Unless an 11th-hour agreement is reached, an impasse will trigger the first U.S. government shutdown since 2019. Starting December 21, 2024, many non-essential federal government operations will be limited or suspended, but most multifamily financing activities will not be disrupted.
What a Difference Corporate Culture Makes!
From appreciation programs, to branding contests, to employee profiles, Arbor’s Corporate Culture Committee (CCC) is moving the needle forward toward fostering the best possible work environment for our people. Here’s a look at CCC’s achievements to date and what’s on the horizon …
Our Three Focus Areas
Employee Connectivity
Goal: Connect employees to the business and each other through both internal and external activities
Interaction/Engagement
Goal: Invite employee involvement, participation, feedback and input to make them part of major initiatives
Branding
Goal: Develop a consistent corporate culture brand and use internal and external channels to attract, retain and sustain employees
Employee Connectivity
Our Arbor After Hours employee profiles showcase our people and the unique and interesting ways they spend their time outside Arbor. They highlight the things employees do to give back to their communities, enrich their own lives, recharge and reenergize. From skydiving, to volunteering, to rising up to challenges, the popular articles in this continuing series add a human interest element to our business and connect employees to each other, personally and professionally.
See Who We’ve Featured
Coming up – We’re planning several new initiatives, including Arbor Appreciations, where we’ll celebrate employee milestones like birthdays, service anniversaries and special project completions. An employee recognition program, Who Brings Out the Best in You?, will provide a forum for employees to acknowledge outstanding coworkers. The idea is to recognize and reward employees for their contributions to our business and toward enhancing their work environment. We’ll also promote team-building off-sites, group gatherings and activities, anything that brings our people together.
Interaction/Engagement
In our robust Be the Best You Can Be video series, employees across the business get to share their Arbor journeys with their coworkers, and viewers get to learn more about their fellow employees’ careers, insights and accomplishments.
Stay Interviews are part of a recruitment effort where we talk with employees with longer tenures to find out why they chose to come – and stay – at Arbor, then we publish their quotes on both social media and internally on Captivate.
Captivate
We held grand opening celebrations for our two newest offices in Boston and Atlanta.
Other Happenings
- We’re working to better integrate and leverage our internal communications channels – including the intranet (X-Change), emails, videos and Captivate – to communicate consistently and comprehensively throughout our growing company
- A special Intranet Redesign Task Force is bringing employees from all levels and areas of the company together to work toward a common goal: revamping, expanding and enhancing our intranet and renaming the X-Change
- We’re increasing opportunities for employees to hear from, and connect with, executives through our social channels and events like Town Halls. Focused and heightened communication and interaction from corporate leaders will build employee engagement across the business
Coming up – More Arbor Meet and Greets will provide employees even greater opportunities to connect with executives, face-to-face, in a casual setting
Branding
The CCC is focused on any and all efforts to promote Arbor’s brand internally and externally. The Six-Word Story contest gave all employees across the business a voice, asking them to sum up what Arbor means to them in just six words. We received more than 100 submissions. Winning stories now brand the walls of many of our offices as a reminder of our values and corporate culture. All in Arbor green! Our written and video content further drives home our brand message and provides a glimpse into Arbor’s unique corporate culture.
Coming up – In addition to new initiatives, we’re committed to enhancing existing programs that drive Arbor’s brand in our communities and beyond. Community engagement includes expanding our Corporate Challenge events in cities like Atlanta, Dallas and Cleveland. We’re also developing our corporate social responsibility statement and defining our charitable giving. In the social media realm, we’re kicking off a 10K Follower LinkedIn campaign. And, we will be naming ‘Social Ambassadors’ among our employee base soon.