At the accounting firm of Dunton & Associates LLC, the mission statement is more than a framed poster on the wall, according to Administrator Barbie Kolb.
That mission statement focuses on creating long-lasting client relationships and attracting and retaining employees who share a commitment to excellence and professionalism and, "above all, to glorify God in everything we do, " Kolb says.
And based on its company values of integrity, people focus, positive attitude, client services orientation and ownership, Dunton's mission permeates its corporate culture.
The firm revisits the mission often: in regular 360-degree evaluations for employees and supervisors; employee goal-setting for annual and 90-day terms; and especially in its work environment, policies and employee benefits.
Dunton & Associates is flexible - and therefore family friendly - in its scheduling.
"We don't say you can come in an hour late and then work an hour late," Kolb says. "We say you can get your time in whenever it works for you as long as the clients are served."
If an employee needs to take off an afternoon, or a whole day, because a child is playing baseball out of town, the company is fine with that.
"We actually give everyone a laptop and the ability to work from anywhere inside or outside the office so they can make up those hours anytime they want," Kolb says.
For senior accountant Melisa Porter, who celebrates 10 years with the company in December, that flexibility and trust is invaluable.
"We are treated as adults," she says.
"We get to make choices for ourselves, and as long as we're able to meet our clients' needs then we have the freedom to do it at our own pace and our way of doing it."
Dunton also offers a wide variety of traditional employee benefits. The company pays 100 percent of employee health insurance premiums.
The company also promotes employee health through discounted memberships to the YMCA and through office weight-off competitions.
The weight-off is an eight-week competition that awards weekly prizes, and at the end of the contest, the company awards $300 to the individuals who lost the most weight and the largest percentage of body weight, respectively.
Those who maintain their weight loss for eight weeks after the competition receive $50.
Besides yearly salary increases ranging from 3 percent to 9 percent, Dunton also offers retirement benefits through a savings incentive match plan for employees - or SIMPLE - individual retirement account, matching employee contributions up to 3 percent of salary. Enrollment is Jan. 1 of each year, and the only requirement is that the enrollee made at least $5,000 in the prior year.
The company works to develop its staff by paying for continuing education, and it offers weekly lunch-and-learn programs on soft skills such as time management and team-building.
Also, with 22 employees and only one partner, the potential for advancement is abundant, Kolb says.
"Our focus is absolutely on people: people who are employees and people who are clients," she adds. "We think those relationships are what make us unique."[[In-content Ad]]
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