Best Companies: Q&A with John Willis of Parametrix  

What does it take to be voted one of the “best companies to work for in Seattle?” That depends on who you ask, of course, as everyone has a different measurement of what makes a great boss, team, and work environment. Seattle Business magazine went straight to the source, asking executives at five of the highest-scoring companies in the annual Best Companies To Work For survey about what makes their workplaces stand out among the rest—from summer boat outings and holiday activities, to an emphasis on creating a collaborative in-office culture where everyone feels like they are adding value to the team.  

Below, John Willis CEO of civil engineering firm Parametrix, talks about employee ownership, flexible work location, and the benefits of a collaborative workforce. 

Seattle Business magazine: How do you build a positive working culture at your company? 

John Willis: Being 100% employee-owned plays an outsized role in our positive culture. We have a shared purpose and accountability among our employee-owners. It also helps that our work is grounded in meaningful values like sustainability and community impact, giving employee-owners a sense of pride and purpose. Our core values of integrity, compassion, collaboration, fun, inclusion, client service, and employee-ownership guide everything we do. 

How does your company support employees in their career development? 

Parametrix offers tuition assistance and reimbursement for professional certifications and memberships, alongside unique career paths for employee-owners at all levels, including internships and early-career resource groups. We also provide mentoring, leadership training, and ongoing career development opportunities to support employee-owners in their professional growth.

What is your in-office versus work-from-home policy? 

Our work location policy is flexible and considers individual roles, performance, and business needs. Each position and client requires a range of in person presence for client service, collaboration, and project delivery purposes. We’re proud of our approach to work with individual employee-owners to offer work-from-home or hybrid arrangements when possible. While we offer flexible arrangements, we value opportunities to collaborate in person when possible.  

How important is cross-team and departmental collaboration? 

Collaboration, one of our core values, is at the heart of everything we do. We offer a diverse range of disciplines, including engineers, planners, scientists, landscape architects, construction managers, and surveyors, which requires strong interdisciplinary collaboration to deliver successful projects. As we’ve expanded geographically and in our service offerings, we’ve prioritized connection across offices, regions, and divisions to bring the greatest value to our clients.  

How do you build trust with employees? 

The ESOP structure gives each employee-owner a stake in the company and aligns interests with company success, promoting shared commitment, transparency, and accountability. 

We proudly share the entirety of our monthly financial results with employee-owners, who get an inside look at how we’re doing and understanding of our decision making. 

Each quarter we host a virtual company update where employee-owners can ask any questions they have about our company. I, along with our Enterprise Leadership Team, have an open-door policy and encourage employee-owners to speak with us directly. 

Overall, having accessible leadership and an open-book financial policy creates transparency and builds trust. 

What are some fun perks you provide employees? 

Fun is one of our core values and it’s an important way that we foster a collaborative culture at Parametrix. Each October, we host an Employee-Ownership Celebration, which brings all of our employee-owners, plus one guest, together in one location to celebrate all that we’ve accomplished together. In addition, we host Share the Vision, a new employee-owner orientation that is held in person and features fun activities, like a t-shirt design contest. Our offices also host events throughout the year, such as our annual United Way fundraisers, including a pie in the face event.