A key element to Venterra Realty’s long-term success is our ability to innovate. One of several methods Venterra utilizes to measure innovation is an annual anonymous employee survey, conducted by Great Place to Work® Institute and sponsored by FORTUNE magazine.
In the survey, employees are asked, “Over the last year, how many meaningful opportunities have you had to develop new and better ways of doing things at work?” The question is an indicator of employees’ ability to generate ideas and a company’s capacity to harness them for improvement. By comparing the number of employees who respond to the question with “A lot” to those who respond, “Just a few” or “None,” an “Innovation Velocity Ratio” (IVR) is calculated.
Companies with an IVR ratio of 11:2 or higher are defined as being in an “Accelerated” state. These organizations share an ability to rapidly adapt to disruptions, realize greater speed in implementation, quickly create new and better ways of doing things, and generate high-quality ideas.
Venterra’s IVR of 15:2, reveals that for every fifteen Venterra employees willing and able to innovate there are only two who are not. The average IVR for a company on the FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work For” list is 7:2. This unusually high ratio puts Venterra in the top 6% of the thousands of companies that participate in the survey and highlights Venterra’s ability to quickly harness, mobilize, and respond to new information and ideas.
“As one of our four operating pillars, innovation remains critical to our success as a company,” said Venterra Chairman, Andrew Stewart. “The results of our most recent employee survey are an indication that team members across the Venterra portfolio embrace creativity in the organization.”
The Institute identified several competitive advantages to companies in the top IVR quartile. According to Great Place to Work®, “Accelerated” companies:
- Achieve 5.5x the median year-over-year revenue growth
- Have 21% higher levels of discretionary effort
- Experience 14% less risk of turnover
- Are 33% more adaptable
Based on achieving survey results among the top 10% of participating companies, this “global authority on workplace culture” and FORTUNE have also ranked Venterra Realty highest among real estate companies on their “100 Best Medium Workplaces” list, a recognition we have achieved for the past five years. In addition, the Institute has named Venterra Realty a “Best Workplace for Diversity” and ranked the organization as the #2 “Best Workplace in Texas.”
Regarding Venterra’s remarkable Innovation Velocity Ratio, Venterra CEO, John Foresi stated, “We’re honored to have been recognized multiple times by the Great Place to Work® Institute and FORTUNE magazine for our workplace in the past, but, knowing the power of maintaining an engaged and innovative workforce, our strong IVR metric is especially exciting to see.”