By Shay Hughes

Why do we obsess over our culture? With so much emphasis on culture it might seem cliché, but it is the starting point for our success. Culture doesn’t just make it more fun to go to work – although it does promote that too. It helps us attract the most amazing people to our team, maximize their potential, and keeps them happy for the long term. Whether intentional or not, culture happens. We believe what sets great companies apart from good is getting culture right.

We are fortunate to have figured out how important culture is when we started Hughes Marino. From the beginning it has been our focus, and it has only gotten better with every passing year. This year we were honored with one of our most significant achievements to date. Fortune Magazine ranked Hughes Marino #7 in the nation among the country’s best small workplaces.

The rankings were based on feedback from more than 52,000 employees, including our own. Out of thousands of companies evaluated, Hughes Marino is notably the only commercial real estate company to be in the top ten best rated U.S. companies of any size. Furthermore, Hughes Marino has ranked in the top ten consistently for best places to work in San Diego and Orange County since inception, and recently was ranked as the #1 best place to work in Los Angeles among medium size companies by the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Hughes Marino’s emphasis on building an award-winning culture by investing in our team members, beautifully designed offices, a family-like environment, enriching company events, giving back through community involvement, and focusing on our highly cherished ten core values all contributed to the strong performance in the rankings.

Specific benefits offered to our team include 100% coverage of employees’ health-care premiums, matching 401k, a minimum of 25 paid days off each year, company retreats, and a welcoming atmosphere in each of our offices.

“We are extremely proud to have been named one of the top workplaces in the nation by Fortune,” said Jason Hughes, president and CEO of Hughes Marino. “Our team’s personal and professional success and well-being is our highest priority, so there is nothing more rewarding than being named #7 on a list of the country’s great places to work that is based completely on our own employees’ evaluation.”

One of the survey stats that we take the most pride in was that 100% of our employees said, “I feel I make a difference here.” While there are many reasons why we never compromise on finding the right people, the most important is that our people don’t just “fit” our culture. Rather, we want every team member that joins us to make it even better!

As COO of a company in one of the nation’s most competitive industries, I am so grateful and humbled to be recognized for our culture and to see that our team is healthy, happy and thriving. We wouldn’t have it any other way!