An emphasis on family – creating a family feeling in the office and involving employees’ families in company events – has been key to landing Onestaff Medical LLC on Staffing Industry Analysts’ 2017 Best Staffing Firms to Work For list.

The firm, seven years old and with 74 full-time employees, does both temporary and permanent placement nurses and other healthcare professionals such as CNAs, LPNs, and rehab and therapy professionals. Many of the workers they place travel to temporary assignments.

Onestaff places staff nationwide from its office in Omaha, Nebraska. The firm is soon to relocate to a 27,000-square-foot building in Omaha, which will allow it to expand.

Todd Livingston, president and CFO, started the business with co-founders Jason Avenell and Jack Swinney with “the mindset that we wanted to keep our business model family-oriented and focused,” he said.

That family feeling plays out in a number of ways:

* Perks for employees. Onestaff offers employees stocked lunchrooms, impromptu half-day fun events on Fridays, gifts and awards. A corporate vehicle incentive program allows sales professionals who meet certain targets to receive either a monthly allowance toward a vehicle or a company-paid lease on a vehicle.

“We make employees feel truly as though they’re part of one Onestaff family,” Livingston says.

* Inclusive events. Many of the firm’s functions outside the office — a day at the zoo, a AAA baseball game, summer barbecues — include the employees’ families. The firm offers trick-or-treating at Halloween and visits with Santa Claus at Christmas for employees’ children.

“We include family in as many outings and functions as they can attend,” Livingston said. “If your spouse is happy with the company you’re working for, chances are you’re going to be happier as well because of that.”

* Open culture. The company founders sit at the same type of workstations that all the other employees use. “We want to make sure that everybody understands that just because we’re owners doesn’t mean we’re not approachable,” Livingston said. “We’re not in an office, tucked away and hidden.”

* Adaptability. Livingston and his co-founders are aware that just because a particular perk was considered a sign of a good workplace when they first started working doesn’t mean today’s entry-level workers will view it the same way.

“We do look at the demographics,” Livingston said. “You have to tailor your internal business based on the demographics in the office.”

For example, paid vacation has evolved: Onestaff offers regular paid time off, incentive time off and volunteer time off. “We feel it’s our duty as owners to give back to our community, and we also want our staff to be able to do this.”

The goal of these and other initiatives is to create strong bonds among workers and between the firm and its employees.

“You can give everybody the best compensation packages, and all the perks and bells and whistles, but if they don’t feel that they’re part of the group, they’re not necessarily going to be happy,” Livingston says.