No. 2 midsize Top Workplace 2022: Culture adds up at Primary Residential Mortgage Inc.

Potential hires at Primary Residential Mortgage Inc. are given a primer about the values that drive the team.

First, their Towson workplace is “where one can truly be themselves,” Division President Dean Johnson said.

Second, everyone is encouraged to bring a positive attitude to the office.

“We believe our culture is the sum of the billion small interactions that occur between teammates,” Johnson said. “We strive to make all interactions — big and small — positive ones.”

Founded in 2002, the Salt Lake City-based home mortgage outfit currently has 170 employees in Baltimore.

Laura Nagel, division marketing manager, described her colleagues as a “fun” and “caring” group.

“We care about each other, and we care about the community where we live,” she said.

To wit, the staff recently hosted a Red Cross Blood Drive to support a co-worker and her family.

“We were able to help 84 individuals because our team came together,” Nagel said. “This came as no surprise, as we have always stepped up to help, internally and externally. The long list of local nonprofits we have supported lives in our culture each day.”

That old adage about working hard and playing hard applies to the team of mortgage loan officers and fellow professionals, who like to say, “We put the ’fun’ in ‘funding.’”

Over the years, they’ve organized backyard barbecues, chili cookoffs, trivia nights, potluck meals and a Halloween costume party. There’s an annual holiday gift exchange that is touted as “legendary.”

“We hear teammates discussing that they already bought their gift, all throughout the year,” Nagel said. “Everyone tries to outdo each other with the most memorable or laughable gift of the year.”

Overall, Johnson and fellow leadership want to ensure that individual and team efforts don’t go unacknowledged.

“Red Shoes” Awards are bestowed upon those team members who stand out in positive ways, likened to “a bright-red pair of shoes.”

Last but not least, there’s a yearly sales incentive trip for top performers. Destinations have ranged from Miami to Jamaica.