10 Reasons Venterra Is One of the Best Places to Work

Venterra Realty is proud to have been selected for a Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award, honoring the Best Places to Work in 2016! This amazing achievement and our #6 spot in our category reflects more 15 years of our passionate commitment to delivering an exceptional employee experience and listening to our employees, who continually help us build a better Venterra. So how have we made it happen? Here are 10 big ways 1. Real values From “Humility” to “Team First” and everything in between, our Values aren’t just words. They are responsible for shaping an atmosphere where employees love coming to work every day. As our CEO John Foresi says, “Our seven Core Values are our long-term differentiators, our mission and our vision. It’s OK if you don’t live these values, you just can’t work here. 2. Employee voice Our leaders really do take the time to listen. With frequent employee surveys, approachable managers and our “Better Way” initiative that rewards employees for ideas on improving the company or making life better for our residents, we know we need employee feedback to build a stronger organization. Since 2011, we have had more than 2,300 employee ideas submitted and have awarded $45,000 in prizes. 3. Make a difference Our Customer Focused WOW program empowers and rewards employees for creating amazing, personalized moments for residents; we give our teams $250,000 of discretionary funds each year to help make them a reality. From something as small as helping a senior resident unload groceries to something as big as supporting a resident through a battle with cancer, employees really do look for ways to live up to our motto of creating a “Better Way of Living.” Our managers also make a difference for individuals on their teams with our WOW-EE initiative, which showers love on employees via surprises like a furnished bedroom, seeing their football team in action or being able to spend a day at the spa. Each year we highlight our WOW and WOW-EE stories in our WOW Matters book, available online and for purchase on Amazon. Making time to create amazing experiences for the people around us is a huge part of the secret sauce that makes our culture so special. We also try to inspire anyone outside Venterra to make a difference in the lives of others. A great way to get engaged is by registering for our monthly webinar “Service is OUT. Experience is IN.”

4. Awesome training We don’t throw anyone to the wolves on day one. Instead we provide opportunities like The Venterra University  learning experience, live and online courses, our annual Venterra Leadership Conference, the Venterra Book Club and more to ensure employees have what they need to succeed.    5. Better living “A Better Way of Living” is not just for our residents. Our Better Living program lets employees earn money and prizes for setting goals for themselves, supporting others and celebrating successes on the way towards being their best. 6. Internal promotions Promoting from within is a promise, and it’s one we’ve kept. Seventy-five percent of our regional and corporate employees are the products of internal promotion, and employees have rated us 4.5 out of 5 for “Career Opportunities” on Glassdoor, 1.5 points higher than the site average.

7. Educational assistance We want employees to learn, so we help cover costs. For those looking for additional training or earning a degree or certification, we’re here to support and invest in professional growth. 8. Employee perks Our “Team First” approach is evident in our benefits. We don’t stop at a great insurance program and 401K match. Our 20-percent-off rent discounts, $500 employee referral bonuses, great holiday schedule, birthdays off, Friday Fun Days, performance bonuses, fitness club discounts and numerous employee recognition awards are some of the reasons we’re a “perky” company. 9. Venterra cares We’re all about improving the world around us. We’ve raised more than $150,000 for Susan G. Komen, we incentivize employees to better themselves, and each year we donate goats in our partners’ names to families in Bangladesh, Haiti and Kenya (a single goat can provide up to a gallon of milk daily for a family as well as an income stream). We know the steps we take to strengthen our world are the same ones that strengthen us as an organization. 10. We keep it fun All work and no play just isn’t our style. Our Fun Committee, annual Employee Awards Dinner and Family Fun Days are testament to our promise to always make time to have fun and celebrate success. Fun on tap this year includes rolling out “Bring Your Dog to Work” days, a “Venterra’s Got Talent” contest, and Fantasy Football and March Madness competitions. By the way, we also had a blast celebrating our Glassdoor Best Places to Work win in new tees on a recent Friday! A final word on excellence Our success over the years is a product of our never-ending pursuit of excellence in all areas, including the experience we deliver to our employees. We believe that if we take care of our customers, investors, vendors, local communities and employees, we can achieve great things. In summary, we strive to create an amazing work environment where our employees get the chance to make a difference by helping those around them live happier lives. We see the impact in our reviews, our awards and our community. We can’t wait to see where our pursuit takes us next! To hear what it takes to become a Glassdoor Best Place to Work, register for an upcoming Roadshow stop in a city near you! Up next: Boston, Vancouver, Chicago and New York.