One Builder Puts Premium on Employee Retention

Luxury and custom home builder London Bay Homes, based in Southwest Florida, is dedicating a lot of time to keeping its best employees happy from the moment they get hired. 

London Bay's vice president of human resources Sabra Smith says, “The time we spend with them post hire, introducing them to the entire company can make a tremendous difference in their success and retention rate." Business Observer Florida reports that the builder, "has long emphasized employee perks to help retain top people, down to providing a $100 Fitbit activity tracker and free gym memberships to employees." Adds Smith, “People want to feel engaged and embraced when they come to work.”

The company, starting recently, has begun to emphasize its top employees and spend less time on C and D-graded staffers. “We want to spend our time working on our A players,” says Smith. Smith says the firm doesn’t necessarily “move out” mediocre or subpar employees, like Jack Welch’s famous rank and yank program at GE. Instead, it’s more a recognition that some employees aren’t going to be All-Stars, and should be handled that way.

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