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OPINION
Patel, Greene & Associates, LLC celebrating their No. 1 Best Firms To Work For win in the 100-199 Employees cateogry at the 2024 ElevateAEC Awards Gala.
Mind the gap
A t Zweig Group, we’ve always believed that culture drives performance. But when you dig into the data, the relationship between employee experience and firm profitability becomes even clearer – and more actionable. What high-profit 2025 Best Firms To Work For do differently to earn employee trust, loyalty, and performance.
We recently analyzed sentiment data from our 2025 Best Firms To Work For survey , zeroing in on the differences in employee sentiment between firms with very high profit (15 percent or higher) and those with low profit/loss (4.9 percent or less). The goal was simple: identify which workplace factors have the biggest perception gap – and therefore the greatest opportunity for firms looking to level up both culture and bottom line. JOB SECURITY AND TRUST IN LEADERSHIP. The largest gap of all came down to one powerful word: security. Employees at very high-profit firms feel significantly more secure in their roles – scoring a full 0.76 points higher than peers in low-profit firms when asked if they feared a downsizing event in the coming year. That level of confidence has ripple effects throughout the organization. When employees aren’t constantly bracing for impact, they’re more willing to take initiative, speak up, and engage meaningfully.
But that sense of security doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s closely tied to confidence in leadership – another top-gap factor. Employees at high-profit firms are far more likely to believe their leadership team is steering the firm toward a successful future. This speaks to clear communication, strategic direction, and transparency – things that aren’t always visible on a balance sheet, but are deeply felt inside a firm. COMPENSATION AND RECOGNITION. Unsurprisingly, money matters – but not just in the way you think. Yes, bonus frequency and bonus amount were two of the biggest differentiators, with top firms scoring 0.71 and 0.66 points higher, respectively. But equally important was recognition for extraordinary effort, a metric that had nearly as wide a gap. High-profit firms have built systems that consistently
Kyle Ahern
See KYLE AHERN, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER JUNE 23, 2025, ISSUE 1591
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