Jay Cohen, President and CEO

“Even if treating people well played no role as a competitive differentiator, it would still be our top priority,” says President and CEO Jay Cohen. “Ultimately it’s the right thing to do.” Fortunately, treating people well is good for business.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Signature is one of only three companies to land on the Best Staffing Firms to Work For list each year since 2011.

Sometimes employee satisfaction is thought of as two separate rules: one for work and one for life. But Cohen says it should be one set of rules for both with happiness at the core. And a happy work environment can attract and retain the best workers: the type of worker that is hard to come by.

“If you don’t have the right people, you’re not going to be successful,” Cohen says. “Staffing is definitely a team sport.”

He also says culture is the most important thing to a business. At Signature, that means being willing to give someone a second chance as long as it’s not egregious or an honesty issue. People aren’t only as good as their last deal.

In addition to culture, the company works to make sure employees have the tools they need. That includes the latest technology and training.

Signature also pays for internal events so workers get to know each other. “Friends will solve a problem in two minutes and enemies will never solve a problem because they don’t want to,” Cohen says. Workers are also encouraged to travel to other offices within the company to meet people and learn about the practices at other offices.

But it’s not possible to pick a single anecdote to describe the company’s treatment of workers, Cohen says. That’s because the way treating its workers well is an everyday fact.