebrates employee birthdays with a luncheon monthly, and organizes fantasy football leagues.

“SFP offers all of our employees the opportunity to be manager of their area of expertise, and we encourage everyone to take hold of what they do and really make something special and vital of it,” Sanders said. “So we not only offer benefits and salaries to our employees, we invite them to participate fully in our success and walk out the door every day knowing that individually, they made a difference.”