Pinnacle Remains the Best Place to Work in Memphis

Still the One

Pinnacle Remains the Best Place to Work in Memphis

February 12, 2021

2020 was a dramatically different year on all fronts, but Pinnacle Financial Partners is still the best place to work in Memphis, according to the Memphis Business Journal. The firm earned the top award for “Best Place to Work” in the “large companies” category of businesses with 150 or more employees. Pinnacle is now a five-time winner over the last six years.

The firm’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the care that was taken to keep associates, clients and their families safe was a factor in the accolade, as well as efforts to maintain Pinnacle’s “WOW” culture throughout.

“The ingredients for a great workplace remain the same,” said Phillip May, Pinnacle’s Memphis regional president. “Trust, fairness, enriching associates developmentally and rewarding them in intangible and tangible ways, work-life balance and more. But 2020 challenged everyone to maintain personal and professional connection in an environment when we couldn’t be together in a traditional sense.”

Mentioned by associates in surveys for the award were a virtual "high school" reunion — complete with daily spirit week photo contests and an online pep rally — in lieu of the annual in-person event to mark the company's 20th anniversary and the Memphis “Mini Games” with solo contests assembled on a circuit for plenty of distance.

This award is based on research from Quantum Workplace, a leading employee engagement firm. They send anonymous surveys to employees with closed and open-ended questions on culture, camaraderie and other criteria. Average scores from these surveys determine the final rankings and awards.

Dozens of Midsouth companies are eligible, and a handful are chosen as finalists. But just one takes home the top award in each of the four size categories.

The first time Pinnacle won this award was also its first year in the Memphis market.

Pinnacle Financial Partners placed No. 1 on the Knoxville News Sentinel’s list of Top Workplaces in the mid-size business category in 2020 and is one of only 11 businesses in Knoxville in any category to have been recognized every year since the awards began in 2017. Pinnacle has also earned more than a dozen national workplace awards, including: