March 29, 2024

Best Companies to Work For in Florida - 2019

Millennial Impressions

Florida Trend asked seven young employees at Best Companies around the state what they like best about their workplaces.

Susan Shalhoub | 7/26/2019

Victor Tang, 24

Commercial Sales Executive | Bouchard Insurance (No. 11 Large)

Victor Tang chose to pursue a degree in risk management and insurance from Florida State University. It was a field, he felt, that had ample opportunity. As a Bouchard employee for three years, he says his instincts about the field have proven true.

“The office is young and energetic,” says Tang. “Bouchard does a very good job of hiring Millennials — great talent — heavily recruiting risk management insurance majors,” who aren’t always easy to find, he adds. The dynamic is enriched by the employees who have been on the Bouchard team for decades and are part of the company’s culture of mentorship.

Tang also points to the company’s commitment to community and investment in education.

He earned his certified insurance counselor (CIP) designation in 2016. “Bouchard helped me get that,” adding that he was the youngest out of 30,000 CIP designations in Florida.

 

Stephanie Quiñones, 32

Attorney | Gunster (No. 26 Large)

A mother of toddlers who are just 18 months apart, Stephanie Quiñones says Gunster has accommodated the changes in her life, while remaining stable and strong in its goals and leadership.

“Leadership has been consistent since I’ve been here,” she says. “There is not a lot of turnover on the board of directors, either.” She has been there for seven years, a testament to her job satisfaction in an industry with high turnover for new attorneys. “The goals and everything have been consistent and put into practice” over that time, she says, such as expanding into Orlando and Tampa and relocating the Miami office.

At the same time, the firm uses surveys to stay in tune with employee feedback. Gunster is respectful of the fact that employees have families and lives outside of the office, says Quiñones. The firm recently organized a multi-office Family Day at Miami’s Marlins Park. “Family first is always their motto,” she says.

 

Michaela Kennedy, 27

Talent Operations Manager | livingHR (No. 6 Small)

“We have a ton of autonomy in the ability to make impactful decisions,” at livingHR, says Michaela Kennedy. “I have a lot of ownership in the decisions I make and the outcomes. If one of us makes a decision and it doesn’t end up being the right one? We’re all quick to own that mistake and bring it to resolution,” she says.

Within the company’s culture, it’s OK to try new things, creating unique opportunities to learn by doing. Twoyear employee Kennedy says she’s learned things she never thought she would, such as invoicing and coding, in a supportive environment.

The human resources consulting and recruiting company promotes not only a work-life balance, but work-life integration. “I am able to work wherever and whenever makes sense,” Kennedy says, even running errands during traditional workday hours, as long as the work gets done. The company believes in good communication, flexibility and trust in its employees.

Tags: Best Companies, Feature

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