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Greenville Business Magazine

Top Workplaces No. 1 Large Company: Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices C. Dan Joyner Realtors

By Leigh Savage

At Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices C. Dan Joyner REALTORS, being a Top Workplace means building a supportive, flexible company that fosters independence alongside a sense of community. The results speak for themselves - the business has been the Upstate’s No. 1 real estate company, in dollar volume and units sold, for more than 20 years.

Founded by the late C. Dan Joyner in 1964, the company now has ten real estate offices and more than 400 Realtors serving Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Pickens, Oconee, Laurens and surrounding counties.

This is the company’s fifth year participating in Top Workplaces and its fifth consecutive ranking. This year, it ranked first place among larger companies - those with 300 or more employees - and the employee surveys frequently brought up the company’s flexibility, support, opportunities for success, and the satisfaction that comes from helping people buy and sell homes.

Comments included:

  • “I help people achieve the American Dream!”
  • “I have the best leaders in the industry and feel my time is never wasted.”
  • “I feel supported at all levels and feel like I am part of making a difference.”

“We strive to be a loving and caring company that enjoys engaging our folks,” said Danny Joyner, president and CEO. “We listen intently to suggestions offered and try to address every issue that is brought to us that would improve productivity and/or satisfaction.”

And while he values the camaraderie these efforts build, he says they have an important effect on financial results as well.

“When employees are happy and satisfied where they work, you experience much less turnover, which is costly. It takes a lot of time and resources to train folks who are new to your company. It has a huge effect on our bottom line.”

Danny Joyner, a Furman University alumnus, began working at his father’s company as a young man, starting in property sales and then moving to appraisals, insurance and residential sales. He started the commercial division in 1996, serving as president and general manager, and oversaw numerous acquisitions, including the property used for the Kroc Center, the Historic Chamber Building and Kent Court.

He became president of the C. Dan Joyner company in 2010, and led the company through its transition to Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices C. Dan Joyner REALTORS in 2013.

Under his leadership, the company continues to be the market leader in residential home sales, according to the 2020 REALTrends Market Leader Report, and he says it is poised for continued growth.

Joyner says creating a positive culture is the key to satisfaction and productivity, and his father laid the groundwork for this effort. “He founded our company based on high integrity and treating people the right way,” he said. “I believe people feel that in our DNA and it carries on today.”

Employees want to know their voices matter, he added, and they also value their autonomy. “We trust them to forge their own path,” he said, “and I think they appreciate” that vote of confidence.

The interpersonal nature of the business, and the focus on company culture, was difficult to maintain during the pandemic, but Joyner and his team tried to find ways to keep those ties strong.

“We had a lot of Zoom meetings with folks just to catch up and stay in touch, and made a lot of calls checking on people,” he said. “It was very challenging but it was also a very depressing time for a lot of folks who were isolated. So we tried to stay in touch as often as possible.”

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices C. Dan Joyner REALTORS also has decades of experience in community involvement, and while Covid restrictions minimized those efforts this year, agents still contributed approximately 10,000 hours to their communities through organizations including Rebuild Upstate, United Way and Meals on Wheels. Agents also donated to Harvest Hope Food Bank, participated in a blood drive and hosted a golf event to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.

Joyner is gratified to hear the positive feedback from employees, and is looking forward to guiding his team into the future. Change is inevitable, and the company is equipped to adapt to those changes, he said, but after more than 50 years, core values remain.

“Every business is constantly changing and ours is no different,” he said. “There will always be new technologies and tools to use and adapt to, but I firmly believe we are still a relationship business … it still comes down to having high integrity and treating people the right way. The family feel is our culture shining through and I could not be more proud of that.”