We are introducing you to the Sacramento Business Journal’s 2022 Best Places to Work award winners. Each year, the Business Journal and its parent company, American City Business Journals, partner with human resources technology company Quantum Workplace to identify those local businesses that have excelled at listening to their employees and responding to their feedback. DesCor Builders is the top-rated honoree in the medium category, for businesses with 50 to 149 employees.

When DesCor Builders decided to move from its offices in Rancho Cordova to a larger space, the business owners mapped out where each member of their office staff lived.

The DesCor Builders Team 2022

With about 90% of the office-based employees living in Placer County, DesCor chose Roseville as its new location. When the new office opens this year, workers will be able to spend more time with their families and less time in traffic.

Shortening commutes is just one way that DesCor creates a workplace that employees appreciate.

“At its core, it’s that people are cared for,” DesCor President Brad Des Jardin said in describing the company’s workplace philosophy.

Founded in 2005 by Des Jardin and Neal Cordeiro, DesCor Builders has grown to about 90 employees. Projected revenue for 2022 is $242 million, up from $178 million last year, as the general contractor takes on larger projects and has expanded into the North Bay.

DesCor gauges employee satisfaction through an annual survey, which also provides an opportunity for worker suggestions. Many of those ideas have been implemented. For example, DesCor now provides loaner cars for workers to use on longer trips, reducing wear and tear on personal vehicles. In response to requests for better communication on employee benefits, a benefit provider is now brought in to provide detailed information and answer questions.

Des Jardin said that Covid-19 redefined the company’s approach to employee well-being. The pandemic created more challenges in an already stressful business, he said, including supply-chain issues and rising costs.

In response, the company included mental health resources in a monthly newsletter and launched mental health forums, where employees could share the challenges they’re facing and how they’re dealing with them. Workers were encouraged to focus on things within their control, take care of their physical health and not take stress home with them.

Jennafer Caudle, a senior project engineer at DesCor, said another challenge of the pandemic was the feeling of isolation, especially for a staff that enjoys each other’s company.

Now, DesCor is back to holding regular social events for employees and their families, such as a trip to a brewery and a day at a pumpkin patch.

“It’s so good to be back together,” said Caudle, who began organizing a company fishing trip after the owners found out she enjoys the sport.

Article By: Sacramento Business Journal

Link to article: https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2022/10/06/best-places-to-work-medium-descor-builders.html