Throughout the last decade, New Home Star’s team of recruiters and national sales leaders have been able to recruit and hire a diverse workforce of over 400 individuals that includes a wide range of ethnicities, ages, backgrounds, worldviews, and experiences. The diversity within our national team and now the group of individuals dedicated to recruiting our talent can ensure we are continually improving and adding to our pool of Rockstars. As the great sports broadcaster, Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend!” Simply hiring a diverse workforce is only half the battle, while the other half is creating a culture of inclusion across the entire company that engages employees on every level.
Johnny C. Taylor, President and CEO of the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) says, “We often forget the ‘I’ in the D&I conversation. The challenge is in having a culture where all employees feel included. It’s a major investment to bring talent into your organization, so why bring them in if they’re not happy when they get here? You’ve got to get the inclusion part right.” So how does New Home Star accomplish this? I’ll highlight a few examples of ways that we continually keep our teams engaged and our culture lively and unique for our nationally dispersed employees.
One of our first initiatives of the new year was the rollout of our Social Chair program. Designed to bond our teams closer together through company-sponsored group outings and activities, this program is available to all of our divisions to utilize every quarter. These outings are meant to be engaging, rewarding, and most of all, fun! By creating unique ideas for group outings that our teams can participate in outside of the office and model, we can create the most inclusive and genuine culture possible. Some best examples of past outings that have been organized through our Social Chair program include escape rooms, axe throwing, sporting games, bowling, mini-golf, and many more! Photos and experiences from events are shared on our technology platform, New Home Connect™, and further highlighted on our firm’s social media channels.
Muhammad Ali once said, “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on Earth.” In addition to fun social activities that we encourage and help organize, New Home Star staff generously donate their time and energy as a team fulfilling another one of our core values by giving back in meaningful ways. Our GEM Project does just that by inspiring New Home Star sales professionals to reach out to the communities in which they serve and give back in meaningful ways. By taking part in volunteer events and making monetary donations, we can offer our full servitude and continue to Give Every Moment to local non-profit organizations nationwide. Through our efforts made in this core value of ours and the mission of the GEM Project, we are making a difference and encouraging our teams to do so which helps us create more ways for our employees to get involved in their local communities!
With a company-wide goal to have a leadership team made up of at least 80% internal promotions, we are very proud to say that we are currently operating at over an 85% internal promotion rate among our national leadership team! What better way to create an inclusive culture than to nurture and aid in the success of the team you’ve already put into place? As mentioned earlier, our number one core value is to create excellent careers for our people. We have a well-defined and well-respected career path that is understood and readily available for each and every member of our national sales team with our wide range of leadership programs such as our MENSA (Mentoring and Educating New Sales Associates) and LDP (Leadership Development Program) that encourages our workforce to take their career to the next level. By building upon our Career Path and leadership opportunities, we have created a strong culture of national inclusion for all members of our sales staff whether they are just starting their new home sales career or are seasoned in the industry looking for the next step in their career.
As New Home Star continues its growth into new markets and with new builder partners, these programs, as well as other fun, fresh, and innovative ideas, are going to be paramount in continuing the success we’ve had in creating a diverse, inclusive, and unique culture. I have no doubt in my mind that even with its aggressive growth plan, New Home Star will continue to be seen as a top employer for its efforts in diversity and inclusion!