AUSTIN -- Keller Williams Realty Inc.'s franchise headquarters has proven that encouraging employees to be entrepreneurs and to 'have a life' pays off. The Austin, Texas-based real estate firm has been named one of the Top 25 Best Small Companies to Work for in America.
'I want Keller Williams Realty International to be more than a job to our employees,' Chief Executive Officer Mo Anderson says. 'I want the company to take care of our employees' dreams, not just their basic needs.'
The top 25 list, announced today by the Society for Human Resource Management and the Great Place to Work Institute, is based on randomly distributed employee opinion surveys. Each company evaluated was given a score based on employees' responses to detailed questionnaires about the organizations' workplace cultures.
When founder and Chairman Gary Keller established Keller Williams Realty Inc. more than 20 years ago, he envisioned a residential real estate company that would 'build careers worth having, businesses worth owning and lives worth living' to attract and keep independent real estate agents. The employees at Keller Williams Realty International franchise headquarters enjoy the same philosophy.
'Most parents teach their children how to be good employees,' Keller says. 'Within the Keller Williams Realty family, we want to teach people how to be great employers. We want our employees to be active participants in their financial futures as investors and business owners themselves.'
By design, Keller Williams Realty distinguishes itself in the industry with its profit-sharing business model, a focus on employee education and training, and a work-life balance philosophy that places God and family before business.
'Keller Williams Realty International has taught me to be entrepreneurial and have more control of my personal life,' says Cavin Weber, a small business owner who also works in the company's information technology department. 'This company has taught me to not only manage my time and focus on what is important, but with the profit-share money from last year, we had the opportunity to invest in my wife's dream -- a landscaping business.'
In 2005, the Central Texas real estate franchisor is on track to share $1 million with close to 100 employees who work at the franchise headquarters. Employees at this office support 46,189 Keller Williams Realty independent agents across the United States and Canada.
'Four years of profit-sharing checks allowed my family to purchase a car, a home and two investment properties as well as help finance the birth of our first child,' says Jay Papasan, an editor at the company. 'What kind of great company encourages you to get out of the rat race? Most companies are content to let you toil away until retirement.'
Web designer and real estate investor Justine Smith regularly participates in the company's on-site money management classes and investment club. She and her husband, a musician and full-time father, are building their personal wealth with three investment properties.
'I was the daughter of a single mother, and we basically lived in rental properties the whole time I was growing up,' she says. 'I had no experience or knowledge about wealth-building until I started working for this company.'
In addition to profit sharing, Keller Williams Realty International invests in the lives of its employees through professional development opportunities and promoting a work-life balance philosophy that places God and family before business.
Marketing project coordinator and mother Angelique Sanderson says she witnessed the company's work-life balance philosophy in action from the moment she came on board last year as a front desk receptionist.
Sanderson, who left a fast-track career in the high-tech industry to care for an ailing mother and to start a family, says she was adamant when she re-entered the workforce that a receptionist job was the only way to guarantee a 40-hour work week and quality time with her new daughter. However, Sanderson says her opinion changed after observing the daily schedules of Keller Williams Realty International employees -- from top-tier management down.
'I realized that these people really do live up to the company's founding values of God, family and then business,' she says. 'Not to say that everyone leaves at 5 p.m. on the dot every day, but the people here are leading balanced lives.'
With the encouragement of her supervisor, Sanderson applied for and landed a job in the company's marketing department this spring.
'The transition was smooth, and my work-life balance is still in place,' she says. 'It feels wonderful.'
About Keller Williams Realty International:
From its headquarters in Austin, Texas, Keller Williams Realty International employs a staff of about 100 people who provide training and support for more than 46,000 Keller Williams Realty Inc. agents in the United States and Canada. Keller Williams Realty International produces leading-edge educational tools and resources to ensure that Keller Williams Realty agents thrive as independent business owners in their communities.
About Keller Williams Realty Inc.:
Founded in 1983, Keller Williams Realty Inc. is the fifth-largest and fastest-growing residential brand in North America, with more than 450 offices and 46,000 agents. The company's agent-centric culture emphasizes access to leading-edge education and promotes an economic model that rewards associates as stakeholders and partners. Keller Williams Realty, which began franchising in 1990, is growing by 1,500 agents a month. Keller Williams agents place high value on professional education and a full-time commitment to real estate sales. For more information, visit Keller Williams Realty online at www.kw.com.
About the Society for Human Resource Management:
The Society for Human Resource Management is the world's largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 200,000 individual members, SHRM has more than 500 affiliated chapters and members in more than 100 countries.
About the Great Place to Work Institute:
The Great Place to Work(R) Institute is a research and management consultancy with headquarters in San Francisco and affiliate offices in 25 countries.
BEST PLACES TO WORK 2005
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'Keller Williams Realty International has taught me to be entrepreneurial and have more control of my personal life. My wife and I always thought if we could just make sure our pennies were counted and we worked extra jobs, we could squeak by. This is a very helpless feeling, because you try to fit in work, family and 'me time' on a budget. This company has taught me to not only manage my time and focus on what is important, but with the profit-share money from last year, we had the opportunity to invest in my wife's dream -- a landscaping business. I know of no other company that provides training and skills that could allow a person to leave and start his or her own business. My wife and I are no longer hopeless, and I no longer worry about our future.' -- Cavin Weber, Launch Coordinator
'This is the most stable, supportive and motivating place I have ever worked. Not only is the profit-share check an amazing gift, but Mo Anderson and Gary Keller make it their goal to teach you to be wise with your money once you have received it. With my profit-share check, I have begun paying off my debt and am reaching financial stability, which gives me peace of mind.' -- Stormi Boyd, Convention Coordinator
'The first year I received profit share, I was one month away from having my first baby and going through a divorce. I was able to use the money to help me get through maternity leave and have savings. The second year, I used my profit share to pay off all my debt. This year, I plan to use it to buy a house, and, in the following years, I plan to save, invest in real estate and send my baby girl to the Austin Waldorf school.' -- Wendy Watkins, Reports Developer
'Yesterday, one of our employees needed to fly home due to a family emergency, and someone in our office anonymously bought her a ticket back to Iowa. When I told my boyfriend the story, he asked me who I thought it was, and I had to tell him I honestly had no idea. Sure, one of the executives could have done it, but the environment of this company is such that anyone would reach out to help one of our own in need -- and could have.' -- Alexis Surpitski, Course Writer
'Since I've worked for Keller Williams, I've developed both professionally and financially. Four years of profit-sharing checks allowed my family to purchase a car, a home and two investment properties as well as help finance the birth of our first child. But really, more than the money, Keller Williams has given me a new perspective on my long-term finances. What kind of great company encourages you to get out of the rat race? Most companies are content to let you toil away until retirement.' -- Jay Papasan, Editor
'I like working here because I feel like I am making a difference in other people's lives. With KWCares, our nonprofit organization, I can get a big group of people together to work toward the goal of helping someone in need. It feels good to be part of an organization that also cares about the community.' -- Tere Figg, Certificate Coordinator
'Part of Keller Williams' mission is to help employees get to a better place in life. Two ways they do that is by teaching several business practices and by sharing the profits with the employees. I now think before I go out and spend unnecessary dollars. I have been with the company for more than five years, and I've been able to buy my first house, a rental condo -- and then there was that trip to Europe. Also, Keller Williams Realty International has a really caring culture. My co-workers keep me smiling all day, even during some of the more difficult times. That makes it easy to get up and go to work every morning.' -- Ryan Kucera, Launch Coordinator
'Just recently, the CEO sent an email to the entire staff that said, '...I want Keller Williams to be a place where you not only grow professionally, but where you have the opportunity to grow as a person and grow your wealth so you can fund your life mission. You are awesome.' That said, I can describe in one word why I like working here: inspiration.' -- Jeannine Abbott, Chairman of the Board Coordinator
'I've learned so much from the leadership at Keller Williams about how to create wealth in my life. I've never worked at a company that wants me to retire young and rich.' -- Bryon Ellington, Course Writer
To schedule an interview with Keller Williams Realty International CEO Mo Anderson, contact Karen Frost at 512-451-7770 or kfrost@frostmedia.com.
