Join Login

Category: Member News

Learn who’s growing, changing, moving and more! Stay on top of what’s new with your neighboring businesses. We share news releases and announcements from your peers in the Madison area. Want to toot your own horn? Use our Submit Member News form to share your own stories.

Photo by Richard Hurd

Madworks Accelerator powered by StartingBlock

We’re thrilled to announce that StartingBlock has partnered with Madworks to offer a 10-week accelerator program this Spring.

  • Applications are open through April 7th
  • We help founders create a strong, sustainable foundation for their growing companies
  • Get your strategic financials in order, learn to run an effective board meeting, tackle legal issues, learn about raising capital, and more – all while working with experienced mentors and Madworks + StartingBlock staff
  • Companies must be based in WI

SCHEDULE FOR SPRING 2023

  • April 26 – June 29 (10 weeks)
  • Weekly group meeting on Wednesday afternoons
  • Individual team meetings on Thursday afternoons

PROGRAM BENEFITS

  • $6,500 in grant funding per participating team
  • 1 year membership to StartingBlock (24×7 access), with an exclusive space at StartingBlock dedicated to Madworks companies
  • Access to StartingBlock member benefits, including 90% discount on Hubspot CRM
  • Regular access to Madworks & StartingBlock staff and connections to their network of mentors and experts

LOCATION

StartingBlock, 821 East Washington, Madison

MORE INFORMATION 

Expectations and further details are available on our website at madworksaccelerator.org. Contact Program Manager Susie Younkle with questions or to learn more: support@madworksaccelerator.org or sign up for her virtual office hours.

Apply to the accelerator here.

The StartingBlock Program Team

StartingBlock Madison

programs@startingblockmadison.org

Photo by Richard Hurd

WPS Health Solutions® recognized as one of the 2023 Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces®—again!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
DeAnne Boegli
Vice President of Communications
608-512-5754
deanne.boegli@wpsic.com

WPS Health Solutions® recognized as one of the 2023 Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces®—again!

MADISON, Wis.—March 20, 2023— WPS Health Solutions has been named one of the 2023 Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces® for the second year in a row. In receiving this accolade, WPS is recognized for its demonstrated leadership in leveraging innovative employee engagement and recognition tactics. Celebrating its 11th year, the Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces Awards will honor this year’s winners at a celebration taking place on May 30th, the evening before Achievers’ annual conference, ACE, which is May 31–June 1 in Austin, Texas.

Pandemic-era trends reshaped employee expectations and behaviors. However, even when faced with a volatile labor market, organizations can boost employee morale and reduce attrition by celebrating, supporting, and engaging employees. The winners of this year’s awards and their productive, happy workforces help echo this truth and serve as blueprints for innovative employee engagement strategies.

“Amid economic turbulence and a rapidly changing work landscape, it has never been more vital to prioritize employee engagement. However, building a workplace that effectively engages and supports all employees is no easy feat,” said Jeff Cates, CEO at Achievers. “We’re proud to announce this year’s 50 Most Engaged Workplaces and recognize an impressive group of companies who are truly redefining employee engagement excellence.”

A panel of 11 judges comprised of employee engagement academics, industry analysts, thought leaders, journalists, and influencers evaluated the applicants. Winners were selected based on Achievers’ Eight Elements of Employee Engagement®: Accountability & Performance, Belonging, Equity & Inclusion, Culture Alignment, Manager Empowerment, Professional & Personal Growth, Purpose & Leadership, Recognition & Rewards, and Wellbeing.

“This is a meaningful award for us at WPS, as it acknowledges our commitment to cultivating an environment where employees feel valued, seen, and heard,” said Michelle Morrow, WPS People Center of Excellence Vice President. “It reflects our exceptional and high-performing workforce and their impact on our business and dedication to making healthcare easier for those we serve. I could not be prouder of the daily work and efforts of everyone at WPS to achieve this recognition.”

For more information about Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces, please visit achievers.com/engaged. Follow the conversations on Twitter at @Achievers or use the hashtag #Achievers50.

About WPS Health Solutions®

Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation (WPS Health Solutions), founded in 1946, is a nationally regarded benefits administrator for a variety of U.S. government programs and a leading not-for-profit health insurer in Wisconsin. WPS Health Solutions serves active-duty and retired military personnel, seniors, individuals, and families in Wisconsin, across the U.S., and around the world. WPS Health Solutions, headquartered in Madison, Wis., has more than 2,600 employees. Within the enterprise, there are three divisions: WPS Government Health Administrators, WPS Military and Veterans Health, and WPS Health Insurance/WPS Health Plan/EPIC Specialty Benefits. For more information, please visit wpshealthsolutions.com.

About Achievers

Achievers’ employee voice and recognition solutions bring your organization’s values and strategy to life by activating employee participation and accelerating a culture of performance. Achievers leverages the science behind behavior change, so your people and your organization can experience sustainable, data-driven business results. Visit us at www.achievers.com.

###

Photo by Richard Hurd

The QTI Group: St. John’s Ministries Hiring Executive Director

Photo by Richard Hurd

All Comfort Services Turns 50 This Year!

Help Us Celebrate Our 50th Anniversary

It’s 2023, All Comfort and the Davies are celebrating their 50th year of business in Madison with a very special gift to their employees, their customers, and our town. Larry Davies, owner of All Comfort Services, sold all of his 100% percent stock to his own employees on December 31, 2022, creating an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). In doing so, All Comfort Services joins a unique group of companies that are 100% employee-owned.

In 1973, Larry and Susan Davies started a company known today as All Comfort Services in their basement while raising their three children in Fitchburg and later McFarland.

Founded under the name Air Comfort, the Davies’ upstart focused on the repair of heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration equipment for residential and commercial customers. Life was good.

Like their children, the company grew quickly and the Davies’ soon relocated its headquarters from their basement to a building on Bjorksten Place in Fitchburg. Day after day, job upon job, the company earned a reputation for its focus on the customer and its growing fleet of bright yellow trucks.

In 2000, Air Comfort added electrical and plumbing divisions to complement its heating and cooling services. In 2004, the company changed its name to All Comfort Services to reflect its mission of taking care of a customer’s whole home to provide total comfort. With continued growth, All Comfort Services moved from Fitchburg to its current location on Voges Road in Madison.

In 2005 Kendall Richards was hired as president of the company. Under Kendall and Larry’s leadership, the company has grown to over 50 people.

Alan and Karyn Lord retired from Air Quality System in February 2022, Larry Davies, the owner of All Comfort Services, who had been 50% owner of Air Quality since the beginning and worked out an agreement to support and service Air Quality’s customers. Larry Davies and Alan have been working together for over 40 years.

In 2022, just one year from turning 50, the company rededicated itself to its customers, and revitalized the core values at the heart of its success: Community, Expertise, and Respect. To these they added a purpose statement to rally around: “create awesome experiences every day.”

Photo by Richard Hurd

Naviant Wins 3 Elite Hyland Partner Awards: Hyland Cloud Partner of the Year, Top Platinum Partner, and Diamond Support

Media contact: Jen Hein | jhein@naviant.com

Naviant Wins 3 Elite Hyland Partner Awards: Hyland Cloud Partner of the Year, Top Platinum Partner, and Diamond Support

Naviant, an OnBase reseller, was recently honored by Hyland for its outstanding cloud services, customer support, and partner performance by receiving the Cloud Partner of the Year Award, the OnBase Diamond Support Award, and achieving Platinum Partner Status.

“At Naviant, we are proud to provide the highest level of service and commitment to our satisfied customers, and we believe our +96% retention rate clearly reflects this dedication,” says Michael Carr, President and CEO at Naviant. “The best-in-class Hyland automation platforms have a direct and measurable impact on our clients and help them work more efficiently with less. These top Elite honors help set Naviant apart from the other OnBase partners.”

“Our partner program features industry leaders that provide cutting-edge technology to streamline processes, empower employees, and enhance customer connections. We congratulate Naviant’s dedication to customer success and outstanding achievement as a recipient of the Cloud Partner of the Year Award, Platinum Partner status, and Diamond Support Honors,” said Bob Dunn, Vice President of Global Partner Programs at Hyland.

Cloud Partner of the Year

Naviant, a long-time Hyland partner, was the recipient of the Cloud Partner of the Year Award for its dedication to structuring its team to align with the Hyland Cloud Platform Engineering team. Doing so has optimized how Naviant deploys, services, and supports its Hyland Cloud customers, which has resulted in a high-quality customer experience.

Platinum Partner Status

Additionally, Naviant has received Platinum Partner Status. This honor is only awarded to Hyland’s top-performing partners based on the criteria of digital transformation experience and sales revenues.

As a long-standing key partner of Hyland, Naviant is a part of the Authorized OnBase Solution Provider community, an exclusive partner network of more than 300 Hyland partners worldwide. OnBase Partners provide implementation expertise and hands-on support for OnBase customers. Together with Hyland, we also offer customers the highest level of technical support as they receive ongoing OnBase training and the backing of Hyland.

OnBase Diamond Support Award

Naviant has also been awarded the OnBase Diamond Support Award for 19 years in a row. The criteria for this prestigious award are based on the ratio of employees providing support to customers, training, customer retention, and the percentage of customers using the latest release of OnBase. Hyland also considers customer feedback, requiring that the winning partner has a customer retention rate of at least 95 percent, which is based on annual renewals and customer satisfaction surveys.

About Naviant

Naviant is a nationally recognized intelligent automation solutions integrator and business process consulting organization with over 30 years of experience. We help our clients do more with less by using technology to streamline processes and gain visibility into the data they need to make better decisions.

Our “process-first” approach emphasizes the importance of process improvement before implementing technology solutions such as OnBase, Brainware, the ABBYY intelligent capture platform, and Hyland RPA.

We are proud to be a top-tier partner for Hyland’s OnBase, a single enterprise information platform for managing content, processes, and cases. OnBase combines ECM, case management, business process management (BPM), records management, compliance, and capture functionality on a single platform. To learn more about Naviant, please visit naviant.com. Process focus. Excellence.

About Hyland

Hyland is a leading content services provider that enables thousands of organizations to deliver better

experiences to the people they serve. Hyland offers a range of cloud-based technologies, solutions, and services that help its customers navigate the complex digital ecosystem that is essential for any thriving, modern organization.

Additionally, Hyland has been recognized as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Content Services Platforms for 12 consecutive years. Gartner now also includes Hyland as a Representative Vendor in the new Gartner Market Guide for Content Services Platforms (CSP). Find us at Hyland.com.