When asked what makes Alliance Data Systems so special, employees said: Senior leadership has a really strong grasp of day-to-day operational details without losing sight of the long-term vision.
Ed Heffernan visits each of Alliance Data Systems’ 20 U.S. and Canadian locations at least once a year.
It takes 30 days, and he calls it his “mothership tour.”
It’s one reason employees pushed Alliance Data into our top slot among midsize companies, up from No. 3 in 2012.
Alliance Data’s corporate headquarters in Plano employs 218 people, putting it in our second-largest category. But its affiliated units employ more than 11,000, and the 50-year-old CEO of the credit card issuer and loyalty program and data marketing company wants face time with as many of them as possible.
“It’s a big chunk of my job, especially since we’re not a consumer-facing business,” he says. “We don’t sell Coca-Cola. We’re behind the scenes. They need to know how well the company is doing.”
And he needs to hear what concerns employees have.
“We don’t skirt the issues. We take them head on,” Heffernan says. “Associates tell me all the time that they appreciate that straightforward approach.”
That’s what they told us, too.
“I love the fact that Ed goes on the road and does his road shows. What other CEO does that? Not many!” one employee said. “We understand why decisions are made and where the company is going. Associates matter. We are not just a number, and that is a great feeling!”
But it’s not just the guy at the top.
Alliance has a self-proclaimed Fun Bunch, a group that dreams up activities for amusement and philanthropy.
“Our associates never pass up an opportunity to get out and give back to our communities,” Heffernan says. “Recently we participated in a ‘construction’ competition of canned goods with other companies in the Plano-Legacy area, with the proceeds going to support the North Texas Food Bank. Other times, it might be a chili cook-off or impromptu lip-dubs. You just never know what they’ll think up next.”
Employees told us that their company’s chemistry has just the right balance.
“It’s a fun place to work where we take our work seriously, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” one employee says.
Alliance Data employees love their jobs because:
“I never have one day that is like the other.”
“The job has great variety, exceptionally bright managers and associates, is casual enough to make it fun and serious enough to get the job done in a timely and efficient manner.”
“I get to do what inspires me most while enjoying the work/life balance that I always hoped to achieve but never managed to do prior to joining this company.”
“It’s fun and awesome.”
“The people, the benefits, the commitment to community.”
“I get to work with amazing, smart people who inspire me to do my best work.”
“The people at Alliance Data are amazing! There is so much encouragement from all levels that you’re free to try new ideas every day.”
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