UDR ESG — Elevated Excellence
Our Commitment to
Social Responsibility
Social Goals
- Maintain an Associate Engagement Score above the average for high performing companies as determined by the third party that conducts our engagement surveys.
- Provide our Associates with greater opportunity and flexibility to volunteer their time towards organizations that align with their interest.
- Continue to make Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) a focus through recruiting efforts, fostering an inclusive work environment, and providing equal opportunities for all.
- Provide 100% of associates with access to some form of health and well-being opportunities throughout the year.
Our Commitment to Associates
Our commitment to social responsibility is grounded in a comprehensive strategy that covers every stage of the associate journey—from recruitment and onboarding to development, engagement, performance and progression, and retention. We aim to cultivate a superior workplace by fostering an enriching environment for our associates, underpinned by our diverse and dynamic workforce. This dedication not only enhances the associate experience, but also intentionally creates a talent strategy aligned to the goals of our business. At the core of our endeavors is the recognition of the strong link between the culture and values of UDR and the overall engagement, productivity, and success of our organization. Through this holistic approach, we strive to not only build a better company, but also contribute positively to the communities and markets we serve.
UDR’s success starts with our associates. They are the cornerstone of our culture as they create, embrace, and mold it daily, which is why our values are aimed at creating a welcoming and open environment where associates are invited to share their voice.
UDR Associates
As of year end 2024 unless otherwise stated.
Highlights
Monitor and Enhance the Associate Experience
- Decreased associate turnover to 22% for 2023 compared to 26% in 2022 and well below the industry standard of 40% (based on NAREIT and CEL data).
- Revamped our approach toward associate retention including the introduction of quarterly pulse surveys focusing on 20+ associate engagement related key performance indicators as well as ticketing systems across four HR functional areas to swiftly identify and address associate concerns.
- Enhanced our internal communication strategy and expanded our HR monthly newsletter. Based on a recent pulse survey, 78% of our associates believe there is open and honest communication at UDR, exceeding industry average of 69%.
Enhance our approach to Learning, Development, and Succession Planning
- Hired a new Vice President of Organizational Development and a new Director of Talent Management to enhance the growth and development of our associates and strategically plan for the future of our workforce.
- Built a new talent development strategy to align talent with the needs of the business, and in 2023 executed the first phase focused on ensuring a seamless transition of leadership at the highest levels of the Organization.
- Developed future leaders of our Organization as 49 associates graduated from our ULEAD program which is designed to develop future leaders of our Organization. The program consists of 8 modules, covering 32 classroom hours.
- Recorded 13,924 hours of training in 2023, or an average of 10 hours per associate. Training compliance rates continued to remain high with all 6 required courses (diversity, equity, and inclusion, ethics, fair housing, IT security, sexual harassment, and workplace harassment) at or above 95% compliance.
Strive for Excellence in Associate Health, Wellness, and Compensation
- Enhanced our benefits package in 2023 based on associate feedback and a benefits benchmarking analysis we conducted, resulting in the following modifications to our benefits package in 2024: reduced the benefit waiting period for new hires from to 60 days to 30 days, implemented a 401(k) auto–enrollment for new hires, added teen mental health support to our associate resource program, and provided an opportunity for eligible associates to “sell back” a portion of their accrued and unused vacation time to the Company.
- Implemented our 1st Annual Virtual Health & Wellness Fair for our associates, including 15 workshops on a variety of wellness topics, including physical, mental, emotional, and financial wellness over the course of the week-long virtual event.
- Introduced a new compensation model that leverages insights from real–time market data and is designed to ensure that our salary structure is competitive and equitable.
Strengthen our Talent Acquisition Function
- Reduced the average number of open positions and time to fill metric by 50% from January 2023 to December 2023, despite the more challenging hiring environment post pandemic.
- Strengthened our integration of our Human Resource Information System with job board platforms that enhanced efficiencies, and employed innovative social media strategies to fill open positions with quality candidates.
- Continued our focus on building a strong candidate pool, with dedicated efforts in recruiting veterans and diverse candidates through military job fairs and diverse job boards.
- Our 90–day retention rate remained high at 91%, and promoted 144 associates in 2023 (29% Corporate and 71% Operations).
Advance DEI and Community Engagement Programs
- Strengthened our partnership with the National Diversity Council and other third-party DEI organizations to provide resources and support to our associates.
- Scored 4.33 out of 5 on an internal metric that measures our abilities to include diverse candidates in the interview process and enhanced workforce diversity through 61% of new hires identifying as being from ethnic groups other than white and 42% were female. Additionally, maintained a diverse workforce with our current makeup at 49% diverse; above the industry average of 43%.
- Exceeded high performing company benchmarks as reflected by 80% of associates who believe everyone at UDR can succeed to their full potential, no matter who they are (all ages, cultural backgrounds, genders, races, religions, etc.).
- In 2023, provided 1,041 hours of paid time off for volunteer work with over 20 local organizations. We organized food, clothing, and blood drives, as well as initiatives to promote non-profit organizations and causes, fostering a culture of giving back.
- Entered a partnership with The Ferguson CLE in 2024 that helps empower diverse students to secure promising careers in real estate and related sectors through a commitment of $125k over five years.
Talent Development
UDR’s required annual learning and development curriculum is designed to tackle both industry-specific regulatory and statutory requirements and to foster responsible corporate citizenship. The curriculum, delivered through online courses, encompasses a range of topics such as sexual and workplace harassment, IT security awareness, fair housing principles, business ethics, diversity, and equity and inclusion, and training on unconscious bias. In aggregate, 13,924 hours of training were completed by our associates in 2023, equal to an average of 10 hours per associate, with 2023 highlights outlined below:
- 100% Provided Opportunity for Training
- 95% Completed Fair Housing Training
- 96% Completed Diversity and Inclusion Training
- 95% Completed Harassment Training
- 96% Completed Business Ethics Training
- 95% Completed IT Security Training
- 95% Completed Sexual Harassment Training
Training completion rates are shown as of year–end 2023 and should not reach 100% due to measurement timing and associate new hire dates, in addition to various union restrictions in certain markets.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
At UDR, we prioritize respect, fairness, and the promotion of diverse perspectives, which contribute to our Company’s growth and success. To this end, we are dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace that supports the growth and progression of all associates. This commitment prompted the initiation of the UDR DEI initiative, which is dedicated to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout all levels of the organization.
In 2023, we continued to emphasize the importance of UDR’s version of the Rooney Rule, which strives to consider all applicants for open positions, regardless of race, ethnicity, or gender. Additional DEI metrics were regularly reported to senior management to ensure our promotions, compensation, and other internal practices remained fair and equitable.
We advanced our partnership with the National Diversity Council, providing workshops and resources to our associates throughout 2023. A designated “DEI Corner” in our monthly Human Resources newsletter contains additional information and resources on DEI topics ranging from annual holidays, celebrations, and awareness months to ways to get involved in local DEI community events.
In 2024, UDR entered a partnership with The Ferguson CLE that helps empower diverse students to secure promising careers in real estate and related sectors through a commitment of $125k over five years. The Ferguson CLE program components include scholarships, 1:1 coaching, education, mentorship, and career placement and focuses on removing barriers to success for underrepresented industry professionals.
Associate Outreach and Community Engagement
At UDR, we hold a firm belief in the power of community involvement, not only as a corporate initiative, but also as a personal commitment shared by our associates. To foster this spirit of giving back, we provide each associate with 8 hours of paid volunteer time annually, encouraging them to make meaningful contributions to their communities. Volunteer efforts in 2023 enabled associates to engage with over twenty charitable organizations and diverse local groups across the country. In total, UDR associates dedicated 1,041 hours of volunteer work, supported by the Company, to various causes and initiatives. UDR–s commitment to social responsibility extends to addressing housing affordability, a critical issue in many communities. We proudly offer affordable housing options in over 45 communities, representing approximately 25% of our portfolio. This includes over 2,750 homes, or approximately 5% of our total offerings, which provide rent-stabilized or relatively affordable living spaces compared to market-rate homes.
UDR Wellness Occupational Health and Safety
The health, wellness, and safety of our associates is of utmost importance to UDR to maintain our inclusive culture and ensure our associates are engaged. In 2023, a benefits survey was conducted to gauge the understanding of and satisfaction with our current benefits package. Results yielded 88% of associates fully understanding their benefits and 85% satisfied with the UDR benefit package. We also benchmarked our offerings against those of 28 companies within our peer group and the larger real estate industry. This dual approach of direct feedback and comparative analysis led to significant enhancements in our benefits package, including a shortened enrollment waiting period for new hires, automatic 401(k) enrollment, the addition of teen mental health support, a one–time vacation buy-back option, and the introduction of a new associate resource program.
More information about our benefits is available at udr.com/careers/benefits
Our Commitment to Residents
UDR teams work collectively to provide an extraordinary customer experience. Listening, understanding, and responding to our residents› feedback is central to our customer service strategy and embodies our core values. We have specialized teams to assist our customers at all stages of their residency and monitor a variety of feedback sources (e.g., resident communication and interaction with associates, resident surveys, and social media/review websites). We responded to 94% of our online reviews in 2023. Not only do we utilize feedback to enhance our resident engagement, but we also incorporate a multitude of data points throughout our operating platform to help streamline each resident›s experience.
In 2023, we launched our proprietary Customer Experience Project which aims to improve our residents› experience while they live with UDR and reduce resident turnover over time. Through our resident engagement processes and our Customer Experience Project, we strive to seek best practices and provide team consultations and templates to simplify resident communication.