GNP Realty is a family of real estate businesses, offering building owners and investors a single source for tailored, property-related services — from development and construction through management and operations. In addition, family values underpin GNP’s approach to business services. “We emphasize collaboration, relationships, and partnerships with clients, colleagues and vendors,” says Dean Kutrumanes, principal and CEO.
Family and the concept of family are important to Dean and his wife, Vasi Kutrumanes, principal and CFO. Even the name GNP represents family, which uses the initials of their three daughters’ first names — Georgiana, Natalie and Patricia. “From the beginning, we envisioned creating a family-centric business,” says Vasi Kutrumanes. “In our previous careers, that aspect was missing in the culture, and we knew we wanted to treat our employees as being part of a family.”
Separating family time from work time
The emphasis on family isn’t limited to just blood relatives. Just ask Rosi Rosas, executive vice president and controller. Since being hired in 2009, five of her family (direct or extended) have joined GNP, including two sisters and a sister-in-law in accounting, which means they report to Rosas. At work, it’s all business, according to Rosas. “As their supervisor, they know what I expect.”
A brother and sister-in-law work for CMPS, GNP’s janitorial and maintenance arm. The extended Rosas family members try to avoid PTO conflicts by working around each other’s vacation. “When the occasional family event comes up, with notice, Vasi is very willing to accommodate us being out of the office at the same time as she understands the importance of family,” says Rosas.
“We try not to talk about work outside the office, but it can be hard,” says Rosas. “We have another sister who doesn’t work for GNP, and she’s always telling us to ‘stop talking about work.’”
Family hiring strategy pays off
GNP staff are notified when a job opens, and referrals are encouraged. According to Dean Kutrumanes, hiring family and friends is a winning strategy. He estimates that 90% of 120+ “family” hires have been successful. “The majority are still with us, and I can rattle off the dozen or so people that didn’t work out,” he says.
Rosas takes making referrals very seriously. “Dean and Vasi have big hearts and want to help family or friends who need jobs, but I would never recommend someone I didn’t think would do a good job,” says Rosas.
“Hiring and treating people like family is part of the success of our business,” says Dean Kutrumanes. “But we don’t hire blindly; we look at that person,” he continues. “We’re willing to take a chance on someone — it’s how I was raised. You’ll always have someone who may not workout, but for the most part it’s paid off for us.”
Work-life balance is a priority
The Kutrumanes team stress the importance of a healthy work-life balance. “We want people to keep it professional at the office and personal at home,” says Dean Kutrumanes. “People who are really hard workers sometimes fight with us on the life balance part, but we believe a healthy balance makes for better employees.”
“To be part of the GNP family means working as a team, respecting and supporting each other, and sharing a passion for providing GNP clients the best service across all entities,” says Dean Kutrumanes. “To do all this consistently and successfully, you have to be happy in your personal life. We make sure our work culture supports that.”
