Purvis Systems takes pride in its professionalism

Sometimes it’s management style. Sometimes it’s the benefits or camaraderie or the sheer challenge of the job.

In the case of Purvis Systems Inc., those qualities and more are why the engineering and information technology services firm has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Rhode Island.

“It’s the company itself,” said Nina Szulewski-Pooler, an integration management specialist at Purvis. “It’s everything they do here. It’s a very family-friendly place where everyone helps each other but you also have independence in thought and action.”

Susan Craft, vice president of corporate administration and human resources, said Purvis values its greatest asset.

“Our employees make us who we are,” Craft said. “We want to make sure we do what we can to make them happy and keep them.”

Purvis offers a variety of benefit packages, and Craft said the company actually bucks the current trend of reducing employee perks. For example, “we’re adding a long-term care benefit to our package,” she said.

But for workers at Purvis, the biggest draw is the challenge of their jobs and how Purvis allows them to do them.

“They don’t micromanage, and I think that is the biggest thing,” said Szulewski-Poole, who works in Purvis’ lab in Newport. “They have streamlined the whole management process, and that really allows us to put our professional skills on display.”

One reason behind the independence of action Purvis grants its employees is the nature of the company. Purvis has locations in three states, with operations in Rhode Island, New York and Virginia. Craft said coordinating the actions of more than 75 workers spread out over three states requires some different management approaches.

“Communications are so important, but so is realizing we are dealing with professionals,” Craft said. “We have an extremely low turnover rate which we’re very happy about. At the same time, last year we experienced 14 percent growth so we do have requirements for new employees.”

Another reason behind the happy workforce is an old one: pride. The workers at Purvis take great pride in what they do and for whom. Purvis continues to service the first three clients it won when the company started in 1973: the U.S. Navy, both shipboard and at the Naval Undersea Warfare Laboratory and the New York City Fire Department.

“We’re a small business and there are not too many of us left that still get government contracts,” Craft said. “We take great pride in the fact that after 32 years, we still have those first three contracts.”

The employees’ pride in their work only increased in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Purvis employees fanned out the day of the attacks to ensure FDNY communications systems remained operational. When other systems failed, the Purvis systems continued to work, Craft said.

Providing important data transfer switches and other services to the U.S. Navy also is a point of pride. Craft said many of the employees at Purvis’ Newport News, Va., facility are actually retired Navy engineers, although every employee realizes the importance of Purvis’ products.

“We know the people on the frontline of defending our country use what we provide,” Craft said. “So, yes, we take a lot of pride in that.”

All of this, Szulewski-Poole said, combines to make Purvis a unique place to work, one she said sits atop the industry.

“I’ve been in this business for two-and-a-half decades and I’ve been at Purvis for two-and-a-half years,” she said, “and of all the places I’ve seen, Purvis really is one of the best. I hope I’m here for the rest of my career.”