We Are Obsessed With Company Culture at Abio Properties!

We get asked a lot about why many of us at Abio Properties left large brokerages to open a specialized boutique real estate agency in the East Bay.

Here’s Our Big Why: We are passionate (obsessed even?) about creating the most open, creative, energetic and fun company culture possible.

Is culture really that important? Heck yeah!

Too many U.S. companies foster a cutthroat, pressure-cooker culture to push their success. But a growing body of research finds that high-pressure environments can crush spirits, productivity and the company bottom line.

A report in the Harvard Business Review revealed that health care expenditures at high-pressure companies are nearly 50 percent greater than at other organizations. Across the U.S., 550 million workdays are lost each year due to job stress, according to the American Psychological Association. Stress leads to absenteeism, mistakes and high turnover.

On the flip side, many studies found evidence that happy employees who feel engaged, valued and supported work harder and stay longer with a company. In one case study, happiness made people 12 percent more productive, according to research by the University of Warwick, U.K.

That’s good news for staff – and excellent news for clients, who reap the rewards of a job well done.

Positive company culture builds brand loyalty when customers identify your brand as fun-loving, generous and productive. Think Zappos, Google, REI …  And Abio!

When our co-founders, Cameron Platt and Linnette Edwards, dreamed up Abio, they discussed ideal company traits and tossed in words like: Open. Positive. Energetic. Humble. Collaborative. Supportive. Kick-ass humans.

“This culture is the soul of Abio today,” Linnette says. “The culture at Abio drives and fuels us to be even better agents to our clients, better parents and better partners. And it spurs innovation. It’s what Cameron and I were searching for, and we have found it!”

So, what kind of culture does Abio foster?

Here’s Our Big What:

• We are open. The name Abio is inspired by the Spanish word for open, abierto. Linnette and Cameron wanted a name that emphasized a culture of collaboration and honesty -- with each other and with clients.
• We are a team. It may go against industry standards, but we don’t compete against each other. We pool our expertise and help each other so clients get the best results.
• We are friendly and fun. We recruit team members who are energetic, generous, fun and value work-life balance. You can see it in our employees’ cheeky profile pics on our website. You can see it at our family-friendly staff parties. At our Abio Cares charity events, the team has turned packing pears for the food bank and picking up coastal trash into some seriously entertaining bonding moments. And everyone (including our pets) can get in on the act of making cameos in our brilliant property listing videos!
• We are passionate. We recruit the brightest people who work hard for their clients because they love what they do and believe their job is about building relationships, not transactions.
• We are inspired to learn and grow. We offer our staff business coaching and training with high-tech real estate marketing tools and analytics.

 

Read what new agents and staff members say about why they chose Abio:

“I was instantly taken with Abio’s company culture of openness and collaboration and how much fun everyone at Abio is having!”

“I had the opportunity to become a founding agent in an office that is changing the way people think about real estate.”

“All brokerages started looking and feeling the same. I was excited to try something new and different.”

“I want to be in a fun, collaborative environment with high producers.”

“At times, I spend more hours at the office than home, and it was really important to work with people who share the same values about our relationships with our clients and the community we live in.”

These are the kind of people you want working for you and with you, right? So, come on in. We’re Open!

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Do you know of other companies where the fantastic culture makes all the difference to you as an employee or client? Share with us. We love to learn!  Contact Abio Properties at 888-400-ABIO (2246) or hello@abioproperties.com.