Hawai‘i’s Best Places to Work 2021

71 companies of all sizes worked hard and thoughtfully to support their employees. In return, each company got a loyal and enthusiastic workforce.

Best Places to Work Week:

Monday, March 29, 2021 – Small Companies (Listed in alphabetical order)
Tuesday, March 30, 2021 – Medium Companies (Listed in alphabetical order)
Wednesday, March 31, 2021 – Large Companies (Listed in alphabetical order)
Friday, April 2, 2021 – Best Places to Work: Online Reveal
Monday, April 5, 2021 – Top 3 Companies (Small, Medium, Large), Healthiest Companies, Most Family Friendly Companies, and Special Category Winners

How to Create a Team of Engaged Employees

The blueprint is not complicated, but executing it takes long-term commitment and buy-in from your managers.

I hope it did not take a pandemic for you to value your company’s employees. Because when the pandemic arrived, your team needed to be fully engaged just to survive this crisis. And if the past is any guide to the future, you will need fully engaged employees going forward to fully succeed.

Below, we celebrate 71 companies that earned spots on 2021’s Hawai‘i’s Best Places to Work, the local gold standard for employee engagement.

Hawaii Business Magazine partners with the Best Companies Group to create the list each year. Best Companies Group is the global leader in such rankings, compiling more than 70 of them each year across the United States and in the United Kingdom, Canada and Africa.

All the nominated companies face two tests: a confidential survey of their employees, which accounts for 75% of each company’s score, and an extensive questionnaire on company benefits and policies.

The confidential survey of employees is the primary element. People speak honestly to the Best Companies Group about what they like about their workplace and what they detest. If you built a great workplace, the answers are reassuring; if your employees are unhappy and either critical or apathetic, they will say so when given confidentiality.

Peter Burke, president at Best Companies Group, says Best Places to Work have employees who are “engaged,” which means they:

• Look forward to going to work on most days.
• Have jobs that provide a sense of meaning and purpose.
• Are in an environment where they can do their best work.
• Have pride in where they work.
• Plan to stay with the organization at least two more years, which reduces turnover and ensures stability.
• Are willing to recommend the company to a friend as a workplace, which replenishes the talent pool.
• Are willing to recommend the company’s products and services to a friend, which can attract new customers.
• Are willing to make an extra effort to help the organization succeed, which can yield a culture of excellence.

The key drivers of employee engagement from this year’s survey are, in order of importance:

1. I feel I am valued in this organization.
2. I have confidence in the leadership of this organization.
3. I like the type of work that I do.
4. Most days, I feel I have made progress at work.
5. Overall, I’m satisfied with this organization’s benefits package.
6. The leaders of this organization care about their employees’ well-being.
7. I like the people I work with at this organization.
8. Quality is a top priority with this organization.
9. I trust that if I do good work, I will be considered for a promotion.
10. I’m satisfied with the amount of vacation (or paid time off).

If an employee agrees with all or most of these 10 statements, you have an engaged employee. If you have lots of engaged employees, you have a Best Place to Work.

These key drivers change little from year to year: Only one element in this year’s top 10 key drivers of employee engagement is different from last year’s top 10. “Quality is a top priority with this organization” joined this year’s top 10, while “I believe there is a spirit of cooperation within this organization” fell out, though it was close.

What does this mean for a constantly changing world? It means keep your organization innovating, pivoting and regrouping but always remember that much of what people want from their working lives remains constant and easy to understand. It’s not rocket science.

Best Places to Work 2021: Benefits at a Glance

Small Companies
15-49 Hawai‘i Employees

The remaining small companies are listed alphabetically

Allana Buick & Bers
Headquarters: Palo Alto, CA
Employees: 18 HI
abbae.com

Belt Collins Hawaii
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 47 HI
bchdesign.com

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate / Advantage Realty
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 30 HI
betterhawaii.com

Brett Hill Construction Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 25 HI
bretthillcompanies.com

Diamond Head Dental Care
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 19 HI
DiamondHeadDentalCare.com

Express Employment Professionals
Headquarters: Oklahoma City, OK
Employees: 17 HI
expresspros.com/honoluluhi

Hawai‘i Energy / Leidos
Headquarters: Reston, VA
Employees: 36 HI
hawaiienergy.com

Hawaii Information Service
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 17 HI
hawaiiinformation.com

HiEmployment
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 15 HI
hi-employment.com

Honolulu Board of Realtors
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 32 HI
hicentral.com

Imua Family Services
Headquarters: Kahului
Employees: 41 HI
imuafamilyservices.org

Integrated Security Technologies Inc.
Headquarters: Waipahu
Employees: 35 HI
istechs.net

Integration Technologies Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 25 HI
intech-support.com

JR Doran Inc. / Ceramic Tile Plus and Exclusively Yours
Headquarters: Kahului
Employees: 30 HI
ceramictileplus.com

Lawson & Associates Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 27 HI
lawsonsafety.com

Mobi Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 24 HI
mobi.com

Na Ali’i Consulting & Sales LLC
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 42 HI
nakupuna.com

National Interstate Insurance
Headquarters: Richfield, OH
Employees: 24 HI
natl.com

Okahara and Associates Inc.
Headquarters: Hilo
Employees: 29 HI
okahara.com

Pacific Administrators Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 46 HI
pacadmin.com

QRSE LLC
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 19 HI
qr-se.com

Residential Youth Services and Empowerment
Headquarters: Kailua
Employees: 32 HI
rysehawaii.org

Servpac Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 19 HI
servpac.com

Vivial
Headquarters: Dayton, OH
Employees: 32 HI
vivial.net

WATG
Headquarters: Irvine, CA
Employees: 23 HI
watg.com

ZR Systems Group LLC
Headquarters: ‘Aiea
Employees: 18 HI
zrsystems.com

Medium Companies
50-249 Hawai‘i Employees

The remaining small companies are listed alphabetically

AHL
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 104 HI
ahl.design

Alert Alarm Hawaii / National Fire Protection
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 145 HI
alertalarmhawaii.com

American Carpet One Floor & Home
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 125 HI
americancarpetone.com

Aqua Engineers Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 88 HI
aquaengineers.com

Atlas Insurance Agency
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 101 HI
atlasinsurance.com

CW Associates, CPAs
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 51 HI
cwassociatescpas.com

Edward Jones
Headquarters: St. Louis
Employees: 128 HI
edwardjones.com

EnviroServices & Training Center LLC
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 58 HI
gotoetc.com

G70
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 105 HI
g70.design

Hawai‘i Community Foundation
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 64 HI
hawaiicommunityfoundation.org

Hawaii Dental Service (HDS)
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 126 HI
HawaiiDentalService.com

Hawaii Diagnostic Radiology Services
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 69 HI
hawaiidrs.com

Hawaii Mortgage Experts
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 51 HI
hawaiimortgageexperts.com

HEMIC
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 111 HI
hemic.com

Hickam Federal Credit Union
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 113 HI
hickamfcu.org

Kupu
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 52 HI
kupuhawaii.org

Island Insurance
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 146 HI
islandinsurance.com

Layton Construction Co.
Headquarters: Salt Lake City
Employees: 64 HI
laytonconstruction.com

Nordic PCL Construction Inc.
Headquarters: Edmonton, Alberta
Employees: 140 HI
pcl.com

Pacific Biodiesel
Headquarters: Kahului
Employees: 77 HI
biodiesel.com

Pacific Whale Foundation
Headquarters: Wailuku
Employees: 67 HI
pacificwhale.org

Pacxa
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 71 HI
pacxa.com

Pearl Hawaii Federal Credit Union
Headquarters: Waipahu
Employees: 72 HI
pearlhawaii.com

Premier Solutions HI LLC
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 56 HI
premiersolutionshi.com

ProService Hawaii
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 233 HI
proservice.com

Ronald N.S. Ho & Associates Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 65 HI
rnsha.com

Large Companies
250 or More Hawaiʻi Employees

The remaining small companies are listed alphabetically

American Savings Bank
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 1,084 HI
asbhawaii.com

Bayer
Headquarters: Leverkusen, Germany
Employees: 548 HI
bayer.com

Central Pacific Bank
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 833 HI
cpb.bank

Child & Family Service
Headquarters: ‘Ewa Beach
Employees: 322 HI
childandfamilyservice.org

City Mill Co. Ltd.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 358 HI
citymill.com

Diagnostic Laboratory Services Inc.
Headquarters: ‘Aiea
Employees: 643 HI
dlslab.com

Hawaii State Federal Credit Union
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 369 HI
hawaiistatefcu.com

First Hawaiian Bank
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 1,994 HI
fhb.com

First Insurance Co. of Hawaii Ltd.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 330 HI
ficoh.com

Island Palm Communities
Headquarters: Schofield Barracks
Employees: 400 HI
islandpalmcommunities.com

Panda Restaurant Group
Headquarters: Rosemead, CA
Employees: 392 HI
pandarg.com

Parents And Children Together
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 321 HI
pacthawaii.org

Servco Pacific Inc.
Headquarters: Honolulu
Employees: 993 HI
servco.com

Special Categories

Most Family-Friendly Companies

Small Employer

1. National Interstate Insurance
2. WestPac Wealth Partners – Hawai‘i
3. Hawai‘i Energy / Leidos

Medium Employer

1. CW Associates, CPAs
2. Island Insurance
3. Nordic PCL Construction Inc.

Large Employer

1. Servco Pacific Inc.
2. First Hawaiian Bank
3. Central Pacific Bank

Healthiest Companies

Small Employer

1. Honolulu Board of Realtors
2. Hawai‘i Energy / Leidos
3. The Hawaii Group

Medium Employer

1. CW Associates, CPAs
2. Hawaii Dental Service (HDS)
3. Island Insurance

Large Employers

1. Central Pacific Bank
2. Servco Pacific Inc.
3. First Hawaiian Bank

Top 5 Best Places to Work for Women

1. Bowers + Kubota Consulting Inc.
2. Hawai‘i Community Foundation
3. G70
4. First Insurance Co. of Hawaii Ltd.
5. AHL

Best Companies for LGBTQ-Equality

• American Savings Bank
• Bayer
• Edward Jones
• Hawaiʻi Energy / Leidos
• Northwestern Mutual Hawaiʻi

Other Categories

Best Restaurant to Work for in Hawai‘i:
Panda Restaurant Group

Best Place to Work on the Neighbor Islands:
Edward Jones on Hawai‘i Island

Best Young Business to Work For:
Residential Youth Services and Empowerment, founded 2017

Best Place to Work: Rookie of the Year:
QRSE LLC

Best Places to Work Hall of Fame:
Edward Jones, 17 years
Servco Pacific Inc., 17 years
Nordic PCL Construction Inc., 15 years
Island Insurance, 15 years
Bowers + Kubota Consulting Inc., 14 years
ProService Hawaii, 14 years
Atlas Insurance Agency, 13 years
City Mill Co. Ltd., 13 years
Pacific Administrators Inc., 13 years
Central Pacific Bank, 12 years
American Savings Bank, 12 years
Honolulu Board of Realtors, 11 years
First Hawaiian Bank, 11 years
Imua Family Services, 11 years
Swinerton, 10 years
EnviroServices & Training Center LLC, 10 years
Integrated Security Technologies Inc., 10 years
Hawaii State Federal Credit Union, 10 years
Pacific Biodiesel, 10 years

Do you want to be a Best Place to Work?

None of Hawai‘i’s Best Places to Work started that way. All of the companies on the list built workplaces full of engaged employees over the long haul, and many used the Best Places to Work survey and feedback to understand their strengths and weaknesses – and to get better. The confidential survey of employees reveals good, bad and ugly details that you might not discover in any other way. It’s the most useful annual survey for Hawai‘i’s business community. Sign up today for the 2022 survey at bestplacestoworkhi.com. There’s no risk; if your company doesn’t make the list, that remains confidential.