Power Play

Seattle-based Omnidian has become a national powerhouse in clean energy since its launch in 2017.

The provider of performance-assurance contracts in the solar-power arena today has some 185 employees nationwide, including 75 in Washington, plus a national network of 200 external field-service providers.

“We guarantee that the (solar-power) asset is working,” says Mark Liffmann, cofounder and CEO of Omnidian. “We monitor it, we provide the maintenance and then we provide that performance guarantee — which means we guarantee the energy output over the course of a year.”

Omnidian — a top award winner in this year’s 100 Best Companies to Work For — serves residential clients and commercial business of all sizes. The company does not release exact figures, but Liffmann says Omnidian now has “thousands of residential accounts and thousands of commercial rooftops, including (contracts covering) some of the largest systems on commercial rooftops in the country.”

Liffmann added that the company’s mission is “to protect and accelerate investments in clean energy” via its performance-assurance contracts. He stressed, however, that none of that is possible absent “passionate teams, technology and a great client experience.

“And it’s passionate teams that is a really important part of that,” he adds. “You’ve got to have passionate (workforce) teams because they’re the ones who serve the clients. “We’re part of building a cleaner-energy future], so that I think drives a lot of that passion.”

To continue fueling the passion day to day, however, Liffmann says the company also relies heavily on ensuring its employees understand and internalize Omnidian’s core values, which he describes as the “bedrock of what we have built the company on.

“We delight our clients, we trust our teammates, and we invest in our people,” Liffmann says. “We reward results, we treat everyone with dignity and respect, and we behave ethically and honestly. It’s pretty straightforward. It’s that foundation of great people and great culture built on the bedrock of strong values that allows us to successfully grow and change over time.”

Omnidian offers employees a range of programs and events, including a companywide half-day of volunteering once or twice a year; team and cross-team regional in-person gatherings; CEO open-office hours via Zoom; and a travel benefit when accessing health care services not offered within a 50-mile radius of the employee’s home — including abortion and gender-affirming medical treatment.

Employees who help to elevate the company’s culture through various projects, including mentorships, are rewarded via a quarterly bonus program. All employees are offered the option of working 100% remotely. In terms of recruiting, Omnidian works with several community-based partners to offer internships and job opportunities to military veterans as well as to black and indigenous people of color.

Omnidian, which is venture-capital backed — having raised about $60 million cumulatively to date — also offers employees stock options. “I like to remind people when we have to make decisions that they’re making this decision not just as an employee,” he says, “but as an owner, too.”

Liffmann says one of the biggest challenges of the Covid era we all now live in has been adjusting to the challenges of maintaining employee engagement in a remote-work context. He says it’s simply harder to “build trust and a sense of belonging.”

“I don’t know that there’s a magic bullet,” he says. “We seem to be doing well there. But you can’t just dial it in and keep doing the same thing. You have to see what’s working and what’s not working, and then figure out, ‘How do I make this better?’”

Omnidian is clearly succeeding.