Compass lands No. 1 spot on list of top large companies in Mass.

This fast-growing real estate company has cultivated a workforce that thrives on change, embraces collaboration, and chases opportunities for growth.

The real estate firm Compass uses technology to enhance the relationship between its agents and consumers, with targeted listings, up-to-the-minute data, and in-depth market analysis. The rapidly expanding company has cultivated a workforce that thrives on change, embraces collaboration, and chases down every opportunity for growth.

Thoughts from the top: “We have an incredible culture that feels like a startup. People are excited about the fact that they’re making a big change in a major industry,” says Jeffrey Heighton, general manager of the company’s Boston office.

Magic moment: Sales manager Chris Thoman realized Compass was not the cutthroat environment he was used to shortly after joining the company as an agent. Working late one night, he heard three agents chatting about clients. As they talked, it became clear that each had a property listing that would be ideal for another’s client. Phone calls were made and a three-way deal struck. “I watched $10 million in transactions happen just because three agents were willing to share with each other,” Thoman says.

Getting in the door: The most successful candidates don’t just sit back and answer questions during their interviews, Heighton says. They take a proactive approach, pitching themselves to the hiring manager and creating a vision of exactly how they would contribute.

Office space: In the kitchen at Compass’s regional headquarters in Boston hangs a placard listing the improvements made to the company’s software and the names of each employee who contributed. “Our people are very invested in what we create,” Heighton says.

In a word:  Growth

CHECK OUT THE LISTS OF WINNERS HERE: Largest | Large | Medium | Small | More on the list | The full special issue

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