FRCH Design Worldwide has been providing fresh concepts for its clients since 1968. Offering business solutions that are not merely beautiful but profitable, their teams are known for a dedication to clients that results in comprehensive services spanning different integrated fields. As staff will tell you, their success lies in some very basic tenets of maintaining the elements of a winning workplace, and the well-rounded professionals inside it.
With projects integrating architecture, interior design, brand consulting and new media communications, FRCH focuses on creating destinations and enhancing the spaces where people choose to spend their shopping and leisure time. Offering clients this "new dimension of design," argues CEO Jim Tippmann, relies first and foremost on a dedication to quality. He asserts this emerges in terms of the talent FRCH is able to attract and retain, and the service they are able to offer to clients. Providing a career path for employees and allowing them to "navigate their lives," the business exists to help its staff attain a full life as much as it does to serve its broad client base.
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Employees at FRCH will tell you that one of the keys in promoting a quality work environment is their abundance of employee events. "They represent the fundamental principle that has made the culture of this company what it is today; the spirit of the community, one of mutual respect for each other," explains Brand Strategist Cristina Ferrari. These range from the much-lauded company anniversary parties, where employees are able to socialize in an upscale setting, to Friday "Wing Ding's," a social event with pizza that let staff unwind and get to know people in other departments.
Ferrari's favorite event is the annual trip to Keeneland Race Track in Lexington, KY. The entire event is built on the premise of celebrating their people. "The partners and executives of the firm give back to each individual. That makes FRCH great," she says. Others voice their love for the company's SummerFest, which features live music and serves as another opportunity to socialize with colleagues and friends.
The role these activities play in the success of FRCH, explains Tippmann, goes back to the larger appreciation for the value of the well-rounded professional experience. One piece of advice he would impart to other business leaders is to look at the amount of effort and time professionals devote to their careers and "understand that individuals who are more well-rounded, both in the workplace and in their personal lives, offer a vehicle for providing greater talent, greater retention and a higher quality of service to the clients."
Building and maintaining such a vehicle demands more than strong social bonds. In addition to 401(k) matches, good working hours and family support including domestic partner benefits, Ferrari argues that the firm wows employees with great health coverage at an affordable price, the quality of which she has yet to find at another firm. And as IT Infrastructure Manager Matt Davidson explains, "If FRCH did not offer some of the better benefits in the workplace, well, I would be working somewhere else."
Beyond benefits, FRCH has been able to ensure the satisfaction and commitment of its people through solid employee development, or "a passion for creativity and willingness to help, to teach and to inspire," as Ferrari puts it. The company offers an in-house, university-style training program that is the envy of many competing firms. The program covers a diverse range of topics, helping staff members to further their careers and lives. "I have learned everything from consumer trends, to merchandising strategies, to tips for personal health and wellness and everything in between," says Ferrari.
Indeed, Tippmann argues that their training is so good that even staff who decide to try their hand outside of the firm remain among the company's most valuable assets. "One of our greatest sources of new employees and new business is from the alumni," he says. The firm works to strengthen this network and foster an open path of work experience between FRCH and client lines. Boomerangs are not uncommon, and many do return after a stint of learning with other organizations. Ultimately, says Tippmann, "We see ourselves as a training ground for a lot of talent and individuals who have achieved very successful positions across the industry. We take a lot of pride in that."
Focusing on diversification in the services FRCH offers has led to great results in recent times, and has helped the business weather rough economic conditions. The firm is actively working to expand its presence in the international market, but also to introduce new capabilities to clients with whom they've established long-term relationships. "It's a differentiator in getting new business," says Tippmann, and it's working for them.
Having recently opened a second office in Las Vegas, the firm has focused on maintaining its unique culture across this distance. As Davidson puts it, "FRCH prides itself on keeping the employee informed when times are good and bad." When the firm holds its monthly "Town Hall Meetings" in their Cincinnati lobby, for instance, the Las Vegas crew is in attendance via satellite. Ferrari argues this acts to protect the FRCH culture as the business expands, and it keeps an open dialogue going.
Company: FRCH Design Worldwide
Web site: www.frch.com/flash.htm
Industry: Architecture, design, brand consulting, new media
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Number of Employees: 275
Sales: $34 million
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