Relieving Stress, Feeling Valued: RAND Threepeats as
One of Crain's Best Places to Work in New York City

New York, December 6, 2010

Pump it up, downward dog.

Stop by RAND's offices in Chelsea on any given Tuesday night and you'll find employees doing just that: relieving the tensions of a hard day's work with a challenging circuit-training workout or stretching out the kinks on the mat and "ohming" their way to bliss. 

RAND's on-site exercise facility (which includes free personal training sessions and nutrition counseling for employees) and free yoga classes are just two of the offerings that helped make the company one of Crain's Best Places to Work in New York City for the third year in a row. Other RAND perks include a recreation room with a pool table and other games, and a wall where employees can hang their travel souvenirs, for which the company reimburses them.

"We ask people to work hard, so we give them these outlets where they can reduce stress and hang out together beyond just the work environment," said RAND's Founder and President Stephen Varone, AIA. "It makes us better workers and happier people, so it's hard to argue with the results."

Culture of Appreciation

Indeed, Crain's profile of RAND described it as a company that makes employees feel valued. The culture of appreciation, Crain notes, extends to personal and family needs, such as accommodating moms who want to bring their babies to work, and allowing employees to take a leave of absence without jeopardizing their jobs. RAND also provides in-house professional training programs, through which engineers and architects can earn continuing education credits.

"A job—a career—needs to be more than just a series of day-to-day tasks," Varone says. "When people enjoy coming to work and feel like they're appreciated, they want to give their best, which benefits both us and our clients."

RAND was ranked 15th out of the top 50 companies this year and was the highest-ranking engineering firm on the list as well as one the city's Best Real Estate Employers. RAND was also one of only a handful of companies to make Crain's Best Places to Work in New York City list every year since the list's inception in 2008.

To find the companies for the Best Places to Work list, Crain's partnered with Best Companies Group, an independent research firm, which conducted more than 13,000 employee surveys. The companies had to employ at least 25 people in New York City to be eligible. Firms were ranked based on how their employees answered a confidential 76-question survey (75% of the score) and how the company scored in a 81-question employer survey (25%), which covered such areas as benefits, salaries, recruitment, training, work environment, and community involvement. 

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  • RAND Engineering & Architecture, DPC
  • 159 West 25th Street
  • New York, NY 10001
  • P: 212-675-8844
RAND Engineering & Architecture, DPC
159 West 25th Street | New York, NY 10001
P: 212-675-8844 |