PHOENIX -- The Arizona Diamondbacks were named by AzBusiness Magazine and BestCompaniesAZ as one of 10 companies to receive the Spotlight Award in honor of the program’s 10th anniversary of the Most Admired Companies event held last night at the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa. The Spotlight Award is given to companies for exceptional achievement in each of the five pillars of the MAC program: Workplace culture, social responsibility, customer opinion, innovation and leadership excellence.

“We are proud to be named among the best in Arizona once again,” said D-backs President & CEO Derrick Hall. “Workplace culture is very important to me and our entire leadership team at the D-backs. Our Team Players (employees) always come first and a strong company culture is imperative to prevail both on and off the field. Our D-backs family bond is unmatched and has proven to be a competitive advantage for us in our industry and allows us to better serve our surrounding community.”

It was the seventh time the D-backs have been honored as a Most Admired Company at the 10th annual event that recognizes the contributions and impact Arizona companies bring to the state of Arizona. In 2013, AzBusiness Magazine and BestCompaniesAZ awarded the D-backs the Workplace Culture Award as the top company that excels in workplace culture and in 2011, the D-backs were given the Leadership Spotlight Award. The latest honor follows other similar awards bestowed upon the organization, including a spot among the Valley’s “Best Places to Work” for 12 consecutive years by the Phoenix Business Journal and named among the Top 3 in “Best Places to Work” by Ranking Arizona (2015-2017). In 2017, the D-backs were named among the Top 100 Companies by BestCompaniesAZ for their 15th anniversary of the award. Forbes magazine also named the D-backs as one of the best sports franchises to work for across the country.

D-backs employees operate under core values established by the leadership team that provide true framework for effective decision-making. Those values include investing into the people who work for the organization, cultivating and enhancing relationships with employees, establishing integrity by accepting individual and collective responsibility, foster learning throughout the organization while considering outside points of view, and expecting positive results from the organization both on and off the field. Culture is also one of the five areas of focus within the organization's Circle of Success.

Last season, the team incorporated a yearlong Leadership Academy program that provides growth and development opportunities to selected Team Players throughout the organization. The D-backs Leadership Academy provides each Team Player with the time and resources (internal & external) to continue his/her leadership development and collaboration skills specifically around: leading self/individuals/teams, connection, reflection, inspiration, strategy, tactics, assessments, skill building, and D-backs Business & Baseball Operations.

Among the unique perks enjoyed by employees is a bi-yearly trip to San Diego for all D-backs front office employees to see the team play the Padres with transportation, game tickets and hotel provided by the D-backs. Employees also receive a number of other benefits, including an extended two-week holiday break, quarterly company outings, roundtable meetings between management and employees and a rotating council comprised of members from all levels of the organization focusing on enhancing company events and culture.