2024 BEST PLACES TO WORK — SMALL EMPLOYERS WINNER: Troika Solutions

“Partners, process, technology” is the tagline of Reston-based management and technology consulting firm Troika Solutions. In addition to valuing its partnerships with its military and government clients, this service– disabled veteran-owned small business has a keen focus on its partnership with its employees, says the company’s president and CEO, Kenneth Lasure.

That’s “because I felt that they made a commitment and trusted me when they joined the company,” says Lasure, who in 2011 co-founded the boutique consulting firm that offers services such as asset management, product support, data management and systems integration, mostly working for the Department of Defense, and the U.S. Marines in particular.

For Troika’s leadership, that partnership means treating its 23 full-time employees and one part-timer like “adults and professionals,” Lasure says. It also means providing in-demand benefits, including paying 100% of health care, dental and vision coverage for employees and their dependents. Troika also offers a “nonelective” 401(k) match, contributing 3% of an employee’s income to a retirement fund whether the employees contribute or not.

“Pretty much everybody either has a family member or friend or knows somebody who has some kind of difficult medical situation, and it can be just completely debilitating,” Lasure says. “To be able to take that off their back, I think, is smart. … I’ve found that [these benefits are] very welcome.”

Troika values hiring well-rounded employees, with Lasure likening his team to baseball “utility infielders” — folks who can play several different positions competently. This characteristic, Lasure notes, differentiates Troika’s workers from employees at the “big boys,” the large Fortune 500 government contractors whose workers are highly specialized.

In turn, Lasure views his employees as “certainly very high-level professionals, and you’ve got to take care of them.” That can mean everything from providing paid vacations to Las Vegas and Disney World, fun trips to Washington, D.C., outings to Topgolf or attending Fredericksburg Nationals baseball games. Employees also receive “horsebucks,” named after the company’s Trojan Horse logo, which they can redeem for gifts. “You could pick from a bunch of different stuff — everything from TVs to chainsaws to games,” says Lasure, noting that the program has helped employees who have been late with finishing their holiday shopping. “It’s one less thing that they have to worry about.”

All Troika workers have the opportunity to work from home, a perk at the top of most employees’ wish lists. “We jokingly say we were remote before it was cool to be remote,” Lasure says. “But we’ve always given employees that flexibility.” About 60% to 70% of Troika employees choose to work remotely.

Lasure recalls some advice from a former colleague that he follows today: There are “three keys to success. The first one is to hire good people, and I don’t remember what the other two are. I feel like if I can create an environment where they feel valued and enjoy coming to work, then they’re going to produce.

“My other responsibility is to make sure it’s exciting work, and they really feel like they’re making a difference. So, I found that if you can do that, good people are going to come work for you, and they’re going to stay with you, and the company is going to prosper.” 

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