
Workplace culture has the power to set you apart from your competitors. Culture has a direct impact on employee motivation, how employees advocate for your business, and how they interact with your clients. Clients feel the lasting effects of working with a business that maintains a positive culture.
Darwill recognizes that success begins with culture. Since its start, Darwill has focused on building a strong culture and hiring talent that complements it.
We focus on treating all employees as if they are family, as family is a staple to our identity. In 1951, Darwill was founded by William Van Dyke Sr. and has since been passed down to each following generation. In 1978, his son William Jr. and wife Janice continued the family business and then passed it on to their sons, Troy and Brandon Van Dyke, who are the current Co-CEOs.
For 70 years, Darwill has been a family-run business, and their employees are seen as an extension of that family unit. A culture based around a tight family unit has given us a unique value proposition that clients immediately see and feel. Clients too want to be part of the Darwill family and are treated as such. Our clients are immediately drawn in and trust Darwill because they instantly feel welcomed and treated as part of the team.
Darwill spent over a decade focusing on building a great team and employing the right people in leadership positions.
“Our success has a lot to do with making sure the culture is right. People and our culture are our number one advantage. We have so many long-term employees which speaks to who we are,” says Brandon Van Dyke, Co-CEO of Darwill. “We’re successful because of the people we have and how long people have been here. Continuing to invest in our people and culture will propel us forward. If you have great people, it’s hard to not be successful.”
A large reason why Darwill has been able to survive adversities throughout the last 70 years, is because of our strong culture. We witnessed firsthand the strength and determination from our team after the pandemic sent shock waves to many businesses.
“A lot of organizations didn’t survive, our people helped us get through it,” says Brandon, “Our staff pulled through and was willing to adapt in a time of uncertainty. Their willingness to work from home and change their schedules speaks to their commitment to our team. It was chaos but it was incredible that our staff rallied and made it through. It says a lot about our team and shows the power that comes from implementing a good culture.”
How Darwill Built its Culture
While Darwill has always had a family-based culture, a key player in building upon it was Janice, William Jr.’s wife. After his untimely passing in 1993, Janice stepped in and made huge strides to focus on the people of Darwill. She focused on building relationships and developing programs for employee engagement. She knew that when employees felt welcomed and part of the company that they were happier with their work.
To this day, we celebrate our employees by hosting employee focused events based on the foundation Janice implemented years ago. From golf outings, family picnics, chili cookoffs, and holiday luncheons, our leadership teams bring together employees from different locations, departments and position levels to meet one another, build relationships and enjoy one another’s company. Celebrating staff and spending time together outside of work has greatly helped us build a unified team.
As we build our team, we focus on hiring people that will continue to exemplify our core values of respect, empowerment, collaboration and community.
We pride ourselves on a culture of openness and integrity. Senior management takes initiative to make sure our welcoming culture stays intact and is experienced by all staff members.
“We promote acceptance and inclusion in our company. Darwill welcomes diversity and appreciates the differences each member brings to the team as our individuality makes us stronger. We come together as a family unit with respect for one another,” says Troy Van Dyke, Co-CEO of Darwill.
Darwill’s Core Values
Respect. Darwill leadership and employees recognize and appreciate the differences and unique abilities that one another bring to the team. Gaining respect helps to build feelings of trust, safety, and wellbeing amongst staff.
Empowerment. Part of creating a great culture includes empowering one another and investing in staff. We help staff grow professionally and personally; encouraging them to reach their full potential. Classes, trainings and other necessary resources are provided to each of our employees.
Collaboration. We always welcome employees to come together and share ideas. Including one another in brainstorming sessions and never turning an idea down. Our leadership team listens and allows everyone the space to contribute; everyone’s voice is heard.
Community. Giving back to the community is at the core of Darwill. Our team makes time to give back and build a stronger community through volunteering. This brings our team together to support others for the greater good of improving our community as well as nonprofit initiatives across the world that our donations contribute to.
A big part of who we are involves giving back. By donating our time and efforts to the community, our employees feel part of a bigger picture. We are proud to have a deep history of charitable contributions and service to many organizations in the USA and abroad. We partner with like-minded not-for-profit organizations who are making a difference both in their community and across the globe.
Darwill Serves is the philanthropic arm of Darwill that looks at the needs of the community to see how our employees can volunteer their time, talents, and resources. As an organization, we also use our skills and resources to donate designs and print material to multiple charities to help them raise awareness.
“Darwill is more than just direct mail, marketing and printing. Our goal is to help other businesses grow to better help service our community. We are dedicated to supporting charities and lending a hand where needed to keep our community together and thriving. Every year we look to help various not for profits,” says Troy.
Troy continues, “Not only does volunteering help build a stronger community around us, but we’ve seen that it has helped us come together and build a stronger team. Coming together to support one another and our community radiates through our team and builds on who we are.”
Darwill owes our growth and success to our exceptional team of talented, committed individuals. Continuing to build upon our culture and caring for our people has helped us grow and reach 70 years in business.
We look forward to many more years of business and welcoming new people to our team. By supporting one another and staying strong together, we can accomplish anything.
If you’d like to join our team, we’d love to have you. Please see our current job openings.