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Prioritizing Culture & Community | Sponsored
By Seattle Business Magazine January 10, 2023
When you work for a service-based business, its success is the product of its employees. If you are reading this and doubting that fact, it might be a sign to seek change. One local business in Kent understands how important this is by prioritizing efforts to promote individual employee and team appreciation, leading to being featured on Seattle Business Magazine’s Best Companies list for the past 3 years.
Barghausen Consulting Engineers, Inc., is a multidisciplinary firm focused on providing civil engineering and land development expertise for clients across the United States. Its growing team of more than 200 includes experienced engineers, surveyors, planners, architects, energy system designers, permitting experts, landscape architects and administrative professionals.
This consulting firm is not shy about investing in its employees. Barghausen recently made significant changes for its people, including enhancing the benefits package, maximizing employee rewards and clearly defining the firm’s mission.
One of the more notable improvements was its 401K retirement match. The company previously provided a dollar-for-dollar match on up to 4% of employee retirement contributions. It doubled their match percentage to provide a 200% match on that 4%, bringing the total employer contribution up to 8%.
Barghausen also introduced “Half-Day Fridays,” an annual program that runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The program allows employees to stack and flex their hours for a four-hour workday on Fridays. The firm closes its doors at 12:00 PM noon on Fridays, encouraging employees to have a healthy work-life balance.
Employee health is another benefit Barghausen takes seriously. Medical, dental, vision, disability and life insurance are all offered at no cost for full-time employees. The company pays 100% of employee monthly premiums and 50% of monthly dependent premiums.
Other benefits include 120 to 160 hours of paid time off based on tenure, free gym memberships and free tickets to Seahawks, Mariners, Kraken and Sounders games, along with hosting free after-hours events for employees to connect outside of work (44 events hosted in 2022). Barghausen also celebrates employee growth by financing licenses, certifications, training and other educational opportunities for individual roles. More than 30 employees were promoted from within in 2022, with six earning licensing and certifications to further their career growth.
To read more about Barghausen’s benefits or apply for an open position, please visit www.barghausen.com/careers or reach out to [email protected] .