LOS ANGELES, CA (March 9, 2023) – GHJ, a national advisory and accounting firm, was recognized by the Transform Awards for the “2023 People Activator: Employee Experience of the Year Award.”

The People Activator Award celebrates the company with the most forward-thinking approach to building an incredible employee experience to attract, retain and grow their people.

“GHJ has expanded tremendously in the past two years. With a growing national footprint, we have made every effort to ensure our Core Values and Vision are in every aspect of our business,” said GHJ Managing Partner Tom Barry. “By empowering our employees to #BeMore for themselves, their friends and families and GHJ, we are truly able to meet our clients where they are and better serve them. Receiving this award is a recognition of the success of those efforts.”

In the past year, GHJ has made significant changes to its employee engagement initiatives. The Firm has had a 44-percent increase in headcount between January 2021 and December 2022 and now has employees in more than 25 different states.

To ensure that the needs of this larger team were met, several new initiatives were launched in 2022 with the help of the People and Workplace Experience Team, led by Chief People Officer Alex Seiler, who joined the Firm in late 2021:

• Launched the Firm’s first employee engagement survey, which has helped Firm and department leaders gain more visibility into employee satisfaction
• Enhanced DEIA initiatives by recruiting more diverse candidates and alerting managers on their unconscious biases
• Hosted a Firmwide psychological safety training to demonstrate the importance of a culture that values and respects differences and vulnerability
• Invested in additional benefits for employees, including 100-percent mental health coverage and a new benefit plan that reduces employee contribution while offering equitable coverage across the country
• Introduced “Mental Health Week,” a weeklong break during which GHJ’s offices were closed and employees were given the space to rest and recharge
• Reinvented GHJ’s Firmwide Weeks to build connectivity and belonging while accommodating remote and hybrid employees

“Building a strong organizational culture that retains talent requires flexibility,” Alex explained. “The achievements we have had this past year are thanks to the hard work and collaboration of leaders across the Firm to continue making GHJ a great place to work while offering employees the freedom to design a workplace experience that best suits their needs.”

The Transform Awards celebrate the most impactful stories of innovation, creativity and transformation across the global world of work. Winners are selected by a diverse judging panel that includes investors, entrepreneurs, people leaders and academics. GHJ and the other award winners will be recognized and celebrated at the Transform Conference taking place March 27-29, 2023.

GHJ Chief Strategy Officer Mari-Anne Kehler and Alex were also named finalists for “Power Pair: Executive Partnership of the Year.” This award celebrates how the strategic alignment of business operations and people operations drives positive outcomes for the business and its people.

“Sometimes the most loving act is a difficult conversation. As leaders, it is our responsibility to acknowledge hard truths and find solutions together,” Mari-Anne said. “Collaboration is key to a successful strategy.”

In their positions, Alex and Mari-Anne collaborate to ensure GHJ’s People Strategy is in line with the Firm Growth Strategy and departmental strategies.

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About GHJ

GHJ is an accounting and advisory firm that specializes in nonprofit, food and beverage, entertainment and media and health and wellness companies. Ranked as Accounting Today’s “Firm to Watch” and “Top Regional Leader in the West,” an INSIDE Public Accounting Top 200 firm and a top-20 largest accounting firm on the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Book of Lists, GHJ is passionate about helping clients and its people #BeMore by focusing on building thriving businesses and creating a better future. GHJ works as a business advocate for its clients — providing personalized service and building long-term relationships to help position our clients for growth.

Through its affiliation with HLB International, a global network of independent professional accounting firms and business advisers, GHJ is able to partner with other top firms across major cities throughout the U.S. and the world. GHJ’s audit, tax and advisory teams leverage the HLB network to partner with its clients and give clients access to member firms in over 157 countries across the globe. GHJ has 21 partners and approximately 200 staff members that serve thousands of clients. The Firm is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the AICPA Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC), the California Society of CPAs and the California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofit).

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