Culture That Competes: REDW Team Reduces Turnover, Develops Leaders, and Wins Talent
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Industry: Certified Public Accountants & Consultants
Employees: 150-499
Energage Solutions
Workplace Survey, Workplace Insights, Behavioral Assessments, Performance, Check Ins, Employer Branding
Results
- 28% drop in regrettable turnover
- 9-point boost in employee engagement
- 7% growth in employee learning and growth opportunities
- 40+ Top Workplaces awards
Meet REDW – Advisors and CPAs with a powerful, values-driven purpose: “To make meaningful contributions in the lives of our clients, our communities, and each other.” And they live this every day – from how they hire to how they choose their clients to how they coach their leaders.
Team member experience is paramount at REDW. It drives exceptional client experience and everything else in the business. But a few years ago, REDW reached a point where they knew: If culture and team member experience was truly going to be a strategic advantage, they needed a more rigorous way to understand it, shape it, and tell its story.
At the heart of this approach are REDW’s core values: Dream Big, fostering ambition and innovation in how we support our teams; Better Together, emphasizing the power of collaboration and shared success; and Integrity Counts, ensuring honesty and ethics in every interaction. These values guide our commitment to building a culture where every team member can thrive, be heard, and contribute to the company’s future.
Finding the starting line: Leaders look for a benchmark
Before Energage, REDW’s engagement measurement and feedback tools were fragmented… ad hoc surveys, anecdotal feedback, and the People Ops team primarily fielded administrative requests – rather than being a strategic partner. In 2019, Managing Principal, Steve Cogan, determined that if a people-first culture were truly to be a strategic advantage, they needed to measure, shape, and communicate it effectively.
Steve is a dedicated and passionate advocate for the REDW team member experience, believing that strong engagement fuels both performance and purpose, personally and professionally. He knew that making culture a strategic advantage had to start with leadership — but without actionable feedback and analytics, his teams were operating without a roadmap.
Without credible measurement:
- The team lacked metrics for tying team member engagement and retention.
- Turnover patterns were discovered only after they became problems.
- Tracking workplace experience trends over time was impossible without benchmarks.
- Because of these bottlenecks, it was hard to take action.
- People Ops struggled to have clear data to share with operational leaders to gain buy-in and contribute to business strategy.
- REDW’s “people-first” employer brand was limited without feedback and data to back it up.
Katherine Bastow, Vice President of People Operations at REDW, said it best: “In order to set a compass similarly that you would with a client, we need a benchmark. ‘Where are we at?’ That was the purpose in gathering feedback in a consistent way that could be actionable, rather than Survey Monkey and doing some of those other things that don’t give you the same kind of data holistically.”
REDW didn’t need a DIY survey – they needed trendlines, benchmarks, and clear action plans. A shared language that leaders could trust. That’s where Energage came in. Once the People Ops team began measuring workplace culture with Energage, something powerful happened: Leaders started to see patterns – real, targeted patterns – in how different groups were experiencing the firm.
Sara Rolison from the REDW People Ops team explained, “One of the things we really love about the Energage survey is being able to say, ‘OK, we’re noticing a trend in people who have been here 5 to 6 years. Where are we seeing their pain points? What are the departments?’ That is definitely something that has really helped us.”
Shaping culture: Targeted action powers people-first strategy, leadership alignment, and employee retention
With tangible data, and some quantifiable wins, Katherine observed a positive shift: “Leaders began reaching out to People Ops for advice, viewing us as partners,” she said. By leveraging the skills and experience of the People Ops team, leaders were able to focus more fully on their core priorities, knowing they had collaborative support. This equal partnership made the connection between People Ops and overall business growth much clearer to everyone involved. Sara added, “Now that we have a decent amount of historical data, we can really showcase the trends and tell a story that leaders truly understand — and act on.”
“This allowed People Operations to gain trust from teams and leaders – so much so that engagement then became a strategic focus for the REDW leadership team.”
Katherine Bastow,
Vice President of People Operations
But they take it one step further to truly shape talent management. With Energage’s Performance and Behavioral Assessments, and Talent Insights, the firm is learning to use individuals’ core competencies to transform leadership communication and development. Katherine explains, “What we specifically really like about Energage Behavioral Assessments, is that it integrates to the team member profiles, in our talent management software. Whereas you can use other assessments, but it doesn’t automatically integrate, that was really a no-brainer for us.”
Sara explained that Energage’s talent management tools help managers set goals, learn feedback best practices, and access additional resources for their own training and development. Sara says, “We encourage leaders to look at how people receive communication. That’s a crucial part of being a fluid and adaptable leader.”
This is the heart of a real, people-first culture: measuring and benchmarking, shaping behavior, and showcasing success – this is talent management fully activated.
And the results are clear:
- 28% drop in regrettable turnover.
- 9-point boost in employee engagement.
- 11% growth in employee learning and growth opportunities.
Unique competitive advantage: Recognition resonates with leaders, team members, candidates, and clients
Once REDW had measured and shaped culture, Energage Employer Branding helped them showcase it. Top Workplaces recognition became both a brand amplifier and a talent magnet. Marketing gained authentic, team member-voiced storytelling to recruit candidates and clients alike.
Katherine captured it perfectly: “What Energage gives you, is a voice to your authentic brand. Your team members are telling the story. It’s aligned. When our new Director of Marketing, Heather Stratz joined REDW 12 months ago, she asked about our team member experience and stories they could share, I said, ‘Don’t worry, we have all the content you need, direct from our team members, presented in a unified authentic message’.”
40+ Top Workplaces awards.
Improved offer acceptance rates and candidate value alignment.
Higher level of team member referrals.
Social media followers, engagement, and shares are through the roof.
Named Top 100 US Accounting Firm by INSIDE Public Accounting in 2025.
Most importantly, Katherine and the People Ops team partnered with leaders throughout REDW to serve as a strategic influence on the business — shaping not only a strong, foundational team member experience but also the way they serve clients. Central to this approach is a commitment to team member satisfaction, regularly seeking feedback to refine strategies and foster continuous improvement across the organization.
They built a cultural operating system that gives leaders tools to drive growth and performance, keeps teams engaged longer, and authentically differentiates their strong employer brand – all using team member feedback. That’s the power of Energage.
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