Lauren Peterson says she felt welcome at Costa Mesa-based Whittier Trust Co. from her first day at the investment and wealth management firm. Everyone she met greeted her with genuine warmth, interested in getting to know her, not just as new co-worker, but as a whole person. Later that day, she was treated to a get-to-know-you lunch with Executive Vice President Greg Custer and Senior Vice President Caleb Silsby. A few days later she received a birthday card from Chief Executive David Dahl.
“I worked a long time, 30 years, in large institutionalized places. In all those years I never received a personalized birthday card from senior management,” she marvels.
Now, half a year into her role as vice president, client advisor, Peterson is happier than ever. “I’ve never found any other place like this,” she says. “It’s very special. When I came here, it was like coming home.”
The warm welcome Peterson received is emblematic of the family-like feeling that has defined the firm’s culture since it was founded in 1935. It’s also the reason that Whittier Trust claims the second spot in the medium employer category on the annual Business Journal Best Places to Work ranking.
Side Benefits
Whitter Trust’s clients are made up of families with significant wealth and complex financial needs. That level of trust is built up over years, so it’s important that employees stay for the long haul.
“When you’re supporting a family, you want incredibly high-quality people in the firm who are going to stick around a long time,” Custer says. “When we’re interviewing, we will interview for nine months to 12 months to find the right person. I want someone that I believe could be here 15 to 20 years. We want people who will be here an incredibly long time because we are building relationships.”
Custer himself symbolizes that commitment, recently celebrating 18 years with the firm.
“Back when I was being interviewed for this company, Mike Casey, now chairman of the board, told me that most firms have three objectives: return on equity for stockholders; customer satisfaction; and employee satisfaction,”
Custer recalls. “Then he said, ‘I only have one objective. That is employee satisfaction. Everything else will take care of itself.’”
The philosophy, he says, has been in place for more than 80 years, and has paid off: The company has a 98% employee retention rate. The Orange County office is even more impressive—in the nearly two decades since Custer joined, no one has left.
Vice President and Client Adviser Brian Bissell shares Custer’s perspective: “A big part of that is how family-oriented we are. Employees feel that, and our clients in turn feel that from us. They, too, feel like they are part of the family.”
Investment Associate Kayla McComb says the family-like connections aren’t limited to the office.
“We are all really engaged and care about each other, inside and out of the office.”
Case in point: McComb, a devoted sailor, recalls that when she competed in last year’s Baldwin Cup Regatta in Newport Beach, the office closed for half a day so her co-workers could go cheer her on. This year, Bissell, also a seaman, captained a sailing team in the same race. His co-workers were there to lend support—and witness his sailboat place first.
Flat Management
Another Whittier Trust trait employees appreciate is what Custer refers to as its flat management structure.
Employees are incentivized to take ownership of projects, and a company benefit is making employees shareholders.
“If you have employees working who are shareholders or stakeholders, they are going to look at it from their perspective,” Peterson says. “Would I make this decision? Is it a good thing for the company? Because I am part of the company.”
Bissell says, “It’s really easy to make a firmwide impact. A really good example is what Kayla accomplished. Within her first year here, she noticed a couple inefficiencies and suggested a solution.” Management gave McComb the green light to pursue her idea.
“We encouraged her to drive it,” Custer says. “It was her baby. She built a team around her to make it happen.”
Right Place, People
“Our objective is to support multiple families,” Custer says. “In order to do so, you need to have the very best people working for you. We make sure to provide everything they need, whenever they need it, so they can be at the right place at the right time to provide service to the client.”
The firm hosts holiday parties and yearly picnics, as well as milestone celebrations, and from time to time, it brings in an on-site masseuse. Employees enjoy a 200% match on their 401(k)s and employer-funded health reimbursement accounts. Tuition reimbursement and unlimited online training are also available.
Peterson sums up working for Whittier Trust like this: “They treat me like a queen so I can turn around and treat our clients like royalty.”
