NO. 1 MIDSIZE COMPANY
2-TIME WINNER
Automotive collision repair and painting firm based in Plano, with eight D-FW locations and 239 local employees.
As if vaulting from our No. 3 spot among small contestants in 2022 to No. 1 in this year’s midsize category weren’t enough, Texas Collision Centers also nabbed the Top Workplaces special award for going in the right direction. Employees at the Plano-based automotive collision repair and painting firm strongly agreed about its positive path forward, with one lauding the company’s “steady, measured growth that will produce a lot of upward mobility for many.”
Under co-owners and operators Jared Lennox and Daniel Michaelis, Texas Collision’s expansion has been driven in part by how it treats its employees. In addition to providing an array of benefits — including medical and dental, vacation and holiday pay, and a 401(k) with a matching contribution — the company hosts monthly shop luncheons with cash giveaways, and it regularly provides employees at each location with free ice cream and bakery treats.
The company also invites employees to an annual Christmas party and to a family-oriented picnic every April. Held at Flower Mound’s Circle R Ranch, the picnic features barbecue, face painters, a photo booth and deejays, plus free raffle chances to win dozens of prizes worth at least $300 each.
“We really make it an exciting time for the families to come together,” said Shyllo Michaelis, the company’s chief strategy officer. “When we do the presentations, we brag to the families, ‘Hey, thank you wives, thank you children, thank you husbands, for sharing your team with us,’ because they do spend so much time with us. It’s a way for us to really show our appreciation to the team.”
Employees told us the “good vibes” the company creates don’t go unnoticed. “The atmosphere at my shop is just the best,” said one. “Having a team that works together is just so unheard of lately.”
Said another, “I love my job, but the employees at my job help me love it even more. Rarely do you experience upper management, managers and employees inspiring and encouraging each other.”
Shyllo Michaelis shared that 14 “family units” — a father and son, for example — work at Texas Collision, and some of those families include three generations. That cohesiveness contributes to an employee turnover rate of just 10% to 15%, she explained, compared to an industry average of around 50%.
It all contributes to the company’s continued growth, which one employee said “lets me know we are doing something right.”