The last two years have been a prolonged
period of uncertainty and constant changes. Employee morale and retention
have become an even higher priority as our onsite teams have dealt with more
complex issues on top of their usual responsibilities. That, coupled with
constantly changing policies and procedures, while the industry is experiencing
an unprecedented staffing shortage, is causing all companies to examine ways to
differentiate themselves and offer new benefits and perks to their team
members.
At GWR, our employees are our
priority. They deliver service to our residents and deliver results to
our investors, so they are valued, cared about, and subsequently,
dedicated. We value our team members and their well-being, and we have
challenged ourselves to think outside of the “industry norm” and see where we
could be different from other companies. To start, we increased the
apartment discount benefit to those qualified employees who live on the
property where they work. We had offered an employee discount of 20%,
which we continue to offer all employees, however, for those employees who live
where they work, we now offer the potential for a larger discount.
Last December, in appreciation of the
hard-work and dedication of our employees over the past difficult year, we
closed all GWR properties between Christmas and New Year’s, and gave every
employee and extra week of holiday pay. This not only gave employees the
freedom to spend time with their friends and families, but it also boosted the
morale onsite. An even more dedicated team was ready to get the new year
started when they returned to work January 3rd!
Several years ago, we created the GWR
Millionaire’s Club! When we created this club, it was designed as an
employee rewards incentive program to achieve a sales goal of $1 million
dollars. And further, to recognize our top performers and thank those
superstars in our Company who go above and beyond in leasing and sales.
There are now 29 members of the club. As GWR Millionaire’s Club members,
they are eligible to go on a company trip annually and they are celebrated with
recognition and time away from work.
Lastly, we recently announced our newest
policy – the GWR Work from Anywhere policy – for all Salary Exempt
employees. The Work from Anywhere policy gives eligible employees 20 days
of Work from Anywhere time each year and allows exempt employees to work at
home, on the road, or in a satellite location for all of part of their workweek
for up to a period of five consecutive days at a time!
The labor shortage will be one of the
greatest challenges for the multifamily industry and the economy this year.
We know historically that employees who are engaged are the employees that
perform well and strive to do more. At GWR, we want to nurture and retain
those employees, and recognize and reward them all!
We are investing in our teams and we are
excited to see where it takes us!
All my best,
Gina Y. Erwin