Total Quality Logistics: Building a ‘talent destination’ through employee engagement

Don’t talk about industry slowdowns to Total Quality Logistics (TQL), which has made its largest-ever technology investments over the past three years to bring greater agility and resilience to the business. The moves, designed to overhaul a proprietary system that serves as the company’s operational backbone, demands the best technical team in the business — an asset TQL continues to nurture with a multipronged strategy designed to shore up employee engagement.

The global third-party logistics provider and freight brokerage firm assembled its winning team through a combination of outside hires and investing in its existing IT workforce. A recruitment effort aimed at early-career candidates has attracted a pipeline of Gen Z workers, now constituting 20% of the IT workforce. New hires are acclimated to critical technical skills through mentoring, coaching, and training programs in keeping with TQL’s learning and growth mindset, says Ryan Kean, CIO of the firm.

“We want to make TQL a talent destination, bringing the best people in and making sure great associates never leave,” says Kean. “We do that through three consistent factors: career growth and learning, the opportunity to do meaningful work, and having a great culture.” TQL earned the top spot among large companies for retention and employee engagement and ranked No. 2 in career development/training in Computerworld’s “Best Places to Work in IT 2025” survey.

To help employees realize their potential, TQL hosts a business and technology learning event every six weeks. TechTrek Live connects IT team members to business leaders and outside partners, who chair educational sessions exploring the latest technologies and trends. “Of the 450 people within the technology organization, up to 380 will join TechTrek Live,” Kean says. “We are 100% focused on creating experiences to realize our growth mindset.”

CIO Ryan Kean wants to make TQL a “talent destination” by leveraging three consistent factors: career growth and learning, the opportunity to do meaningful work, and having a great culture.Total Quality Logistics

To further focus on self-development, every Wednesday — designated as a Focus Day — has no scheduled meetings, so IT employees can lock in on self-development time or uninterrupted work. On those days, employees can participate in workshops, whiteboarding sessions, and other self-development activities in the spirit of continuous learning.

A culture built on transparency and innovation

TQL regularly sponsors an IT hackathon to encourage innovation and demonstrate that IT’s ideas are valued. Each hackathon is a 48-hour event in which eight-member teams rapidly iterate on software solutions keyed to customer needs. A cross-functional panel of executives chooses a winning proof-of-concept entry, which may be added to the software production schedule, and the winners get a congratulatory lunch with the CEO.

Workplace flexibility is another way TQL caters to employees. The firm maintains a hybrid environment, giving employees the option to work remotely 40 hours a month. TQL has also opened up new IT hubs in Tampa, Florida, and Charlotte, North Carolina, creating potential avenues for employee relocation.

With competition for IT talent still fierce, TQL is committed to cultivating an environment where people want to come to work. There are a variety of perks to promote in-office well-being, including healthy food options in the cafeterias, free dinners for employees working off-hours, onsite gyms, and 20-minute chair massages. The IT department celebrates various cultures with potluck gatherings for Diwali and Cinco De Mayo, among other celebrations.

Any effort aimed at employee engagement should encompass elements of work/life balance. TQL hosts 200 employee and family events each year, and a recent $35 million headquarters expansion added a golf simulator and pickleball and basketball courts to the mix of perks served up to employees. “We want to make this a fun place to work,” Kean says. “We work hard, but people genuinely like to be here.”

Read more about the Best Places to Work in IT 2025:

Best Places to Work in IT 2025 special report

Total Quality Logistics: Building a ‘talent destination’ through employee engagement

OCLC: Technology with a purpose drives workplace diversity

Tokio Marine: Continuous learning — and many hats

About the Best Places to Work in IT program