KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Burns & McDonnell has once again been named by Fortune as one of the best workplaces in America among companies specializing in consulting and professional services. Burns & McDonnell learned today that it placed No. 17 on the 2019 Best Workplaces in Consulting & Professional Services list.

The ranking was conducted by Great Place to Work, a global people analytics and consulting firm that works with Fortune to publish various rankings of the best workplaces based on exhaustive reviews and analysis of surveys and other data provided by companies. The 2019 ranking was determined based on feedback of nearly 339,000 employees at consulting and professional services companies. The analysis evaluated more than 60 elements of team members’ experience on the job, including factors such as the extent to which employees trust leadership, fairness of workplace decisions and team camaraderie. The ranking is weighted heavily toward companies that best include all employees, no matter who they are or what they do for the organization.

“There a lot of great companies on this list and we’re proud to be named among them,” says Ray Kowalik, chairman and CEO of Burns & McDonnell. “We’re especially proud to represent the 6,500 employee-owned companies in America because we believe ownership is a key driver to our success. Ownership is not an idea or benefit; it’s a way of thinking and behaving. And when everyone is an owner, it translates into an amazing attitude of trust, camaraderie, responsibility and accountability for the work we do.”

Companies named on the Best Workplaces in Consulting and Professional Services list stand out for excelling in a competitive industry. Burns & McDonnell currently receives nearly 80,000 applications for employment each year and maintains one of the highest retention rates in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Burns & McDonnell is currently on pace to hire approximately 1,800 new employee-owners in 2019, including 300 interns. The firm is expanding its Kansas City headquarters campus with construction of a new 142,000-square-foot office building, and regional offices also are rapidly expanding, with 11 currently building out new space or moving to new larger locations in 2019.

“Consulting and professional services companies operate in some of the most competitive spaces and endure the challenges of unpredictable and rapidly changing markets,” said Michael Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work. “The Best Workplaces on this list have invested in the professional development and personal care of their employees; which have become crucial parts of their value proposition that separate them from the competition in recruiting and retaining talent.”

Adds Kowalik: “As a consulting and professional services company, this is especially important as a validation of success. The quality of our people is the key to winning projects and meeting customer expectations. We are truly a people business, so we pay very close attention to the quality of work life for our employee-owners.”

Best Workplaces in Consulting and Professional Services is one of a series of rankings by Great Place to Work and Fortune based on employee feedback from Great Place to Work-Certified™ organizations. Burns & McDonnell has ranked for nine years among Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For and also ranks as a Best Place to Work by the Kansas City Business Journal and more than 20 other publications across the country.

About Burns & McDonnell

Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies made up of 7,000 engineers, architects, construction professionals, scientists, consultants and entrepreneurs with offices across the country and throughout the world. We strive to create amazing success for our clients and amazing careers for our employee-owners. Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee-owned and is proud to be on Fortune’s 2019 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For.

About the Best Workplaces in Consulting and Professional Services

Great Place to Work based its ranking on a data-driven methodology applied to anonymous Trust Index™ survey responses representing almost 339,000 employees at Great Place to Work-Certified organizations. To learn more about Great Place to Work Certification and recognition on Best Workplaces lists published with Fortune, visit GreatPlaceToWork.com.

About Great Place to Work

Great Place to Work^® is a global people analytics and consulting firm that helps companies produce better business results by focusing on workplace culture. Powered by more than 30 years of research, Emprising^®, its SaaS-enabled survey and analytics platform, gives companies access to the assessments, data, and reporting needed to build a high-trust, high-performance culture.