UDR Employee Reviews about "working for udr"

Pros

I truly love my job and working for UDR. I always have the support of my Team, Portfolio and Regional Manager. Everyone is working hard and striving to be the best. We ensure our teams feel they have the tools to be successful.

Cons

I don't have any to report

Pros

I have done residential management for almost 10 years now and have worked with a couple of different companies, but I have found my home here with UDR. Crazy thing is that I was happy with my company prior to joining the UDR family. However, I don't regret for one second making the switch. I can sit here and say that I was blessed with the career opportunities I've coveted over the years and worked hard for, but it was UDR that really afforded me those opportunities along with the chance to succeed. The culture here is truly amazing and it starts from the top. It is extremely rare to see a CEO and COO so genuinely invested in the well-being and growth of every associate. It's a genuine care that also trickles down to the regional and site level. I am supported when I need it and even when I don't realize I need it. At the end of the day, I cannot express enough how much I enjoy working for UDR and how excited I am for the future. Joining UDR is one of the best decisions I have made in my life.

Cons

I cannot think of any

Pros

CULTURE! UDR has 5 core values, Integrity, Respect, Teamwork, Ownership and Growth. Our culture has everything to do with the high caliber of people that work for UDR from both ends of the spectrum. The Corporate Team is there to support the on-site team, and in return you see the teamwork in action. We are given ownership of our communities and our teams. I began working for UDR in 2008 in the Dallas area, and I love this company!

Cons

When you have all of the ownership in your community, it can be stressful and demanding. IT issues from time to time, but who doesn't have that! Technology, you can love it and hate it in a 5 minute time span!

Pros

I've been working for UDR for over 2 years. I am delighted with my experience and can honestly say that it's the best job that I've ever had. From the leadership, values and benefits to the empowerment and opportunity for growth, I've never had more passion than I have for UDR and my position here. In my position, one of my deepest passions is to see my team members grow, and that is one of UDR's core values. They support and promote it completely; it's not just talk. Couldn't be happier than I find myself now!

Cons

There is nothing negative that I can say about UDR.

Pros

1. Amazing career advancement opportunities and personal/professional development potential. 2. Superior executive leadership (Tom Toomey, Jerry Davis, Warren Troupe, Harry Alcock) 3. Superior senior leadership within IT (Scott Wesson, Josh Erosky) 4. Clearly defined company goals, values, vision, strategy, and complete transparency from the top down 5. UDR continually invests in employee development (tuition reimbursement, management certification programs, company sponsored special guest speaker events, etc.) 6. UDR continually gives back to the community via special paid days off so employees can volunteer for causes such as Habitat for Humanity 7. Continual focus on product quality and operational efficiency 8. UDR's management is constantly evaluating opportunities and making decisions that have positive impact on their customers, shareholders, and employees. 9. A culture that breeds innovation, creativity, and friendships 10. Bleeding and Cutting Edge technology 11. Strong focus on employee retention 12. IT continually works WITH the business to identify areas of improvement vs waiting for the business to reach out to IT 13. If you work hard for them, they work hard for you. 14. Management listens to and trusts their employees. 15. Working at UDR, I was trusted and empowered to make decisions in every role I held, both as an individual contributor and as a leader. 16. Education and training opportunities were plentiful. The company offers a huge library of OLT that covers a wide range of topics including business, IT engineering and certifications, project management, leadership, soft skills development, and many others 17. UDR paid for my certifications, technology books, and paid me to attend multiple certification training courses as well as industry/job related conferences 18. I was encouraged to step outside of a static definition of my role and contribute in many other meaningful ways opening opportunities to learn other skills not normally acquired at the individual contributor level The list just goes on. :) I spent over 6 years working for UDR, and during my time there I witnessed the company go through tremendous growth. This was seen in both the individuals who invested in UDR, as well as UDR as a whole. UDR understands and naturally responds well to those who invest in the company. Whether you are a shareholder or an employee, the dividends are evident and steadily increase as the company improves. For employees, they realized dividends in the form of personal development, career growth, and opportunity. For shareholders, they experienced continual increases in their payouts as UDR's portfolio and business model matured. UDR's business model is sound and is designed to weather the ups and downs of the rental market through diversification of their portfolio, assets, and market footprint. During my time there, I witnessed continual growth in the careers of those around me who invested in UDR's success. Even in my own career. I started out as an engineer and within a few short years and multiple promotions later; I was leading a group of very talented network, infrastructure, and security engineers. UDR's leadership is continually looking for ways to improve the quality of the work environment, and for new ways of investing in their employees. If you do not believe me, ask Tom Toomey or Scott Wesson yourself. I have personally witnessed on multiple occasions the senior leadership team speaking to the importance of spending time with your family, and maintaining the critical balance between home and work life. I had the pleasure of reporting to multiple managers during my time at UDR. Some might consider this a con; however, I learned important leadership skills through that process. This was due to the difference in management styles and approaches of each manager to whom I reported. As a technologist, one of the most important elements of your role at any company is the continued focus on new and emerging technologies. No engineer wishes to find himself or herself in a stagnant environment only to go around dusting off the same old technology day after day. I cannot divulge the actual technologies being used at UDR, but what I can tell you is UDR is focuses on technologies that continually enable and empower the business to grow. In many cases, this means you are working with the technologies that are cutting edge, and in some cases bleeding edge. I have found that UDR in certain cases was the first to adopt and prove out certain technologies. Speaking specifically about IT, Scott Wesson does not run the department like your normal run of the mill IT department. In most cases, IT departments are cost centers. Scott Wesson has a vast amount of experience in both technical leadership and operational leadership and he most certainly uses the fusion of that knowledge to the business's advantage. Scott not only invests in his leaders, he empowers them to run their teams and make decisions. Work for Scott was probably the single most valuable experience I had during my entire six years there. I learned so much about the business and how to think in ways that improve the business with technology, and not just the silo'd process I may be focusing on. If you are planning to join the UDR team, be prepared to work hard and learn a lot. UDR focuses on streamlined quality. Regarding employee retention, some companies choose to cut employees when a department changes direction causing certain roles to become redundant. I have first-hand witnessed this at UDR, and the first response was always "what is this person's goals, and how can we help them achieve those goals by leveraging their skills and drive in a different role." An example of this is at one point the IT group created a telecom department to gain greater efficiency in the management of telecom services. After a period of time, the process was streamlined and there was no longer a need for the number of individuals in that department. UDR is responsible for making decisions that are in favor of both their employees and shareholders, so instead of doing what many other companies do UDR worked with the individuals in that group directly and moved them into different roles within the department that matched the employee’s interests and the department's needs. Leadership definitely values the input of their employees. I had the opportunity to see many of my suggestions/recommendations recognized and implemented. I strongly recommend the team at UDR, and more specifically the leadership (Scott Wesson). I have learned more working under Scott than anyone else in my career thus far. It was the way he led the team by allowing them (us) to make empowered decisions, and more importantly, allowing them (us) to fall, dust ourselves off, and try again. I thoroughly enjoyed my tenure at UDR. The reason I left UDR was to focus on furthering my career in the field of Cyber Security, and I would absolutely jump at the opportunity to work at or with UDR at any juncture in the future should our paths cross again. This goes for the people I worked with there as well. UDR has always done right by me and their employees, and for that if UDR or anyone at UDR ever called or emailed me for assistance, I would always welcome that opportunity without hesitation.

Cons

I am a very transparent person, and I find value in good feedback. >Short-Term Issue (Solution in the works as of my last day there)< Though this is actively being resolved, I feel as though I need to mention it for complete transparency. The biggest downside of working in the IT department specifically was the office space in which IT resides. The area was very dark without much natural light, and was too small for the team that is there currently. There is a solution road-mapped for this, and the IT department will be moving to a new area of the building within the year. :) The feedback from the team concluded that the project manager (not in IT) who was in charge of the initial build out of the IT area did not request feedback from the IT team before making space decisions. Fortunately, the IT management team got involved in the process and established a cross-departmental committee to discuss current challenges and make decisions for the next space in which IT will be moving to within a year's time. This solution not only broke down the barriers between the project management team external to the IT group and the IT team, but it showed that the management team is committed to the employees and is willing to do what is necessary to solve challenges for them.

Pros

The pay is justified. I enjoy working for UDR and the people I team with. I have seen many people come and go in this management company over the years, but I am a pretty loyal employee.

Cons

It is very hard to work your way up in the company. If you are a top leaser, forget about your chances of being anything but that.

Pros

Loved working for UDR, I learned so much from Support Desk to creating reports.

Cons

HR dept staff return over was difficult