Transparency.
This company I used to work with had a monthly townhall where everyone could learn how things were going (good or bad), long term and short term plans, and so forth.
And during a downturn in 2020, things went badly, and there was open and honest information about it all. To paraphrase: "We cannot say now that there won't be layoffs. But we will do everything we can to avoid it through other cost saving measures. This includes cutting executive pay by 20% as of immediately." While there ended up being layoffs (which included severance packages), the pay cuts never hit any of us working "on the floor" - top brass only.
Overall, it was a company I enjoyed working for. Sadly they were acquired by a competitor last year, and that business culture came to an end. I left for greener pastures a few months ago.
Pretty much, yeah. I'm now in the fourth such company, working with people I worked with in the previous two. I'm working on convincing a colleague I first worked with in 2008 to come on over.
Basically, it's a small pool of people who know the stuff well. We change employers now and then, but you always run into a familiar face in far corners of the world.