PPB June 2016

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than 1,000 volunteer hours and reach more
than 600 people. “We’ve always worked to
give back to our community, but we wanted
to make it a true business initiative for
2016,” explains nominator and employee
Cathy Sapiro, who’s been with the company
for nearly five years. “We’ve begun cooking
meals regularly for the Ronald McDonald
House resident families and we’re looking
for additional opportunities to expand our
volunteer reach.” Co-worker Felicia
Messina, a two-year employee and a nomi-
nator, cites the company’s culture as what
sets it apart from other employers. “Many
companies say one thing and do another,
but not at Catalyst,” she says. “We work
hard for our clients and for each other. We
all have a sense of pride, work ethic and
responsibility for each other. Letting some-
one down here is like letting yourself
down.”
Co-worker Strickland agrees, citing the
positive and energetic office environment set
by Founder and CEO Tom Havens. “I’ve
never experienced an office environment like
we have at Catalyst,” she says. “New hires and
clients are always commenting about how
different we are, too. I have so many people
who want to work for our company—includ-
ing my own clients.”
Havens credits the company’s differentia-
tor as having a greater sense of purpose.
“Since we all work more often than not, I
think it’s important to have a bigger purpose
or something bigger to strive for other than
your daily tasks,” he explains. “We try to
accomplish this by setting individual and
company goals, following our mission, striv-
ing to always improve, getting better as a per-
son and as a fellow employee, and realizing
that we have the opportunity to really make a
positive difference in the lives of others.”
THE EXTRAS THAT COUNT | Catalyst 5%: “I
learned this through Daniel Pink’s book
Drive,” says Havens. “The idea is that we
want all our employees to be inspired, learn
new things and be a part of new experiences.
One cannot always achieve this sitting at
one’s desk. The Catalyst 5% program requires
all employees to take five percent of their
work time—two hours a week, eight hours a
month—and do something other than work;
do something that is inspiring, such as educa-
tion, a seminar, shopping, hiking, volunteer-
ing, coaching … you name it.”
28 • PPB • JUNE 2016 INNOVATE
GREATEST COMPANIES TO WORK FOR 2016
Distributor Catalyst, represented here by 18 of its 41 employees, has four offices across the U.S. and one in
Hong Kong.
Top Executive
Paul Friedman, Jr.,
CEO/President and Mark
Friedman, COO
(joint owners)
___
Company Type
Distributor
___
Location
Headquarters in Birmingham,
Alabama; additional office in
Atlanta, Georgia, and reps in
Texas, Oklahoma, North
Carolina and Tennessee
___
Website
___
Year Founded
1897
___
Total Employees
38
___
Company Motto
“A Customer Should Last
Forever”
___
Perks
Vacation and sick
leave package
Quarterly employee awards
with bonus opportunities
Free and discounted promo-
tional items
Casual dress code
Healthcare benefits
Matching 401(k)
A fun, casual atmosphere
that welcomes creativity