The vast majority of employees at Jack Ball & Associates Architects PC are fresh out of college - some of them have never held a job before.
President Chris Ball, views this demographic as a challenge and an opportunity.
Ball says he views employees' life education as part of his mission as an employer. He wants them to set the stage for the rest of their lives - making healthy life choices a habit, developing a lifelong commitment to being active in the community and making responsible investment decisions from their very first day.
"You have to teach them all these things right up front ... so they do them for the rest of their lives," Ball says.
Ball, who says the company pays 100 percent of his employees' health insurance premiums, encourages an active lifestyle and team building by sponsoring exercise-based extracurricular activities such as sponsoring teams for the annual MS150 and Alzheimer's Walk and volleyball and softball teams.
There's also a bar in the company's on-site kitchen, where employees can whip up breakfast or lunch with a selection of low-carb protein powders, peanut butter and other add-ins.
Ball says he offers these healthy options because he remembers well the busy lifestyle of a young professional.
"I know for me that's when I really lost touch with my healthy habits," he says.
The opportunity in hiring fresh graduates is the ability to shape them to the corporate culture, which Ball described as being a relaxed, fun environment while still professional.
"I want people to enjoy coming to work," he says. "We're really flexible if people need time off."
That's an attitude that was particularly appealing for Jessica Pearson, the company's marketing director.
"When I had my daughter last November, (Ball) let me work from home two days a week for the first eight months," Pearson says. That gave her more time at home with her daughter and reduced day care expenses.
She also appreciates the staff's camaraderie.
"Chris works really hard to encourage the employees to interact in and out of the office," Pearson says. "We watch TV shows over lunch, play games, and I don't know that you'd find that in other offices."
The firm - which ranked No. 1,077 on the Inc. 5000 in 2008 - also offers 401(k) plans with a 100 percent match for the first 6 percent of salary contributed to the plan. The compnay's 401(k) plan is open to all employees after a 90-day probationary period, and there's also a profit-sharing plan that's tied to the company's success so that everyone has a stake in the business, Ball says.
To ensure his employees' professional development, Ball holds in-house lunch seminars at least once a month, and pays for employees to join the local American Institute of Architects chapter and attend events that provide continuing education.
"He really does care about his employees," Pearson says.[[In-content Ad]]
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