Location: Greensboro
Number of Employees: 30
As a family-owned business with a strong focus on work-life balance, Thompson Traders has prioritized creating a supportive environment for its employees. But when the company learned about the opportunity to become a Family Forward NC Certified Employer, they saw it as a chance to solidify their commitment further and set themselves apart in a competitive job market.
Thompson Traders brings the beauty and craftsmanship of Mexico to American homes with its hand-hammered sinks, bathtubs and accessories. The Thompson family founded the Greensboro company more than 20 years ago, who drew inspiration from their Mexican heritage and love of handcrafted products. Today, the business is run by six family members spanning three generations; employing more than 30 people in the U.S. and manufacturing in eight countries around the world.
Becoming a Family Forward NC Certified Employer has allowed the company to live out its values, creating a supportive environment that appeals to current and prospective employees.
“We were already doing many of the things that the certification requires,” says Clifford Thompson, president of Thompson Traders. “We’ve always had a flexible and family-friendly culture, so it felt like the right step to formalize these practices.”
Steven Hewett, the company’s warehouse manager, has worked for Thompson Traders for ten years. At one point, his wife, also worked at the company’s customer service and the Accounts Receivable (AR) departments. With two kids (ages 9 and 5), they both enjoyed the family-friendly environment.
When she was breastfeeding, she used the lactation room; and if one of their kids was sick at home, they would tag-team work hours, so their child wouldn’t be left home alone. They also felt welcomed to take their kids to work, if there were any daycare issues.
“If you have a problem, it feels like you’re talking to a family member,” Hewett says. “They always listen to me. Their doors are always open.”
The team’s only minor hurdle was formalizing their employee handbook, but they used Handbooks (a handbook builder to create employee handbooks with updated federal, state and local policies) to get everything straightened out. Filling out the application inspired them to make changes to their lactation room to ensure it gave breastfeeding employees everything they needed to support their baby’s health and well-being.
With the certification process complete, Thompson Traders has proactively highlighted its family-friendly policies and benefits in its marketing and recruitment efforts. The company features the certification on its website and social media channels, and has found it to be a valuable selling point when attracting new talent.
“We had a new team member join us in customer service a couple of months ago, and we told her about this and that was important to her,” Thompson says. “She has a young child and needs the flexibility we could offer,” Thompson says.
Thompson Traders has also been intentional about offering benefits that support work-life balance, including 100% coverage of employee healthcare premiums, paid time off and a unique loan program to help workers meet unexpected financial needs. So far, about 70 percent of employees have used the loan program.
Hewett has taken out three loans – two to pay for car repairs; and the other was when he needed extra money to pay for closing costs on a home. He said it was a much better experience than trying to take out a loan from a bank.
“They are very accomodating because you can tell them how much you want taken out of your paycheck each month to pay back the loan,” Hewett says. “You don’t have to worry about missing a payment or paying any kind of late fee because it automatically drafts from your paycheck. They don’t hesitate to help and it has given me peace of mind.”
Clifford Thompson is proud to offer this loan program and encourages fellow business leaders to do the same.
“We know that it can be hard to accumulate wealth,” Thompsons says. “People live in a cycle of paycheck-to-paycheck, but offering a no-interest loan for ten months can give our employees a little bit of a breather.”
Learn more about becoming a Family Forward NC Certified Employer here.
Sample Benefits:
- Paid sick leave and vacation leave
- Lactation room
- Medical: Pays 100% of the employee’s premium and a portion of dependents; contributes $600 annually to each employee’s Health Savings Account (HSA)
- Remote and flexible scheduling
- Employee loan program
- 401K retirement savings plan, with plans to introduce employer-matching contribution in the future