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When Grace Rasulo decided to become part of the staff at technology and real estate company Compass Inc., what attracted her were the firm’s principles. Among them are “Collaborate Without Ego” and “Learn from Reality.”
“They have these principles, and they live by them,” said Rasulo, a marketing adviser. “They are things that really resonate with me.”
Those principles, which also include “Dream Big,” “Move Fast” and “Obsess About Opportunity,” helped Compass earn the No. 1 ranking among large employers on the Tribune’s list of Top Workplaces, as measured by the consultancy Energage in Exton, Pennsylvania.
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Rasulo isn’t surprised by the recognition. In May, the day before she was set to start at Compass, she got an unexpected call.
“It was the CEO Robert Reffkin calling to welcome me to the company,” she said. “The next morning, I got a call from Rachael Rohn, regional president.”
That was “the icing on the cake” for Rasulo, who added, “I knew I made the best possible decision, and I was with a company that really cares about the people they hire.”
Launched in 2012, New York-based Compass is a rapidly growing business. Its proprietary technology platform includes an integrated suite of cloud-based software that real estate agents use for customer relationship management, marketing, client services, brokerage services and other functions.
The workplace culture at Compass, which in the Chicago metropolitan area employs a staff of roughly 165 and has about 1,690 agents, is unique and special, Rohn said.
“I think it’s very rare that you find a very driven, hyper-focused, fast-paced, fast-growing business that’s also incredibly intentional about the people and driven by the people rather than letting the business drive everything,” she said.
Compass prides itself on listening to its staff and agents and making sure “we are aligned in what we’re all feeling and needing and delivering for everybody,” she said. “That makes for a great culture.”
As an example, staff wanted an easier way of communicating when a listing needed to be changed in its system. The original process was tedious, required multiple people to complete the action and could take days to resolve, so based on staff feedback, changes were made that cut the processing time to under three hours, she said.
In describing the management approach, Rohn explained, “We believe in leadership, not management. That means we’re very focused on individualization so each one of our employees can be successful. What one employee needs to be successful is going to look very different from what another needs. One might want more direct communication; one might need a different style. Somebody might need flexibility in the hours they come to the office. Somebody else wants to be 9 to 5. We’re focused on (hiring) the right people. We don’t micromanage, and we deliver what they need to be successful.”
The focus on flexibility has helped Compass create a top workplace culture, and its culture has helped it excel, Rohn said. The company reported its second-quarter revenues hit a record $1.95 billion, up 186% year-over-year, and its agents nearly doubled the company’s share of the national residential real estate market from 3.3% to 6.2% .
The benefits offered to staff include:
- Fully covered medical insurance
- Four weeks paid “recharge” leave after five years
- Sixteen weeks paid primary parental leave
- $10,000 for fertility care
- Maternity concierge service
- One week marriage leave for newlyweds
Melia Lamb, associate marketing manager, who has been with Compass roughly four years, likes the Compass “culture of learning from reality.”
“We are given the autonomy to learn from each other and from customers as to what best serves them,” she said. “If something doesn’t work, it’s OK. We can learn from that and pivot. There’s a sense of being dedicated to the customer while also giving staff the opportunity to provide their opinion on what will make a product or project.”
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Fran Broude, senior managing director, echoed that sentiment.
“Everybody’s opinion and feedback matters and is taken extremely seriously from a local level up to cross-functional responsibilities in the company and even at a senior level,” she said. “You can make a major impact by putting together the business case for something if you see an opportunity, and it’s very collaborative.”
Broude joined Compass after working in real estate for many years, including as a former regional president at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage.
“I made an intentional decision that after doing real estate successfully and much the same way a lot of years, that I was going to be part of a company that was probably going to be very instrumental in changing the real estate industry,” she said.
She likes the fast-paced, evolving atmosphere at Compass. She started at the company in August 2020 working remotely amid the pandemic and wasn’t sure what to expect given those unique circumstances. What she found was “an incredible support system from senior leadership in New York to the local leaders here,” she said. “I was impressed by the frequent communication throughout the organization. They proactively reached out to make sure everybody had what they needed to not only be successful at work but to deal with the changes the COVID impact imparted on their personal lives.”
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Working Lunch
Although she hadn’t met many people in person, she said she felt very welcomed because of the outreach.
“When you’re remote and not in an office seeing people every day, that’s incredibly important,” she said. “It empowered me to be able to step in and lead with a lot of confidence.”
Benjamin Lazarov, regional director of Strategic Growth, has been with Compass for more than 3½ years. He says a plus enjoyed by staff is the opportunities for advancement.
“Our company is growing at such a dramatic rate that there’s constantly new opportunities popping up throughout the organization,” Lazarov said. “There’s no reason to have to look outside.”
He noted Compass has attracted top performers, which in turn makes it an appealing place to work.
“I get to work with great, accomplished, collaborative people. That gets me excited every day.”
Francine Knowles is a freelance writer.