The next four small companies

After law firm growth company Crisp, Inc., these are the next four top small workplaces
Anil Goyal, president of Corserv

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Anil Goyal, president of Corserv

After law firm growth company Crisp, Inc., these are the next four top small workplaces.

2. Corserv

In 2009, work colleagues who’d been together for decades co-founded Corserv, a privately held company that offers payment programs to banks and financial tech firms. Headquartered in Atlanta and with staff in 10 states, the company estimates its latest annual revenues at $21 million.

Anil Goyal, company president, said he believes Corserv is a Top Workplace because of its core values of integrity, transparency, accountability and community.

“Our company is largely employee-owned, and our corporate interests are aligned with our clients,” he said. “We believe in teamwork and embrace diverse cultures and points of view.”

Corserv has 56 employees, all of whom have the option to work remotely.

Goyal said the pandemic had minimal impact on the company, because employees were already fully digital and working remotely.

“We did increase the focus on our monthly ‘all hands’ virtual meeting, where corporate financials, opportunities and challenges are shared,” he said. “More importantly, each employee shares their activities and interests with the entire team.”

During the pandemic the company also “increased sensitivity to the disruption created for families with school children and those caring for family members,” Goyal said.

Learn more at www.corservsolutions.com.

Anil Goyal, president of Corserv

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3. Profisee Group Inc.

Profisee Group Inc., a customer software development and consulting firm in Alpharetta, is considered a pioneer in master data management technology.

Founded in 2008, the company employs 98 people in metro Atlanta. Its mission is to make the management of master data easy for the purpose of unlocking its power.

CEO Len Finkle said he believes Profisee is a standout in its field because of its commitment to its people and organizational health.

“Profisee has focused on ways to be intentional and improve company culture by developing employee engagement, communication and trust every single day,” Finkle said. “Other companies operate this way in spots, but, at Profisee, we have practice at all levels of the organization with an employee base that treats each other in a way I have never seen before.”

He said the pandemic provided Profisee “an opportunity to think differently about creating a work environment where people can be the best version of themselves in the virtual and hybrid workplace.”

Finkle said the company ramped up two-way communications, made certain to give clear and consistent directions, and took a “holistic approach to stress reduction by focusing on a broad range of issues outside of traditional work topics that affect employees’ lives.”

For example, the company hired a firm to provide interactive mental health and wellness programs twice a month on such topics as nutrition, exercise, mindfulness and meditation, he said.

Learn more at: www.profisee.com.

Len Finkle

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4. SEI-Atlanta LLC

This boutique business and consulting firm, with annual earnings of about $25 million, is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and employs 86 people in metro Atlanta.

According to Carol Austensen, SEI’s managing director, employee ownership in the company fosters a commitment to quality and a long-term, vested interest in the employee-client partnership.

‘SEI is particularly unique among consulting firms because we don’t require travel for our consultants,” Austensen said. “Our clients are local to Atlanta, and we have longstanding relationships with them.”

The company’s ownership model allows its consultants to own and receive dividends on SEI shares, in addition to profit sharing, she said. This reflects the company philosophy that ownership should be in the hands of the people driving the business.

“Because we hire strong business professionals who operate as owners, we are able to operate with minimal management overhead,” Austensen said. “This empowers our consultants to help drive our company, allows us to return our profits to our consultant-owners, and allows us to provide very high value service to our clients.”

The staff live, work and volunteer in the same communities as SEI clients. Employees are involved in many community organizations, including the Atlanta Community Food Bank and Shepherd Center.

The company’s employee benefits package includes a high deductible medical plan coupled with a health savings account, with SEI funding a portion of the deductible each year; and an employer funded dental plan that covers the entire family. SEI also encourages and rewards its employees and their families for being healthy and staying active by sponsoring a wellness program.

Learn more at: ww.sei.com.

Carol Austensen: managing director at the boutique business and consulting firm SEI - Atlanta LLC (ranked No. 4 among organizations with 149 or fewer employees):

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5. Cornerstone Christian Academy

Enrollment in Cornerstone Christian Academy has increased by about 40% in the past five years, to 454 students.

Widely viewed as one of the leading private schools in Gwinnett County, Cornerstone Christian in Peachtree Corners is open to students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Its goal is to “partner with parents to provide a quality academic education designed to develop students who will follow Christ, embrace biblical truth, and live lives that glorify God.”

Colin Creel, who has been headmaster since 2011, said the academy is a great place to work “not surprisingly, because of its people.”

“We take great care and pride in hiring individuals who love Christ, love kids and love their content area,” Creel said. “When everyone is rowing in the same direction, it makes the ride much more enjoyable.”

Cornerstone Christian has 58 employees, many of which have students enrolled in the school.

“When I first arrived at Cornerstone, we had six staff children in attendance,” Creel said. “Today, we have 29 staff children and two staff grandchildren at Cornerstone.” Three of those are Creel’s.

“It is truly special to work where your children attend school,” Creel added. “Whether it’s watching them lead worship or staying after school to help them work on a math video project, you have the opportunity to not only watch your children grow in wisdom and stature, but also know the individuals well with whom they spend the bulk of their time.”

Learn more at: www.cornerstonecougars.org.

Colin Creel

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