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- Garver
Garver
Founded in 1919, Garver is an employee-owned multi-disciplined engineering, planning, architectural, and environmental services firm with nearly 800 employees across the United States. Offering a wide range of services focused on aviation, construction, facilities design, federal, survey, transportation, and water, Garver sits in the top 125 of the Engineering News-Record's prestigious Top 500 Design Firms list and is consistently recognized as a best firm to work for. Learn more at GarverUSA.com.
Purpose
Founded in 1919, Garver is an employee-owned multi-disciplined engineering, planning, architectural, and environmental services firm, headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas with nearly 800 employees across the United States. Offering a wide range of services focused on aviation, construction, facilities design, federal, survey, transportation, and water, Garver sits in the top 125 of the Engineering News-Record's prestigious Top 500 Design Firms list and is consistently recognized as a best firm to work for. Garver opened its first Oklahoma office in 1993 in Tulsa, and currently has almost 100 employees in Tulsa, Norman, and Oklahoma City.
Vision
For over a century, an exceptional, employee-centered culture has been one of Garver’s highest priorities. Garver is committed to providing necessary resources for maintaining a healthy work-life balance and a responsive executive leadership team. The firm continually invests in its people through employee-run initiatives focused on the improvement and retention of its employees, intern development, and professional development. These programs include:
Garver Wellness, our comprehensive wellness program, incentivizes health services and programs at no cost to employees, while empowering them with knowledge and reducing health risks. The program offers many services, like in-house biometric screenings and on-site fitness facilities or gym-fee reimbursement, to promote overall employee well-being.
GarverGives, the company’s corporate giving program, enables Garver to uplift the communities where its employees and clients live and work through charitable contributions and philanthropic activities. Through GarverGives, Garver focuses its contributions and encourages employee engagement in three areas – STEM education, community stewardship, and employee gift matching. Since 2015, GarverGives has contributed more than $800,000 to worthy organizations across the country.
Garver Connect is an employee-led group dedicated to maximizing the value of employees to further Garver's unified mission.
Garver U is a program led by the company’s senior leadership aimed to help employees continually grow via professional development opportunities and networking.
Garver Wellness, our comprehensive wellness program, incentivizes health services and programs at no cost to employees, while empowering them with knowledge and reducing health risks. The program offers many services, like in-house biometric screenings and on-site fitness facilities or gym-fee reimbursement, to promote overall employee well-being.
GarverGives, the company’s corporate giving program, enables Garver to uplift the communities where its employees and clients live and work through charitable contributions and philanthropic activities. Through GarverGives, Garver focuses its contributions and encourages employee engagement in three areas – STEM education, community stewardship, and employee gift matching. Since 2015, GarverGives has contributed more than $800,000 to worthy organizations across the country.
Garver Connect is an employee-led group dedicated to maximizing the value of employees to further Garver's unified mission.
Garver U is a program led by the company’s senior leadership aimed to help employees continually grow via professional development opportunities and networking.
Mission
Garver’s overall mission is to better the communities it serves, both through innovative infrastructure solutions and community service. That’s why, in 2015, Garver unified those achievements by creating GarverGives, which focuses on uplifting its three key constituents – its communities, clients, and employees.
In Oklahoma, GarverGives has assisted a variety of local charities and STEM programs. In response to the recent COVID-19 crisis, Garver employees in our Norman and Oklahoma City offices raised more than $4,500 in company-matched funds for the Norman Regional Health Foundation and the United Way of Norman. Their contribution helped provide N95 masks and other essential items for health care workers and families within their communities.
In 2017, Garver partnered with A New Leaf, a charity in Broken Arrow that provides the developmentally disabled with life skills and job training, leading to a $2,000 grant to the organization. Garver’s Norman office has also partnered with Norman-based Food and Shelter, providing a $1,320 donation and volunteer efforts that included delivering donated goods to the shelter.
To help celebrate Garver’s centennial, employees spent 2019 donating STEM kits and funds to 100 schools across its footprint, 16 of which were in Oklahoma, as part of the Garver Chain Reaction Challenge.
Garver is also intentional about the unity of its nearly 800 employees spread across the country. The company is continually finding new ways to keep its employees connected and engaged. Through the uncertainty of COVID-19, Garver has worked hard to keep its employees informed and safe through consistent and effective communication.
In Oklahoma, GarverGives has assisted a variety of local charities and STEM programs. In response to the recent COVID-19 crisis, Garver employees in our Norman and Oklahoma City offices raised more than $4,500 in company-matched funds for the Norman Regional Health Foundation and the United Way of Norman. Their contribution helped provide N95 masks and other essential items for health care workers and families within their communities.
In 2017, Garver partnered with A New Leaf, a charity in Broken Arrow that provides the developmentally disabled with life skills and job training, leading to a $2,000 grant to the organization. Garver’s Norman office has also partnered with Norman-based Food and Shelter, providing a $1,320 donation and volunteer efforts that included delivering donated goods to the shelter.
To help celebrate Garver’s centennial, employees spent 2019 donating STEM kits and funds to 100 schools across its footprint, 16 of which were in Oklahoma, as part of the Garver Chain Reaction Challenge.
Garver is also intentional about the unity of its nearly 800 employees spread across the country. The company is continually finding new ways to keep its employees connected and engaged. Through the uncertainty of COVID-19, Garver has worked hard to keep its employees informed and safe through consistent and effective communication.
Additional Culture Details
Garver is committed to creating a positive workplace culture through not only its competitive benefits package that includes professional development programs and a comprehensive Wellness Program, but also annual appreciation events like Best Firm Friday and Garver Summit.
To celebrate its annual appearance on Zweig Group’s Best Firms to Work for list – Garver has been named #1 in three of the last four years – each of Garver’s nationwide offices hosts Best Firm Friday. Some play kickball and share breakfast, some spend an afternoon at TopGolf and have lunch, others go bowling – however they feel best celebrates Garver being a Best Firm.
Garver Summit is the company’s annual meeting at which employees gather in one office location for meetings, professional development sessions, and team-building activities, as well as to discuss accomplishments of the past year and the future. The event has been held in Tulsa (2014) and Oklahoma City (2017).
To celebrate its annual appearance on Zweig Group’s Best Firms to Work for list – Garver has been named #1 in three of the last four years – each of Garver’s nationwide offices hosts Best Firm Friday. Some play kickball and share breakfast, some spend an afternoon at TopGolf and have lunch, others go bowling – however they feel best celebrates Garver being a Best Firm.
Garver Summit is the company’s annual meeting at which employees gather in one office location for meetings, professional development sessions, and team-building activities, as well as to discuss accomplishments of the past year and the future. The event has been held in Tulsa (2014) and Oklahoma City (2017).
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