Thrive director Aimee Dodson has been with Movement Mortgage since it was created by Casey Crawford and four others in 2008. Today the company has over $1.1 billion monthly in closed mortgages, 3,700 employees nationwide, and about 720 people in its Indian Land, S.C. office. It’s moved from a midsize to a large company on the Top Workplace list.

The pace of growth has been consistently brisk. The new size means “logistics are a bit challenging, but the heart is just (the) same,” says Dodson.

The first seven words of the company’s mission statement -- We exist to love and value people -- dictate its culture.

“Getting a loan tends to be a painful experience,” says Dodson. “At Movement we put loving and valuing people first, and that tends to take away the pain.”

The company’s philosophy is that every employee should thrive because they are part of the organization. The Thrive department was created to house the company’s traditional and non-traditional benefits. “As we’ve grown we’ve identified that the culture we’ve created needs some structure and sustained focus in order to become scalable,” says Dodson.

Employee engagement programs address four areas: personal finances, family and relationship, health and wellness, and professional environment. A company-wide, 12-week “Total Money Makeover” was offered in 2016. Each employee received instructional videos by popular financial writer Dave Ramsey. John Putnam was hired to speak at employee forums and distribute his book “He Spends, She Spends.”

To promote family and relationships, Movement Mortgage provides free counseling and corporate chaplains. They took 2,000 people to a Hornets game last March, and there will be a corn hole tournament and family movie night in October. On date night, employees and their significant others are provided child care and a $50 gift card for dinner.

As part of health and wellness, employees are given Fitbits to help them track their fitness.

The professional environment is cultivated by Friday pep rallies with free breakfast. “We are trying to create an environment of camaraderie and being part of a community that cares for one another,” says Dodson.

Employees are particularly proud of the Love Works Movement. It’s an internal fund used to support employees in a time of crisis. Currently 60 percent of employees give to the fund, and their money is matched by the company.

IT administrator Carlos Otero intentionally sought a job at Movement Mortgage because he was looking for a job that valued him and gave him a sense of purpose. “It’s an incredible thing,” says Otero. “Movement truly loves and values their employees. I love going to work. I’m 35 years old and it’s the only time in the world I’ve felt that.”