NO. 3 LARGE COMPANY
5-TIME WINNER
Private mortgage lending firm based in Madison, Wisconsin, with one D-FW office and 513 local workers.
Employee stock ownership plans, or ESOPs, are available at a relatively small number of private companies, and Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. is one of them. The privately held, Wisconsin-based residential mortgage firm, which has its local headquarters in Carrollton, has offered employees an ESOP for nearly a decade. ESOPs are employee benefit plans that put company stock into accounts for workers.
The benefit “allows employees to feel they’re part of the company — that there’s shared interest in the success of the company,” said Paola A. Kielblock, Fairway’s president of products. “When people feel like they own something, they treat it a little bit differently.”
In addition to perks like the ESOP — as well as opportunities to give back via two nonprofits, Fairway Cares and the military-oriented American Warrior Initiative — the company offers employees an “inclusive, family-focused” environment, Kielblock said.
Workers’ comments reflected an appreciation for Fairway’s approach:
- “At any given time, I am able to reach anyone in the company if needed.”
- “There are no closed doors.”
- “Everyone looks out for and takes care of each other and is happy to do so.”
- “I get to be my best and have the support to do my job.”
- “They care about their employees, and I love being part of the two nonprofits.”
- “I can be myself.”
- “Fairway talks the talk and walks the walk.”
Fairway Independent Mortgage won the Top Workplaces special award for training, with staffers giving it the highest score among all competitors on this survey question: I get the formal training I want for my career.
Each department has its own training programs, Kielblock said. Fairway also owns a coaching, consulting and training company called Fairway Ignite. The Ignite platform provides employees, producers and managers with certified trainers and coaches who help them reach “the next level,” both personally and professionally, Kielblock said.