{"id":3477,"date":"2017-06-12T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-12T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/the-no-1-large-place-to-work-in-it-quicken-loans\/"},"modified":"2017-06-12T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-06-12T10:00:00","slug":"the-no-1-large-place-to-work-in-it-quicken-loans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/the-no-1-large-place-to-work-in-it-quicken-loans\/","title":{"rendered":"The No. 1 large place to work in IT: Quicken Loans"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.techhive.com\/images\/article\/2017\/05\/quickenloans17-100721901-large.3x2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/the-no-1-large-place-to-work-in-it-quicken-loans.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<p>Lots of companies have corporate goals and mission statements and even go to the trouble of printing them on laminated pocket cards for employees to stick in their wallets.<\/p>\n<p>Detroit-based Quicken Loans, which is Computerworld\u2019s No. 1 Large Best Place to Work in IT for the fourth year in a row (and was also No. 1 in 2013, before the Best Places rankings were divided by organization size), has its \u201cisms\u201d \u2014 19 principles at the core of the online mortgage lender\u2019s creative, collaborative and rigmarole-free culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Many Quicken employees seem to know the <em>isms<\/em> by heart. What\u2019s really striking is how many say they live by them, not only on the job, but in their personal interactions with family, friends, neighbors, service people and whomever else they encounter in a day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know it sounds cheesy, but I am a different person than I was on the day I started working here,\u201d says Kristina Kolbas, 39. The <em>isms<\/em>, she says, \u201care such a positive mindset that it ultimately changes how you feel about life.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"nativo-promo smartphone\" id=\"\"\/>\n<p><strong>[ See the full <a href=\"http:\/\/www.computerworld.com\/category\/bestplaces2017\/#tk.ctw-infsb\">Best Places to Work in IT 2017<\/a> report ]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Take, for example <em>ism<\/em> No. 12, \u201cWe\u2019ll figure it out.\u201d In her 15 years at Quicken Loans, Kolbas, who rose from a report writer for the mortgage banking group to senior vice president of client platforms, says it has \u201cdone a 180\u201d on her approach to any and all challenges, at work and outside.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s no longer a matter of if there is a solution, but of pulling in the right folks or of asking the right questions. There\u2019s always a solution to everything,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>This mindset was especially helpful during the three years Kolbas worked on the Quicken Loans \u201cmousetrap machine,\u201d a sort of internal SWAT team that infiltrates different business areas, studies their processes and technologies, and then recommends changes for the better. That maps to yet another one of the company\u2019s isms \u2014 No. 5: \u201cObsessed with finding a better way.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"nativo-promo tablet desktop\" id=\"\"\/>\n<p>Kolbas says that one of the changes her team suggested was creating a project management office to coordinate the many business and IT projects that came out of the mousetrap machine\u2019s work. She eventually went on to help build and lead what blossomed into the current project management office.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/the-no-1-large-place-to-work-in-it-quicken-loans-2.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"CW Best Places to Work in IT [2017] - Quicken Loans' SVP of client platforms Kristina Kolbas\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\" data-imageid=\"100724761\" data-license=\"IDG\"\/><small class=\"credit\">Quicken Loans<\/small><\/p>\n<p>Senior vice president of client platforms Kristina Kolbas hosts Talk IT, a quarterly live-stream show that keeps technology team members updated and spotlights team accomplishments.<\/p>\n<p>At Quicken Loans, she says, \u201cany time I make a suggestion, I better be coming up with how I can drive it forward too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just who we are as a company,\u201d she continues. \u201cNo matter where you\u2019re at, if you have an idea for something that can be improved, or a brand new idea, you\u2019re expected and rewarded to come through with those suggestions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>\u2018You\u2019ve got this.\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>Only a week or two after starting his job as a software\/data engineer, now 10 years ago, Dan Jones found an issue with one of the company\u2019s data feeds. \u201cIt was one of those things where I thought a more senior person should take it on because it was a system that touches a lot of other systems, and I didn\u2019t want to break anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Jones took the issue to his leader. \u201cHe told me \u2018Don\u2019t worry. You\u2019ve got this. We believe you can drive it to resolution.\u2019 I was able to do it, and I learned a lot in the process. It really showed me the culture of empowerment,\u201d says Jones, 35, who is now VP of business intelligence and leads a 220-person team.<\/p>\n<p>Brian Downey, 42, a systems architect who started at Quicken Loans as a help desk staffer 20 years ago, likes the <em>ism<\/em> \u201cA penny saved is a penny.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat that means is we\u2019re not going to let concerns over dollars and cents ruin our ability to innovate,\u201d says Downey, who has worked remotely from California for the past 11 years. \u201cIt means we need to be on the leading edge [of technology]. That\u2019s the antithesis of saving money. We\u2019re investing in the future,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Downey\u2019s team is in the process of building a private cloud with an eye toward bringing back in-house IT work now running in various public clouds. An internal cloud, he says, will allow the company to enhance the programmatic development practices and move towards a DevOps model leveraging agile development practices that work well in the public cloud. \u201cIt\u2019s a speed thing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<h3>Big benefits and key perks<\/h3>\n<p>Keeping IT employees engaged and motivated with innovative projects is one of the many things Quicken Loans does well \u2014 so well that many in the 1,500-person IT organization say they wouldn\u2019t dream of working anywhere else. The turnover rate is just 6% in IT, and hiring is on: Quicken Loans IT\u2019s headcount is expected to grow by 10% this year, according to department managers.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/the-no-1-large-place-to-work-in-it-quicken-loans-3.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"CW Best Places to Work in IT [2017] - Quicken Loans employees\" width=\"300\" height=\"398\" data-imageid=\"100724764\" data-license=\"IDG\"\/><small class=\"credit\">Quicken Loans<\/small><\/p>\n<p>Quicken Loans employees (from left to right): Jason Slater, Ninad Kulkarni, CIO Linglong He, Sue Escamilla and Jeremy Drager. Mural: &#8220;Brummel&#8221; by Jordan Nickel.<\/p>\n<p>What also keeps workers enthusiastically on board are generous compensation and benefit plans and abundant opportunities to try out creative ideas and expand skills. In fact, Quicken Loans ranked No. 4 among all 100 Best Places for benefits and No. 5 for its training offerings this year.<\/p>\n<p>Employees\u2019 healthcare coverage is 76% employer-funded, and Quicken Loans contributes 50 cents on every dollar that employees invest in their 401(k) retirement accounts. There\u2019s even pet insurance.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Onsite childcare is a boon for working parents, and there\u2019s also a fitness center, caf\u00e9, massage therapist, physical therapist, family doctor, eye doctor, chiropractor and salon, all onsite.<\/p>\n<p>Other highly rated employee perks are ultra-flexible hours and the ability to work from home; 25 days paid time off after the first year on the job, eight paid weeks of maternity leave, and tuition reimbursement up to $5,250 annually.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Quicken Loans also scores high on the fun front. Free and always available snacks, over-the-top holiday parties, free tickets to major league sporting events (Quicken Loans\u2019 founder and chairman, Dan Gilbert, owns the NBA\u2019s Cleveland Cavaliers) and a cool downtown workspace, replete with a basketball court, all contribute to the company\u2019s work hard\/play hard vibe.<\/p>\n<p>What ultimately sold Michigan native Megan Baker on Quicken Loans was its rock-solid commitment to downtown Detroit. She joined the company a year and a half ago, relocating from Washington, D.C., where she had been working as a consultant on federal contracts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI took a trip to Detroit, and it was really exciting to see all the growth and revitalization here. Digging into it deeper, I understood the relationship between Quicken Loans moving its offices downtown and the revitalization of the city,\u201d says Baker, now a team leader in project management.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/the-no-1-large-place-to-work-in-it-quicken-loans-4.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"CW Best Places to Work in IT [2017] - Quicken Loans' program for STEM-focused learning and mentoring\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\" data-imageid=\"100724760\" data-license=\"IDG\"\/><small class=\"credit\">Quicken Loans<\/small><\/p>\n<p>Through its QSTEM program, Quicken Loans regularly welcomes Detroit Public Schools students in grades 6 to 8 to its offices for STEM-focused learning and mentoring.<\/p>\n<p>Quicken Loans moved its offices from Livonia, Mich., to the city in 2010. Today, more than 3,000 employees live in downtown Detroit. As Baker, 37, sees it, living downtown is one of the greatest perks Quicken Loans has to offer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI get a rebate for living downtown and opting out of parking,\u201d Baker says, referring to Quicken Loan\u2019s program that gives rebates up to $150 per month to employees who do not use company parking spaces.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI also take advantage of partnerships that Quicken Loans has with other downtown businesses, like a yoga studio that has drop-in classes [discounted for Quicken Loans employees],\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Free and unlimited technology and certification training, plus all expenses paid participation at tech and industry conferences are all also highly encouraged at Quicken Loans, IT employees say.<\/p>\n<p>In his first two years at the company, Nishant Gupta, a 32-year-old software solutions architect, attended Amazon\u2019s national conference and participated in Quicken Loans\u2019 homegrown client experience program. Experiencing firsthand how mortgage applicants navigate the loan process afforded him a real-world glimpse of how it might be simplified and sped up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBefore, I never got to see that. I was just an IT guy,\u201d Gupta says. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And last year when his wife was pregnant with their first child, Gupta says he especially valued the company\u2019s flexibility in where and when he worked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWorking from home is a big perk. When my wife needed me, I was there and could still contribute to work,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>This year, he and his wife, their families plus members of Gupta\u2019s software team will celebrate his daughter\u2019s first birthday together at a party at his home. \u201cMy good friends are here,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It was a friend of a friend who recommended Cong Fan to Quicken Loans almost 17 years ago. She started as a programmer\/software engineer, then became intrigued by databases and data-intensive projects. Today, she is director of central platforms, a team that \u201cworks on and supports business data. We work with a lot of teams, supporting all kinds of applications,\u201d including the company\u2019s signature online Rocket Mortgage app launched last year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTechnology-wise, we have done a lot of automation, from applying for a loan to the process of going through and closing the loan. The whole process is supported by technology,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>That means plenty of opportunities to try out new ideas, learn new skills and collaborate with a variety of teams, says Fan.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have been working in this company for so many years, but not a single day do I feel like it\u2019s work. I haven\u2019t gotten bored,\u201d she says. \u201cYou get challenged every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Next: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.computerworld.com\/article\/3198767\/the-no-1-midsize-place-to-work-in-it-ultimate-software.html\">The No. 1 midsize place to work in IT: Ultimate Software<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lots of companies have corporate goals and mission statements and even go to the trouble of printing them on laminated pocket cards for employees to stick in their wallets. Detroit-based<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":3478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107,100,78],"tags":[65,60,57],"class_list":["post-3477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-places-to-work-in-it-2017","category-careers","category-it-leadership","tag-best-places-to-work-in-it-2017","tag-careers","tag-it-leadership"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adeptcs.net\/sp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}