Commercial PropertyMLS Noted As "Cool" Place To Work
Do you love where you work? The folks at Realcomp II Ltd, Michigan"s largest Multiple Listing Service, serve 15,000 subscribers, yet manage stellar "outstanding employee retention, diversity and overall workplace environment," according to the "Cool Places To Work" award, handed out by the American Society of Employers and the state of Michigan.
"We have a great group working here and we"re very honored to have been selected from a statewide pool of candidates for this award," said Karen Kage, CEO of Realcomp II Ltd. "The positive feedback we hear from our Realtor customers is a direct result of our employees" taking pride in Realcomp II Ltd. and possessing a desire to see the company be successful."
With nearly 40 employees, Realcomp has more than a modest CEO. The company culture has created a positive work environment which encourages "growth and employee participation."
New hires participate in an extensive orientation program. Through a comprehensive internal communication structure, the company keeps its employees informed and involved, and includes representation from every department in the company"s annual business planning session. Employees who reach certain milestones receive tokens of appreciation from the company"s leadership. Alternative work scheduling and telecommuting provide flexible schedules.
But that"s just the company line. It"s the fun team-building stuff that caused several employees to write letters to get Realcomp considered for the award.
Recent examples would include:
A visit from the Second City acting troupe. The troupe did team building exercises to improve communications skills and trust between employees.
Motivational speakers like Richard Flint. He worked with the staff in team building and improving communication.
Realcomp Airlines. With the launch of the corporate web site, Realcomp"s management set up a mock scenario where everyone was treated like they were boarding a plane flight and given a passport to enter the website. Chairs were arranged like an actual flight and management even gave out peanuts and drinks.
Social events. The entire staff was treated to a Detroit Tigers baseball game. The staff was also taken out to a day at the Detroit Zoo. And there was also an occasion when the staff was treated to an elegant dinner at the famed Roosters Tail, a restaurant and banquet hall in Michigan.
Explains Kage, "Operating an efficient MLS depends a lot on communication with customers and staff. Customers need to know about new rules and laws that have an effect on their business as well as keeping them up to date with the latest technology that is available. We also keep them involved in the decision-making process through surveys and feedback opportunities."
"The MLS staff needs to be able to intelligently communicate with our customers so keeping them informed is also an important key to success," she says. "All Realcomp employees know that they are empowered to make the decisions necessary to keep our customers satisfied. This gives our staff a pride of ownership in our entire operation."