One measure of a good place to work is employee turnover, and at Newport-based Embrace Home Loans, Inc., that rate is only about 10 percent.
Another telltale sign is job referrals, and 70 percent of the privately held residential mortgage lender’s 550-person staff were referred to the company by other Embrace employees.
Many of the company’s workers come from outside the mortgage industry, so Embrace provides mentorship, coaching and learning programs to help employees pass licensing-certification exams and gain the skills to move up through the company. In fact, all of the sales managers and middle-management team were promoted from within.
Embrace emphasizes a productive environment through teamwork and mutual respect, so team leaders do not have offices; they sit with their team and are completely accessible at all times. Managers’ doors are always open.
That open-door policy is an important part of the company culture, particularly in an industry that has been in turmoil in recent years, said President Kurt Noyce.
Employees are also shown respect at monthly meetings through public recognition for achievements. And as a profit-sharing entity, all employees with at least one year of service are part of the company’s annual stock/bonus program, which is gifted to them along with annual cash bonuses.
The company, which operates in 40 states, offers flexible work hours and lets full-time workers take paid leave of up to 100 hours per year to volunteer.
Employee health is encouraged at Embrace through annual health fairs and its Fitness Camp, where personal trainers visit the office twice weekly. •
