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Tag: Patriot Group International

2024 BEST PLACES TO WORK — LARGE EMPLOYERS WINNER: Patriot Group

In the past five years, Patriot Group International has been recognized four times as the Best Place to Work among large employers in Virginia, but that doesn’t keep company leadership from wanting to do more and do better by its employees.

Participation in Best Places to Work “provides us with great insight on some of our shortcomings,” says CEO Gregory Craddock. “Through the process of continual improvement, we get better.”

One example has included the Warrenton-based federal contractor’s corporate strategy, which some employees said in a survey that they didn’t fully understand. Now, Patriot Group leaders host town-hall meetings every couple of months to help personnel understand the company’s direction and seek input.

While Patriot Group International has been featured in articles several times in the past by Virginia Business, that was when the Warrenton-based company was smaller and had fewer service offerings. When the U.S. Armed Forces withdrew the last troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, Patriot Group lost nearly 20% of its revenue and was forced to lay off more than 75 employees, but the contractor has since rebounded, expanding its federal government agency and Department of Defense client bases, as well as its work for private sector clients. It has grown from around 230 employees in late 2022 to 600 employees, including 37 at its Warrenton and Herndon offices.

Founded in 2004, the company historically provided mission support security and risk management services to federal intelligence agencies as well as defense and private sector clients, which often included high-risk projects overseas. But within the past year, Patriot Group has migrated a lot of its business out of warzones and into data centers across the U.S., says its chief operating officer, Robert Whitfield. 

“That has been extremely fruitful for us and for our employees,” Whitfield says. “It allowed us to maintain a lot of the things that make us one of the best places to work: our benefits, our compensation levels, our corporate culture.”

Like other Best Places to Work companies, Patriot Group is generous with benefits and pays 100% of health care, dental, vision, life and long-term disability insurance for its employees and dependents, as well as providing a health reimbursement agreement (HRA) card to use toward medical expenses, copays and deductibles. It also offers 401(k) matching contributions and three weeks of paid vacation.

Within the past six months, Patriot Group has more than doubled its global presence, providing medical personnel in “largely austere environments,” Whitfield says, providing services “on three continents in undisclosed locations.”

The company has seen “a lot of growth, but it’s been controlled growth,” he adds. “We haven’t experienced what some companies
do, where they really lose the ability to connect with their employees and staff — especially if they’re geographically dispersed across the United States or across the world.”

Whitfield credits consistency in leadership to Patriot Group’s success. He, Craddock and company President Al Buford have been with Patriot Group from the beginning and have witnessed very little turnover among C-suite or other senior leadership positions.

With an emphasis on hiring veterans, Patriot Group has always been a mission-focused organization, but it’s also always been focused on being good to its personnel “through … communication, compensation, benefits and just an overall appreciation of their talents and services,” Craddock says.

“That model hasn’t always been easy because in our industry there have been periods of time when there’s been a push to cut prices, benefits, etc.,” he adds. “But we’ve maintained — and in many cases improved — what we’ve offered to our personnel. And we’re proud of all that.”  

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A challenging year

2023 BEST PLACES TO WORK — MIDSIZE EMPLOYERS WINNER

The last couple years have been a trying time for many businesses, but probably not for the same reasons as Patriot Group International Inc.

When the U.S. Armed Forces withdrew the last troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, ending a 20-year war, the Warrenton-based federal contractor lost nearly 20% of its revenue and had to let go more than 75 employees practically overnight, says Greg Craddock, CEO of Patriot Group, which provides mission support security and risk management services to federal intelligence and defense clients as well as private sector clients. This often includes high-risk work overseas.

The pullout from the war happened quickly, resulting in more than 100,000 people leaving the country in just a few days. Even President Joe Biden called the withdrawal “messy.”

“Unfortunately, with the way things transpired, we lost a lot of valued team members just simply because the work disappeared,” Craddock says. “That’s something that we obviously don’t like doing — making those phone calls and letting people know that they have to look for another way to support their family.”

While suddenly losing a significant revenue stream forced Patriot Group to examine how to streamline its business and remain competitive, that was secondary to taking care of personnel, Craddock says. This meant that company leadership needed to be clear and direct in its communication with workers.

“Within our industry, one of the keys to success or failure is good or bad communication,” he adds. “There’s some uncomfortable conversations that went down but being forthright and honest and upfront with the personnel was just the key to success.”

As a result of the 2021 Afghanistan pullout and the subsequent hit to Patriot Group’s business, 2022 was a challenging year for the company. A key part of showing commitment to its employees was maintaining or even improving upon worker benefits and opportunities, Craddock says.

This includes allowing new hires to immediately enroll in the company’s health care plan and start contributing to their retirement plans. Patriot Group provides matching 401(k) accounts, matching 100% of the first 3% of an employee’s contribution, and 50% on the next 2%. Flexible work hours can also be used to accommodate family events. Personnel can also get tuition reimbursement for advanced or postgraduate degrees as well as certifications and business education workshops.

Patriot Group also fosters a culture of mentorship and support. The company prioritizes promoting current employees to higher-ranking positions.

“Our primary goal is to promote within when opportunities present themselves,” Craddock says. “One of the key components to that is making sure that our junior employees get the opportunity to not only perform without someone looking over their shoulder and develop their own leadership style, but also we’re there to help them learn more about effective leadership traits and best practices.”

The resilience Patriot Group has shown following an unexpected business challenge looks like it’s going to pay off. Today, the company employs 228 people in the U.S., about 70 of whom are in Virginia. Since 2020, its U.S. workforce has grown by about 80 people, including 30 in Virginia. PGI also participates in the state’s Virginia Values Veterans (V3) program, through which companies commit to hiring military veterans.

“2022 … [was] a challenge in terms of our overall business success, but we … [saw] real positive growth indicators for the back half of the year,” Craddock says, “and we think 2023 could be potentially one of our best ever.”

The 13th annual Best Places to Work list