Houston-based builder David Weekley Homes has been ranked 13th on FORTUNE magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For. This is the 15th time the builder has appeared on the list, the company said in a press release.
FORTUNE bases its selections on how companies support their employees and communities, which was even more important during this particularly challenging and unprecedented time. The list is based on answers from the annual Great Place to Work survey, which asks over half a million employees about company trustworthiness and fairness in times of crises; their physical, mental and financial health; and their company’s broader impact.
Special attention was paid to employees’ experience regarding characteristics that make for a great workplace, including job roles, gender, race/ethnicity and payroll status. About 60% of the company’s score is based on confidential employee feedback, while the remaining 40% is based on how the company supported its people and communities in response to the global pandemic.
According to David Weekley Homes’ employees, David Weekley, himself, has held regular video calls with his staff, and emails are sent out frequently to keep them in the loop and offer support through the pandemic.
“We’ve worked hard to create a workplace where our team members can thrive and feel comfortable,” Weekley said in a press release. “While we faced many obstacles over the past year, our dedicated and talented team worked together, always focusing on our team, our customers and our community.”
Once the pandemic hit, the builder immediately gave three additional PTO days to its employees to use between March and December. It then offered two weeks of paid leave in case employees needed to quarantine or contracted coronavirus, as well as the option to work from home.
As the pandemic worsened, the company offered to pay for 50% of employees’ monthly pay if they were afraid to come into work or decided that they could not work at all, for any reason related to the pandemic, for an unlimited amount of time. While the employee was on leave, the company paid for health benefits. They also did not rescind health benefits if employees could not work full-time hours.
The builder also offered parents the option to take a leave of absence or work from home through August, if they needed to take care of their children who could not go to school in person, or they could not safely find daycare for their children who were not in school.
David Weekley Homes also helps surrounding communities through its outreach program called CARE, in which it partners with many nonprofit organizations to help those in need.
Another Houston-based company, Camden Property Trust, which manages and develops multifamily apartment communities, was ranked number eight on the list.