Becoming a Morning Call Top Workplace is no small task. And placing on the annual list five times or more is a feat only a few Lehigh Valley businesses have managed.
Uline, Barry Isett & Associates and Amada Senior Care have each appeared on the list at least five times in the award’s 14-year-history. All finished in first place among their representative categories this year, representing large, mid-sized and small employers. So, how do they do it time and time again?
Claiming a spot on the annual list takes more than just good employee retention and work-life balance. It’s about the small deeds rather than the big projects, according to representatives of the winners interviewed by The Morning Call.
“Everything that we do is about the people,” said Andrew Lawler, president and chief operating officer of Isett, the lone company to appear on The Morning Call’s Top Workplaces list all 14 years.
Just over 40 employers have been recognized on the list at least four times, according to Morning Call data compiled from 2013-25.
Lawler said local companies may hold themselves back from becoming a top workplace because they are “probably focused on some other bigger thing, and maybe it’s profit.”
“Profit is a byproduct of doing the little things right each and every day,” he said of Isett, a family-owned engineering and consulting firm that has served the Lehigh Valley since 1977.
Uline — a distributor of shipping, packaging and industrial supplies — does the little things for employees on their first day, such as establishing a buddy system, according to Senior Distribution Manager Ed Morris.
“When you start here at Uline, the saying is, ‘This should be your last first day,’ ” Morris said. “We really don’t want you to leave here.”
Morris said that amid 3 million square feet of company warehouse space, there are fitness centers and outdoor walking spaces, aimed at inspiring the 1,000 Lehigh Valley employees to stay healthy — and to participate in a 5K race that the company’s team has won for several years in a row.
“Having the largest team comes with a little bit of motivation,” he said, calling Uline an “industrial athlete” that aims to provide quick customer service. Uline has operated in the Lehigh Valley since 2004, and first appeared on the Morning Call Top Workplaces list in 2018.
“We have what we say [is] a ‘secret sauce,’ to why Uline is successful,” said Loredana Nagy, human resources manager of Uline, describing a tight-knit company culture that makes long-term decisions easier.
“In an environment where maybe things are not that stable in many places, we don’t have to worry about that because we stick to what we know works,” she said.
At Isett, employees are encouraged to take paid time off to volunteer in the Lehigh Valley, allowing them to “give their time to a cause that’s meaningful to them for whatever reason,” Lawler said.
And the company responded when Isett employees — with job experience ranging from entry-level to managerial roles — encouraged the company to invest in health care benefits in feedback surveys last year.
“We’re a self-funded program, but the company itself has taken on a lot for the premium cost, especially as it relates to family health care plans,” Lawler said. He said the company worked to make it more financially achievable to participate in health care benefit programs.
Amada Senior Care operates throughout the Lehigh Valley and beyond, with caregivers assisting seniors in their homes. The company was first named a Top Workplace in 2019, less than two years after owner and CEO Ed Duborg co-founded the Lehigh Valley branch.
“You can create a nightmare job for yourself if you start a business and you have tons of people to care for, and you’re not equipped with really good people,” said Duborg, who oversees a staff of 100. Amada caregivers provide more than 10,000 hours of care a month, according to Duborg.
“Do the right thing for people, and good things will happen,” Duborg said.
Christina Reyes, recruiting and retention manager at Amada, recalled her hectic first day there: a summer day in 2024 when her car broke down. She said Duborg and other managers quickly showed understanding, an experience that shaped how she views her job. Reyes wants employees to be open and communicate when personal circumstances affect their work.
“We’ve had many caregivers in the past that may have wanted a set schedule, but something happens in their personal life, and they’re afraid to let us know that their availability has changed,” Reyes said. “We want them to not worry about any fear and communicate with us.”
For the Amada caregivers, who range in age, the job is not easy. There is not a ton of downtime in a role where seniors may need care at odd hours of the night, Duborg said. Yet, he said the company has plenty of paid-time-off offerings for employees, a 401K match and flexible scheduling.
Just as importantly, Amada prioritizes mental health care for clients, and frequently hosts social events.
“I think we’re proactive at Amada versus maybe some businesses are more reactive,” said Becky Moore, Amada’s nurse case manager. “I think we take the time to get to know our caregivers and to treat them as if we would want to be treated.”
Representatives from Amada, Isett and Uline all expressed that they don’t want their company to be seen as “too corporate.”
Kimberli Kyra, human resources manager of Isett, emphasized that the most important part of Isett’s office culture is teaching “all the technical information, but what’s really critical is keeping our culture, having that right fit — character and employee interests and what their values are.”
For the 2026 winners, there are social events on the fun days, and open-door conversations on the rough days. But the company winners believe success comes from serving both clients and employees with care.
“We really take a holistic view when we visit a customer,” said Morris, who oversees a customer service team trained to take calls faster than a 911 call center, and a sales team trained to support the businesses that buy Uline products.
For Amada, on top of uplifting employees during a challenging time, the staff makes arrangements for seniors when they either need to move into a full-time care home, or receive help when alone, Reyes said.
“Even if we unfortunately can’t help you at the time,” she said, “Ed and the rest of the team will always take the time out to see, ‘Well, where else can we help you?’ ”
Andreas Pelekis is a freelance writer.