Rewarding Great Efforts
A business consultant (who works with Billionaires) was discussing what drives his clients to come in everyday prepared to win and how they stay motivated, when some days it just doesn't seem worth the fight. His main piece of advice that these billionaires followed was to quickly reward themselves and others when good things happened.
One entrepreneur would buy a nice watch at the conclusion of a deal, another a bigger boat, other rewards were as simple as a nice dinner at their favorite restaurant. The point was to make sure that the effort was rewarded.
This past quarter at Signature Community we initiated our greatest change effort ever. Almost 75% of the company's team members took part in the SI3 (Signature - Ideas, Innovation, Implementation!) and they have produced ideas and initiatives that will allow Signature Community to once again be a leader in the industry. Ideas as simple as using 2 liter coke bottles in toilet tanks to reduce water usage (estimated to save 35 Million gallons of water companywide this year) to the Team Member Experience initiative which has more than 100 new initiatives being rolled out in 2011 to increase the engagement of our team members (formally known as employees (I owe $20 for that - "idea #64)). Our Resident Experience Team worked out plans to revamp our resident communications (which will now include email notices, electronic newsletters, office bulletin boards (with job postings), Signature Cares charity drives and the Stars of the Community signage boards. Our tech and training teams worked together has done an amazing job of creating what I believe will one day become a standard in corporate educational tools (The Signature Community Star Center). In that space we have all the training material and resources a property management professional will ever need. Everyday that space is growing with more material produced internally by the Signature Community team members.
The accounting and budgeting team has come up some ingenious ways for our entire company to stay ahead of the numbers and created ways for us to quickly see where properties are performing. This group took the maxim "you can't manage what you can't measure" and made it simple for us as a company to measure and benchmark just about anything. Now we have tools to see where that is happening or not.
The marketing team is preparing to implement this leasing season what will likely be seen as the greatest social media living experience ever. We are on the verge of redefining how residents find, lease and move in apartments in the United States.
All in all, the effort put forth by the Signature Team to change the way we do things at Signature during these past few months has been nothing short of Industry changing. I look forward to next year and the opportunity these initiatives will create not just in making our existing residents and team member experience the best possible, but also in the growth opportunities available to Signature because of these radical initiatives.
My reward to everyone that worked on a Signature Ideas team is having the week between Christmas and New Years off, with full pay. Please take that time to spend with your family and friends, relax, recharge and be ready to come back in the New Year for some exciting times at Signature Community.
Thanks for Making It Happen at Signature Community you are the best team ever!!
Nick
