All across the state — and nation — businesses are struggling to attract and retain employees. But those companies may be able to learn something from the companies that will be spotlighted here in the days to follow. The 100 Best Places to Live and Work in Arizona earned the most support in voting for the 2022 edition of Ranking Arizona, the state’s biggest business opinion poll.
READ ALSO: Nominations open for Arizona’s Most Admired Companies of 2022
“We really do put people first,” says Cathy Graham, executive vice president at Desert Financial Credit Union, one of the Best Places to Work in Arizona. “The employment environment is really tough right now with the Great Resignation. So we try to be really purposeful and clear about the organization: where we’re going, what we’re striving for, what success looks like and then connecting the dots. People want to feel like part of something bigger than just the role that they fill every day.”
Enjoy learning more about the 100 Best Places to Live and Work in Arizona. Today, the spotlight is on Burch & Cracchiolo.
Burch & Cracchiolo
Founders Frank Haze Burch and Dan Cracchiolo were known for being hometown heroes for business law in Phoenix when they opened Burch & Cracchiolo 50 years ago. That hometown pride continues today at Burch & Cracchiolo.
CULTURE DEFINED: “The strengths of Burch & Cracchiolo are the people,” says Andrew Abraham, president of Burch & Cracchiolo. “No question about it. We treat everybody who walks in our door — employee or client — almost as family. We have all sorts of internal discussions where we listen to everybody who’s got an idea about what might make the firm a better place — whether it’s a brand new employee who’s been there a day or somebody who’s been there 40-plus years. We try to keep everybody under the family umbrella and listen to them. We implement creative ideas and we’re always looking for more.”
SECRET SAUCE: “We have about 100 employees,” Abraham says. “It’s not 100 people making a decision, but a 100 people are invited to give their input and then a smaller group makes a decision. All senior management, not just myself, are great listeners. And I think listening is probably the hardest skill to adapt when managing.”
RETAINING EMPLOYEES: “The No. 1 thing that we’re most proud of is when people come to us to work at our firm, they don’t leave,” Abraham says. “That sends the loudest possible message. That’s not something in the last two or three or four years, that goes back 30, 40 years. We have a whole bunch of lawyers who spent their entire career at Burch & Cracchiolo. It’s the intangibles that keep people there. It’s that family atmosphere that makes a difference. People want to come to work.”
SECRET TO RETENTION: “Our people stay at the firm because we integrate everybody into it,” Abraham says. “It is not a top-down mentality, it’s a group-think mentality. We share information with young lawyers, including financial information about the firm and about how the firm operates. I don’t think other firms necessarily do that. The point of that is we try to let everybody take ownership, so that it’s not just management and the rest. Everybody has a piece of ownership in our firm.”
100 Best Places to Live and Work in Arizona
Here are the 100 Best Places to Live and Work in Arizona for 2022, based on public voting for the 2022 edition of Ranking Arizona, the state’s biggest and most comprehensive business opinion poll. Companies and cities are listed in alphabetical order.
ABI Multifamily
ANDERSON Advertising & Public Relations
Adolfson & Peterson Construction
Aker Ink PR & Marketing
Alliance Residential Company
Arizona Central Credit Union
Arizona Complete Health
Arizona Federal Credit Union
Aurora Behavioral Health System
Avison Young
BMO Harris Bank
Banner Health
Bel-Aire Mechanical
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Arizona Properties
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona
Blue Signal Search
Burch & Cracchiolo
CBRE
CHASSE Building Team
CORE Construction
Cachet Homes
Canyon State Electric
Cawley Architects
City of Chandler
City of Flagstaff
City of Glendale
City of Mesa
City of Peoria
City of Phoenix
City of Scottsdale
City of Tempe
City to City Commercial
Colliers
Corgan
DP Electric
dpa architects
DPR Construction
Delta Dental of Arizona
Desert Financial Credit Union
Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center
Dignity Health in Arizona
Great Impact
Gust Rosenfeld
HDA Architects
Haydon Building Corp
HomeSmart
Homeowners Financial Group
HonorHealth
IMPACT Technology Recruiting
Ideation Design Group
Jennings, Strouss & Salmon
Johansen Interiors
K2 Electric
Keap
Kidder Mathews
Kitchell
LAVIDGE
LGE Design Build
Land Advisors Organization
LaneTerralever
LevRose Commercial Real Estate/TCN Worldwide
Marcus & Millichap
Mark-Taylor Companies
Mark-Taylor Residential
Mayo Clinic
McCarthy Building Companies
Menlo Group Commercial Real Estate
Merestone
National Bank of Arizona
OneAZ Credit Union
P.B. Bell
Pacific Premier Bank
Precision Air & Plumbing
ReThinc Advertising
Republic Bank of Arizona
Rocket Mortgage (formerly Quicken Loans)
Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty
Ryan Companies US
SDB Contracting Services
Speedie & Associates
Sunstate Equipment
TBConsulting
Team Select Home Care
The Brokery
The CORE Institute
Town of Gilbert
Town of Queen Creek
Tri Pointe Homes
TruWest Credit Union
USAA
VIP Mortgage
VIP Mortgage Inc.
ViaWest Group
WaFd Bank Arizona
Wallace, Plese + Dreher
Walton Global
Weitz Company
Western Alliance Bank
Willmeng Construction
Wood, Patel & Associates
