Top workplaces, small: 3. National Title Co.

Creating a family atmosphere is key to the success of National Title Co.

The escrow and title service company handling residential and commercial real estate transactions placed third among small companies as one of the valley’s top workplaces.

As a locally owned and family-operated business, National Title touts itself as being “all about family.” Employees work hard but they’re encouraged to spend quality time at home with their loved ones.

“It doesn’t surprise me with our ranking because we work for such a fantastic company,” says Channelle Beller, the company’s marketing director. “It starts from the top down because the owner is so invested in employees and their happiness.”

Tracy Brouchard is National Title’s president and CEO.

“I love coming to my workplace,” one employee says. “The president knows each employee and their families and treats us like we are part of the family business.”

Employees praise Brouchard for being hands-on and approachable and working just as hard as everyone else. No one is sitting in an ivory tower and no one in management is afraid to get their hands dirty and do any task, even answering the phones, employees say.

“It’s a culture thing at our company because we are independently owned,” Beller says. “We’re very much like a family because we spend so many hours a day together. We enjoy the people we are working with. I love coming to work here. We are all appreciated, and it’s acknowledged.”

Even gestures such as buying Fourth of July fireworks for all employees and their families when the company met a monthly goal go a long way to foster that acknowledgement, Beller says.

“I work for the best company in the industry,” one employee says. “I feel that the employees are just as important as our clients, if not more.”

“This is a family environment and the company cares about my personal life as well as my work life,” another says. “The owner of the company cares deeply about his employees.”

Beller says other companies can learn from National Title, but it has to be a conscious decision on the part of management to create the right culture where employees are happy and want to perform. It’s not about the big things but the small things, including having management that’s approachable.

“It seems to go a long way,” Beller says. “It seems trivial, but other companies aren’t that way. It makes you feel important and as part of a team. It’s not about one person making it tick, but all of us working together. It’s amazing how much harder people will work when you show them they’re appreciated. It just doesn’t have to be in dollars, but it does have to be a conscious decision.”