SPECIAL REPORT 2021 VIRGINIA BUSINESS BEST PLACES TO WORK A shot in the arm
Best practices help winning companies fight pandemic
by Stephenie Overman V
irginia’s Best Places to Work were hit by the consequences of COVID-19 just like every other
business this year. But characteristics that won them the “best places” title — including flexibility, great benefits and distinctive cultures — are sustaining them through the lengthy pandemic. Since 2011, Virginia Business and
Pennsylvania-based Best Companies Group have collaborated to identify the commonwealth’s best workplaces. One hundred companies were chosen for the 2021 Best Places to Work list in three categories: small, midsize and large busi- nesses. (See selection process on Page 34.) One of those best companies —
ThunderCat Technology LLC — has always embraced the motto “work hard, play hard,” says co-founder and CEO Tom Deierlein. Before the pandemic hit, the Reston-based federal IT contractor hosted family picnics, arranged trips to sporting events and even sponsored a sky diving outing. During the pandemic, the company is
maintaining its emphasis on “performance, community, family and fun,” Deierlein says, by hosting virtual events such as a “funny hat happy hour” and a T-shirt design con- test for employees’ children. ThunderCat has continued its community involvement by providing meals to local health care pro- fessionals and donating to food pantries. ThunderCat’s nearly 100 employees
made what Deierlein describes as a seam- less move to teleworking when the corona- virus hit because employees had experience working from home and because “we have always had a results-only work environ- ment where people are expected to get their job done without regard to ‘time in the office.’ … We have never really been a 9-to-5 company.”
Photos courtesy ThunderCat Technology LLC, Total Quality Logistics
Employee engagement Total Quality Logistics, a Cincinnati-
based freight brokerage firm that works with more than 85,000 carriers, is known for an open office environment full of “high energy team members,” says Corey Drushal, its marketing and culture manager. The company’s approximately 5,000
employees, including about 70 workers in Virginia, had not worked from home before the pandemic, so making the switch to teleworking was a big challenge. “It was all hands on deck. We had to
think quickly and change course,” Drushal says. “What allowed us to do that is our culture. Our philosophy is that employees
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come first, so the question was, how can we make sure they are taken care of?” As a result of the company’s philosophy, “the level of transparency has been really high. So has the level of trust.” Total Quality Logistics is particularly
ThunderCat Technology LLC easily transitioned to remote work, says CEO Tom Deierlein. “We have never really been a 9-to-5 company.”
Drushal
proud of its commitment to volunteerism and to giving back to the community, she adds. When employees couldn’t volunteer in person due to pandemic restrictions, the company concentrated on its Moves That Matter program, which coordinates the
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