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Meet the Madison area's Top Workplaces in 2020
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Meet the Madison area's Top Workplaces in 2020

  • Mar 22, 2020
  • Mar 22, 2020 Updated May 10, 2023

Madison’s strong economy, marked by its diversity, workforce and historically low unemployment, is a fertile seedbed for new-company innovation and place for well-established businesses to thrive. These companies are doing just that, according to their employees.

(27) updates to this series since Updated May 10, 2023

Madison-area firms show variety, innovation

Madison’s strong economy, marked by its diversity, workforce and historically low unemployment, is a fertile seedbed for new-company innovation and place for well-established businesses to thrive.

Employees choose Top Workplaces through survey

Employees choose Top Workplaces through survey

Who determines Top Workplaces? The best judges: the employees who work there.

2020 Top Workplaces Chart

2020 Top Workplaces Chart

No. 1 LARGE | SUMMIT CREDIT UNION  Summit builds talent, cultivates a culture of helping members

No. 1 LARGE | SUMMIT CREDIT UNION Summit builds talent, cultivates a culture of helping members

Engaged leadership, a culture of building employee skills and a commitment to helping members boosted Summit Credit Union to the top spot among large firms in this year’s Top Workplaces project.

NO. 2 LARGE | KWIK TRIP INC. Kwik Trip picky in hiring, generous in rewarding employees

NO. 2 LARGE | KWIK TRIP INC. Kwik Trip picky in hiring, generous in rewarding employees

Working in a convenience store isn’t always seen as desirable, but Kwik Trip officials say their employee benefits and choosiness in hiring have helped redefine that image for the 680-store chain.

NO. 3 LARGE | EVCO PLASTICS Plastics firm values the people who optimize technology

NO. 3 LARGE | EVCO PLASTICS Plastics firm values the people who optimize technology

EVCO Plastics, a third-generation family company, believes that the power of technology is unleashed by the right human touch.

NO. 4 LARGE | TDS TELECOMMUNICATIONS Tradition of investing in employees pays dividends for TDS

NO. 4 LARGE | TDS TELECOMMUNICATIONS Tradition of investing in employees pays dividends for TDS

In 1969, when LeRoy Carlson started what today is TDS Telecommunications, he was a believer in investing in employees – a value that company officials say continues as the firm enters its 51st year.

NO. 5 LARGE | WAUNAKEE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Embracing community values leads to strong, effective schools

NO. 5 LARGE | WAUNAKEE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT Embracing community values leads to strong, effective schools

The Waunakee Community School District draws its identity and its workplace culture from the community it serves.

EXECUTIVE Q&A/ANNA STERN, TRI-NORTH BUILDERS INC. VICE PRESIDENT Builder stresses the importance of workplace culture

EXECUTIVE Q&A/ANNA STERN, TRI-NORTH BUILDERS INC. VICE PRESIDENT Builder stresses the importance of workplace culture

Tri-North Builders Inc. was founded in Madison in 1981 as a general contracting firm and has continuously expanded services to offer pre-construction, general construction, construction management, design-build, independent cost estimating and green-building consulting services.

Culture is vital to attracting, retaining top employees

Culture is vital to attracting, retaining top employees

Finding qualified, talented employees is a tough job in a low-employment landscape such as Madison’s – but keeping them is also a major challenge that cuts to the heart of a workplace’s culture.

NO. 1 MIDSIZE | SENIOR HELPERS Caregivers, clients share goal of keeping seniors at home

NO. 1 MIDSIZE | SENIOR HELPERS Caregivers, clients share goal of keeping seniors at home

Taking care of the caregivers is one of the ways that Senior Helpers built a culture of compassion among its 160 employees.

NO. 2 MIDSIZE | FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE CORPORATION Fairway thrives on humility, succeeds through customer service

NO. 2 MIDSIZE | FAIRWAY INDEPENDENT MORTGAGE CORPORATION Fairway thrives on humility, succeeds through customer service

The first job at Fairway Independent Mortgage is humility.

NO. 3 MIDSIZE | AMTELCO Family, personal touches make Amtelco a Top Workplace

NO. 3 MIDSIZE | AMTELCO Family, personal touches make Amtelco a Top Workplace

Amtelco, a 44-year-old family-owned company, builds its corporate culture on a foundation of treating its employees, its customers and its community like family.

NO. 4 MIDSIZE | THE DOUGLAS STEWART COMPANY Teamwork, respect, accountability mark distributor’s success

NO. 4 MIDSIZE | THE DOUGLAS STEWART COMPANY Teamwork, respect, accountability mark distributor’s success

When The Douglas Stewart Company took on a demanding new contract last year, everybody chipped in by working long hours and weekends – including its executives and their families.

NO. 5 MIDSIZE | FIRST CHOICE DENTAL GROUP Workplace flexibility, employee support boost patient care

NO. 5 MIDSIZE | FIRST CHOICE DENTAL GROUP Workplace flexibility, employee support boost patient care

Kevin Klagos has a simple formula for success in dentistry: Take care of your employees and they will reflect that same care with their patients.

EXECUTIVE Q&A/MATTHEW GONNERING, CEO, WIDEN ENTERPRISES INC.  Goal-setting, transparency power Widen

EXECUTIVE Q&A/MATTHEW GONNERING, CEO, WIDEN ENTERPRISES INC. Goal-setting, transparency power Widen

Widen Enterprises Inc. builds software that empowers organizations to create compelling, meaningful and measurable digital experiences.

Midsize firms build high-performing workplaces

Midsize firms build high-performing workplaces

From groceries to financial services, the midsize company category generated a range of highly ranked firms, whose dynamic approach to workplace culture earned them a spot in Top Workplaces.

EXECUTIVE Q&A/KIM LOBDELL, KL ENGINEERING OWNER & PRESIDENT Work-life balance, customer service key to firm’s culture

EXECUTIVE Q&A/KIM LOBDELL, KL ENGINEERING OWNER & PRESIDENT Work-life balance, customer service key to firm’s culture

KL Engineering provides civil engineering services built around a specialization in transportation engineering.

Innovation, involvement are trademarks of Top Workplaces

Innovation, involvement are trademarks of Top Workplaces

The companies recognized in the Wisconsin State Journal’s Top Workplaces project this year possess not only vibrant workplace cultures, but interesting histories, practices and approaches to community service.

NO. 1 SMALL | HORIZON DEVELOP BUILD MANAGE Building a workplace on a foundation of empowerment

NO. 1 SMALL | HORIZON DEVELOP BUILD MANAGE Building a workplace on a foundation of empowerment

Dan Fitzgerald believes that enabling employees to make decisions – and learn from mistakes – drives the culture at Horizon Develop Build Manage, providing the underpinning of a Top Workplace.

No. 2 SMALL | SHINE UNITED Workplace culture shines at a downtown advertising firm

No. 2 SMALL | SHINE UNITED Workplace culture shines at a downtown advertising firm

Keeping creative minds engaged at the brand-building firm Shine United involves both empowering and rewarding employees.

NO. 3 SMALL | ABODO Trust, pay, benefits ignite workplace success at Abodo

NO. 3 SMALL | ABODO Trust, pay, benefits ignite workplace success at Abodo

Feeding employees’ ambitions to change a company and an industry, trust and fair compensation are the foundation of the culture at Abodo, an online rental marketplace with a national reach.

NO. 4 SMALL|PROPELLER HEALTH Propeller Health navigates change, builds a strong workplace

NO. 4 SMALL|PROPELLER HEALTH Propeller Health navigates change, builds a strong workplace

Propeller Health emerged from a year of change with its employee culture intact and, company officials say, even stronger.

NO. 5 SMALL | WEED MAN LAWN CARE Culture change seeds opportunity at lawn care firm

NO. 5 SMALL | WEED MAN LAWN CARE Culture change seeds opportunity at lawn care firm

A few years back, Andy Kurth shifted his focus at Weed Man Lawn Care from being solely money driven to one of helping his employees succeed and thrive.

Small firms loom large in Top Workplaces rankings

Small firms loom large in Top Workplaces rankings

Here are the rest of the top-ranked small firms in Top Workplaces 2020, reflecting a diversity in business types and workplace cultures that have added up to success in their respective areas.

Survey reveals winners in special award categories

Survey reveals winners in special award categories

Although all of the organizations recognized in this section have earned distinction as Top Workplaces for 2020, employees at some of them felt so strongly in certain respects that their companies were singled out for special awards.

Here’s what appreciation really means

When it comes to feeling appreciated at work, what matters most to employees? If you answered “pay,” think again. Research shows pay is low on the list.

As featured on

SOS: Finally, a hello to Facebook, a goodbye to Frontier Communications

SOS: Finally, a hello to Facebook, a goodbye to Frontier Communications

This week, problems solved from opposite ends of communications history:

GOP leaders discuss workforce shortage, increased enforcement of work search rules

GOP leaders discuss workforce shortage, increased enforcement of work search rules

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said in addition to eliminating enhanced benefits, the state also needs to "push a little harder to get people off the sidelines."

Wisconsin's unemployment rate remains at 3.9% for the sixth month in a row

Wisconsin's unemployment rate remains at 3.9% for the sixth month in a row

Thursday's report provides the first look at Wisconsin's unemployment rate following the conclusion of enhanced federal unemployment benefits, which expired on Sept. 6.

Unemployment rate falls to 3.2% over last two months following 'data distortion' at federal level

Unemployment rate falls to 3.2% over last two months following 'data distortion' at federal level

DWD reported the state's unemployment rate dropped to 3.2% in October, the lowest the state has seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Among Wisconsin’s jobless, Black applicants half as likely as whites to receive pandemic aid

Among Wisconsin’s jobless, Black applicants half as likely as whites to receive pandemic aid

Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance system buckled for many during the pandemic, with people of color less likely than whites to receive federal help, an audit found.

Shining stars: Meet the Madison area's Top Workplaces

Shining stars: Meet the Madison area's Top Workplaces

Make no mistake about it: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have left painful scars. But this year’s Top Workplaces project shows that many…

SOS: Lodi man expecting refund for allegedly faulty fridge

SOS: Lodi man expecting refund for allegedly faulty fridge

Mary contends Gene flubbed the fridge's settings; Gene said Nick's repairs largely consisted of unplugging the fridge and plugging it back in.

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