Universal Events Inc. has been Great Place to Work certified four consecutive times. I am proud of this. I am also clear-eyed about what it means and what it does not mean.
It does not mean we are a perfect workplace. It does not mean every day is smooth or every decision is easy. It means that the people who work here consistently report that they are trusted, that their work matters, and that the place they show up to every day reflects the values it claims to hold. In a service industry built on long hours and high-stakes events, that consistency is genuinely hard to sustain.
Why Certification Is a Lagging Indicator
Great Place to Work certification measures something that is built over time. It is a lagging indicator of culture, not a leading one. You cannot manufacture it the month before the survey. The things it measures, trust between employees and leadership, fairness, meaningful work, the sense that one's contribution is recognized, accumulate slowly. They also erode slowly, which is why organizations can maintain certification for multiple years if the culture is real and lose it quickly if it was performed.
The certification process is anonymous employee feedback. What it surfaces is what people actually feel about working at the firm when no one they report to is listening. Getting to a certification score that qualifies is not hard if your team genuinely trusts the organization. It is very hard if they do not.
What We Actually Build Toward
I started Universal Events Inc. as a women-led firm in an industry that was not always structured to support that. The hiring decisions I made from the beginning reflected a belief that the people most overlooked in a hiring market often bring the most to the table. Women with backgrounds in communications, nonprofit work, community organizing, and event management who had not been given the opportunity to lead found a path at Universal Events Inc.
That is not a policy. It is a philosophy that has shaped who we hire, how we develop people, and what we expect from leadership at every level. The Great Place to Work certification reflects whether that philosophy is being lived out in practice. When the numbers come back strong four consecutive times, it tells me that the team experiences the firm the way I intend it.
Why This Matters for the Nonprofits We Serve
A firm that treats its own team well is a firm that will treat your mission with care. This is not a claim about virtue. It is an observation about culture and how it travels.
Nonprofit event production is a service that requires the people doing the work to be fully invested in the outcome. A team that feels trusted and valued brings different energy to a gala than a team that is executing on pure obligation. The donor in the room cannot read the organizational chart. But they can feel the difference between a room where the production team is genuinely invested in the mission and a room where they are just doing a job.
When nonprofits evaluate production partners, they often look at experience, portfolio, and price. I would add culture to that list. Ask how the firm treats its team. Ask what the turnover rate looks like. Ask what the team members say about the organization when they are not in the room with a client.
The answers to those questions tell you something about the quality of investment you can expect when your mission is on the line.
The Accountability That Comes With Certification
Holding Great Place to Work certification is not a passive designation. It creates accountability in every direction. My team knows what the standard is. Our clients know what the standard is. When we fall short of it in a specific situation, the certification makes that shortfall visible in a way that a company without the designation can more easily dismiss.
That accountability is one of the reasons I have pursued the certification consistently rather than treating it as a one-time achievement. It keeps the standard visible. It keeps the culture active rather than assumed.
That is the real value of certification. Not the badge. The ongoing commitment that staying worthy of it requires.