Feature
STERLING STRUCTURE Winners of the fourth annual DBusiness Corporate Culture Awards are proving that a satisfied and empowered workforce equals success. BY TIM KEENAN
C
“
INNOVATIVE CULTURE
ulture is the soul of an organization,” according to a recent wide-ranging report from the Gallup organization titled “Empowering Workplace Culture Through Recognition.” “Organizations accelerate toward their goals when they define and reinforce the values and causes that motivate employees to give their best every day,” the report states. “In this way, a strong culture acts both as a catalyst to generate engagement and as a road map to channel that engagement in a way that best serves an organization’s goals and mission.” The DBusiness Corporate Culture Awards, now in their fourth year, recognize those companies in the metro Detroit region that employees believe are doing their best to empower, educate, reward, and inspire the overall team. The awards honor overall Corporate Culture champions, one from the ranks of small businesses and the other for medium-tolarge companies. The program also recognizes winners in individual categories such as Most Innovative Culture and Customer-Focused Culture, as well as Workplace Décor and Amenities,
Compensation and Benefits, Career Advancement, Teamwork and Collaboration, Workplace Flexibility, Community Engagement, and Leadership. “When organizations don’t have a clear purpose or culture that unites their employees, it can feel like the only reason work is done is to make money,” the Gallup report asserts. “While ‘money’ and ‘profit’ are essential to the success of an organization, focusing disproportionately on financial outcomes and neglecting the journey to achieve them can cast an organization adrift without an identity.”
CORPORATE CULTURE CHAMPIONS
The overall Corporate Culture Champion among small businesses is Pophouse Design in Detroit. The company’s 20 employees work in a 5,000-square-foot space in the historic David Stott Building that was designed with their input for optimum productivity and comfort. “In the process of building out our headquarters, we interviewed everyone on our team,” says Jennifer Janus, founder and principal of Pophouse Design. “We tried to figure out the environment that they’re going to want to do work in. As a result, we have most
CUSTOMER-FOCUSED CULTURE WORKPLACE DÉCOR COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS CAREER ADVANCEMENT TEAMWORK WORKPLACE FLEXIBILITY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT LEADERSHIP 56 DBUSINESS || MARCH - APRIL 2025
OVERALL CHAMPIONS The Lockton team at a Detroit Tigers game.