HHHunt in 2023: Elevating Excellence Through Our Brand Promises

Since our inception in 1966, HHHunt has consistently led the way in real estate development. Since our start in Blacksburg, VA, we've evolved to build and manage 26 apartment communities across six states today. Through the years, our journey into real estate development grew as we began to design and build planned communities. We have seen unparalleled success in this area, and our renowned Richmond, VA, communities include Wyndham, Twin Hickory, Charter Colony and Rutland. In 1992, we expanded our business to include new home construction, swiftly establishing ourselves as a trusted builder in Virginia and North Carolina. Fast forward to 2023, a year of notable achievements for HHHunt, marked by the acquisition of Abberly NoDa Vista in Charlotte, NC, and the groundbreaking for the extension of the award-winning Charter Colony in Midlothian, VA.

We recently caught up with Buck Hunt, our President and CEO, and here is what he had to say. “In real estate development, it is very difficult to differentiate yourself in a product alone. It is easy for companies to steal ideas from one another. Whereas ideas can be copied, culture cannot. At HHHunt, our uniqueness comes through living out our Vision, Mission, Brand Promises and Values.” 

At HHHunt, our culture holds significant value, and as Buck emphasizes, it is intricately connected to our team members living out our Brand Promises. These promises center around being employee centered, customer focused, a provider of quality products and services and an engaged community partner. Leveraging our Brand Promises as measurements for success, let’s delve into the retrospective overview of HHHunt's achievements in 2023.

We Promise to Be Employee Centered

At HHHunt, we promise to be employee centered by committing to employee well-being initiatives for each of our team members. We empower our team members, invest in benefits, education and recognition, and actively create a positive work culture. One of the many ways we live out this Brand Promise is by offering tuition reimbursements to our team members who are furthering their education. In 2023, HHHunt offered just over $9,600 in tuition reimbursements.

Another way we live out our Brand Promise of being Employee Centered is through HHHunt University. We value lifelong learning and are committed to supporting our team members to be the best they can every day! This learning platform allows team members to grow professionally and personally through hands-on seminars, classes, and educational tools. What’s our goal with HHHunt University? To enhance skills and competencies among all team members, to create a positive impact in their lives, the lives of our customers and the lifestyle of our communities. In 2023, over 11,000 courses and classes have been completed. We also maintained a 90%+ compliance rate and are at 97% of our annual goal for optional learning, encouraging each team member to complete at least one optional course every six months.

Focusing on fostering a collaborative workplace culture and ensuring our team members are recognized, we established an approach to look at their performance and contributions. Linking all of our Values and Brand Promises, we developed a process that promoted contributions through the growth and development of our people through Cme Check-In (Cme), which facilitates positive, productive dialog between team members and their managers. This forward-thinking approach to the development of our people links individual efforts to company goals, enhances the understanding of our Values while being centered around goals and achievements and promotes accountability and consistency across our company as a whole. We also developed the Contribution Assessment Tool to integrate with Cme to assess how well our team members are achieving our role responsibilities and behaviors.  Through Cme and the Contribution Assessment Tool, our team members receive real-time feedback and opportunities for growth and development, and these processes enhance manager-employee relations, building and sustaining a positive work culture.

We Promise to Be Customer Focused

To us, being customer focused means creating meaningful experiences for every customer. We do this by seeking feedback, being honest and respectful, and exceeding expectations. One of the ways we measure our commitment to this Brand Promise is by utilizing customer surveys. In 2023, HHHunt Homes earned an Eliant Willingness to Refer score of 88%. This fantastic score means that almost nine out of ten of our new homeowners would recommend us to a friend, family member or coworker. 

Not to be outdone, HHHunt Apartment Living scored a 7.68/10 on J.Turner’s customer service surveys. This fantastic score is a testament to their customer-centric approach. In addition, two of our communities were recognized for their customer service in 2023. Read how Abberly Onyx in Atlanta, GA, and Abberly NoDa Vista in Charlotte won the J.Turner 2022 Elite 1% ORA® Power Ranking List. 

In HHHunt Communities, we are enhancing customer experience through our signature How You Live Events. Homeowners enjoyed fun engagements like Music in the Mill, Pumpkins in the Park and Dinner Under the Stars. Recaps of these events and more can be found in the events section of our blog. 

We Promise to Be a Provider of Quality Products and Services

We promise to be a Provider of Quality Products and Services, delivering excellence in where and how people live. Our teams embrace a sense of ownership, seek opportunities for improvement and deliver on details every day. There's no need to rely on our word; every new homeowner with HHHunt Homes undergoes a thorough survey via Eliant, providing firsthand insights into the quality of construction and the overall process at HHHunt Homes. A homeowner from Traywick in Southern Pines, NC, says this about Carson Maples, HHHunt Homes Construction Manager “Carson is the most professional and knowledgeable builder I have ever worked with. He went above and beyond to meet our needs, requests and to rectify any issues. He is an asset to the company.”

The commitment to excellence extends seamlessly to HHHunt Apartment Living, where our service team members efficiently closed approximately 64,053 work orders in 2023. For each completed work order, we actively seek feedback from our residents, and we're delighted to report an outstanding cumulative score of 9.49/10, reflecting their satisfaction with the service provided.

Recognizing our achievements in the industry is a crucial measure of success. Mosaic at West Creek by HHHunt Communities, a planned 55+ luxury new homes community in Goochland, Virginia, was named 2023 Community of the Year by the Home Builders Association of Virginia (HBAV). This accolade further underscores our commitment to excellence in community design and development.

We Promise to Be an Engaged Community Partner

At the heart of everything we do, we strive to make a positive difference in the lives of others by living out our Brand Promise of being an Engaged Community Partner. We prioritize being active and visible in our local communities and making a difference by sharing our time, talents, and resources. At HHHunt, we encourage, support and recognize the volunteerism of our team members. 

From company-wide food drives to partnering with local non-profit organizations that help those in need, our team members completed just over 2,716 volunteer hours in 2023. We are incredibly proud of our team members and how they live out this Brand Promise to meet our vision of improving the world and how people live by working closely with our business and community partners to make a difference in the areas in which we build, develop and serve. Read how our team members lived out this Brand Promise here.

In 2023, HHHunt exceeded expectations by fostering a people-centric culture, engaging with the community, and delivering quality products and services. Looking ahead, our unwavering commitment to excellence continues. HHHunt Careers goes beyond jobs; we prioritize enhancing workplace satisfaction, offering employee-centric benefits and perks, and nurturing employee growth and development through HHHunt University. In building homes and communities, we cultivated a culture of excellence and meaningful connections, delivering  superior products and award-winning service. We focused on community collaboration and giving back to the areas in which we are located. Yes, 2023 was great, and the future is bright. We invite you to be a part of our journey as a team member, customer, or business partner. Because at HHHunt, it's how you live that matters.