What’s the secret ingredient for a great workplace? For these three tech professionals, it’s “impact.”
AirDNA’s vice president of people operations, Anna Westcot, said it well: “A week here feels like meaningful progress, shared ownership and the kind of satisfaction that comes from doing work that matters with people you genuinely love working with.”
Seeing the impact of your work is more meaningful than it's often given credit for. Impact is an essential part of workplace satisfaction, psychological safety and employee engagement. HR Cloud found that employees who felt connected to their work were 68 percent less likely to burn out than those who didn’t.
Sara Qawwas, mobile principal engineer for Ahold Delhaize USA, experiences feeling connected to meaningful work every day, noting that working at the grocery, e-commerce and adtech company means getting a perfect blend of challenging work and the support to do it.
“You’re encouraged to grow, learn and take on meaningful work, but you’re never doing it alone,” Qawwas said.
Sharon Martin, a forward deployed engineer, pointed out that making an impact on customers’ lives is one of the best parts of working at Huntress.
“It feels like I’m getting regular opportunities to solve difficult problems that make a real impact on our end users, which makes my day-to-day highly rewarding,” Martin said.
Built In spoke with all three in detail about what makes their workplaces so special.
Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of global food retailer Ahold Delhaize, is part of the U.S. family of brands like Food Lion, Giant Food, The GIANT Company, Hannaford and Stop & Shop.
In one memorable line, how would you describe day-to-day satisfaction on your team?
A week here feels like we’re building something important together and seeing it take shape is energizing.
Would you recommend working here? What proof backs that up?
I’d absolutely recommend working here. For me, it’s the mix of challenge and support. You’re encouraged to grow, learn and take on meaningful work, but you’re never doing it alone. My manager and team genuinely want me to succeed and that makes a huge difference. And it’s not just my experience; our annual engagement survey, which is accessible to everyone, shows most associates feel the same, with 87 percent saying their manager supports career development and 86 percent feeling empowered to make decisions. People also value inclusion and sustainability, which really reflects the culture I see every day. Plus, being recognized as a Top Employer and one of the Best Places to Work says a lot about how much Ahold Delhaize USA invests in its people.
“You’re encouraged to grow, learn and take on meaningful work, but you’re never doing it alone.”
How is the company perceived externally right now and what signals support that?
People outside the organization see Ahold Delhaize USA as a grocery retail leader that’s innovative, responsible and committed to doing the right thing for people and the planet. Our brands get noticed for quality and for standing up on issues like sustainability, animal welfare and accessibility. Recent recognition backs that up: We earned The Shelby Report’s Sustainability Award for regenerative agriculture, AD Retail Media won an Omnishopper Award for its Oreo campaign and several of our leaders were named Top Women in Grocery for driving change by Progressive Grocer. As an employer, we’re proud to be Top Employer Institute-certified, recognized by Handshake for early talent programs, and listed on Built In’s Best Places to Work. Add in positive Glassdoor trends and it’s clear we’re creating a workplace where people can grow their careers and thrive.
AirDNA is a provider of data and business intelligence for the billion-dollar travel and vacation rental industry.
In one memorable line, how would you describe day-to-day satisfaction on your team?
A week here feels like meaningful progress, shared ownership and the kind of satisfaction that comes from doing work that matters with people you genuinely love working with.
Would you recommend working here? What proof backs that up?
I’d recommend working at AirDNA because our people genuinely love being here. Our eNPS score of 50 reflects a strong, healthy culture built on trust, impact and collaboration. When 94 percent of employees say they’d recommend AirDNA as a great place to work, it’s clear this is a team where people feel valued, supported and excited about what we’re building together.
“It’s clear this is a team where people feel valued, supported and excited about what we’re building together.”
How is the company perceived externally right now and what signals support that?
AirDNA is seen as both an industry leader and a standout employer in travel tech, with recognition such as being a Skift IDEA Awards finalist and a Built In Colorado Best Places to Work recipient, reinforcing our credibility and culture. In press and industry conversations, AirDNA is often highlighted for pairing category leadership and meaningful impact with a people-first, collaborative environment. For employees and prospective employees, that combination makes AirDNA an especially compelling place to grow a career.
Huntress is an enterprise-grade, people-powered cybersecurity company.
In one memorable line, how would you describe day-to-day satisfaction on your team?
It feels like I’m getting regular opportunities to solve difficult problems that make a real impact on our end users, which makes my day-to-day highly rewarding.
Would you recommend working here? What proof backs that up?
We’ve had several folks boomerang back (me included) months or years after leaving. I can personally say, although Huntress is fully remote, many employees develop deep friendships that continue on even after one or both have moved on to another role. Those relationships are key to why folks stay with the company and why people boomerang back.
“I can personally say, although Huntress is fully remote, many employees develop deep friendships that continue on even after one or both have moved on to another role.”
How is the company perceived externally right now and what signals support that?
I could point towards a ton of awards, but If you want to know what normal Huntress partners think of the product, check out Reddit for a ton of threads and mentions in r/msp. Huntress has a lot of fans because the company values transparency and acts on feedback from the user community.
