Keeping the team together
Retaining executives and other employees has been key to continuing the company’s mission to build quality custom homes.
Darling says that people stay because of the company’s culture,
where innovation is encouraged and employees are respected for
the gifts they bring to their jobs.
“Culture is about treating people the way you want to be treated
and letting them spread their wings some,” Darling says. “It’s about
everybody having the same values and having the right work and
personal life balance. That’s something that Bob, Steve and I were
interested in developing for ourselves from Day One, and it’s been
attractive to people over the years.”
One way the company cultivates its employees is by offering a
variety of training opportunities. Within the past few years, it has
consolidated all of its training programs under one umbrella,
called Darling University. Employees who are interested in training can go through a catalog of classes and request to take various
courses. Some 125 classes are listed in the guide, which is divided
into departments such as sales and construction.
When enough people indicate interest in a particular class, the
company sets it up.
“It’s not a question of whether you graduate from the university,”
Bill Darling says. “It’s more knowing what programs are available
to you, and your manager knowing what programs are available.”
About 75 percent of the courses are taught by Darling Homes’ own
staff; the other 25 percent are led by consultants. Darling says the University’s first full year was 2006.
“It’s shown a commitment to our people and their development,”
Darling says. “It’s excited people that they won’t be stagnant in
their position. People are excited to learn something new. We’ve
been able to attract some new leadership because we’ve shown
our commitment to developing people and their career paths.”
With a good team in place and the company firmly established in
two growth markets, Darling is nothing but positive about the
direction of his company. Referring to Jim Collins’ words in the
landmark business book “Good to Great,” he says the company
has the right people on the right seats on the bus.
“I love the fact that we have a mature management team,”
Darling says. “We are positioned to not stand still. … We are open
to innovation, which our industry needs greatly. With that said, I
think we are positioned to doubling our size within the next five
years.”
HOW TO REACH: Darling Homes, www.darlinghomes.com or (469) 252-2200