To identify Florida’s best employers, Florida Trend partnered with the Best Companies Group, which surveyed companies about their policies, practices and demographics.  The second part of the process involved a survey sent to a sample group of each company’s employees who responded anonymously to 72 questions.  The survey also included two open-ended questions and seven demographic questions. The questions focused on eight themes: Leadership and planning; corporate culture and communications; role satisfaction; work environment; relationship with supervisor; training and development; pay and benefits; and overall engagement. You can check out more information about Florida Trend’s Best Companies to Work For and see the full list at  http://www.floridatrend.com/best_companies.asp.

Davidson Realty, based in World Golf Village, has become one of the top 10 real estate companies in Northeast Florida.  We have major market share in the World Golf Village and north St. Johns County area and our reach has also expanded to include Ponte Vedra and the beaches, Julington Creek and Flagler County.  Several Davidson agents hold the CDPE (Certified Distressed Property Expert) designation which gives them expertise at helping clients navigate short sales, foreclosures and distressed property situations. 

The Business Journal’s top 50 list list was compiled based on the following criteria:
• Privately held, for profit and locally owned.
• Headquartered in Duval, Clay, St. Johns, Nassau, Baker, Flagler or Putnam counties.
• In operation since at least 2007.
• Annual revenue of at least $1 million in 2010.
• Overall revenue growth from 2008 to 2010 with revenue gain from 2009 to 2010.

The full list of the Business Journal 50 is in the current issue of the Jacksonville Business Journal which hit newsstands today.

So just what makes Davidson Realty such a great place to work?  “There is a strong sense of camaraderie here because the company creates opportunities for us to connect socially like a Friday cook-out or an IMAX outing or a cruise down the St. Johns River,” said Dottie Lay.  “Davidson offers great support for its Agents, from marketing to professional development,” said Ana Speziale. “Giving back to the community is not just lip service.  We have monthly blood drives, free community educational events and we participate in a variety of fundraisers, from Relay for Life to March of Dimes,” said Sharon King. “Surprise visits from the ‘Wine Fairy’ on Friday afternoons,” said Vanessa Cunningham.

The Jacksonville Business Journal conducts the Best Places to Work survey annually. The rankings for this list are done by Quantum Workplace, a third-party company that specializes in measuring workplace satisfaction. Nominations were submitted to The Business Journal by more than 100 companies, with most nominations coming from company employees. Results were announced in the Business Journal’s May 20th issue.  For more information about the Jacksonville Business Journal’s Best Places to Work, visit http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/inside_the_lists/2011/05/jacksonvilles-best-places-to-work.html.

In the last three years, Davidson has doubled its number of Realtors and expanded its real estate territories to include Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra and Flagler County, in addition to St. Johns County.  The company actively recruits both experienced agents and those interested in a new career in real estate.  If you’re interested in learning more about working at Davidson Realty, contact Peyton Davidson at (904) 940-5000 or pdavidson@davidsonrealtyinc.com.

We believe we continue to do well in this economy because of the work environment we have and the teamwork it promotes. We have a “No-No” jar where we have to put a dollar anytime someone says something negative. Amazingly this helps keep us positive in a light-hearted way. And since the funds raised go to charity, we feel pretty good even if we have to pay!

Every Friday, Jim Davidson, the owner of the company, cooks us lunch. It’s hard to do anything but smile when Jim hands you a burger cooked just the way you want. Because of little things like these, we have also been recognized by the Jacksonville Business Journal as the number one “Best Places to Work” for a small company and by Florida Trend as the number two “Best Place to Work in Florida.” I guess it just proves that food and fun lead to success!

This is really exciting news for our team. We have made the list four years in a row, but this is the first time we’ve been listed as “the best.”  And, it is really thanks to our employees! To be honored with the Best places to Work, your employees must nominate you.  A certain percentage of employees must participate in a survey and results are scored by Quantum Workplace.  Our score was a 98.6 out of 100!

This award is very special because it recognizes every person in our company. Our agents and employees are the ones who make this a great place to work.