Lewis Property Spotlight — Carmel at Woodcreek West Receives CEL Award

The CEL award is based on rankings that are determined by CEL & Associates. Each year our residents receive a survey. They have the opportunity to grade us based on our level of customer service. The survey covers everything from our property’s appearance, quality of management services, overall condition of their home, courtesy, and respect with which they are treated and more. Although we do a great job day to day it’s always nerve-wracking waiting to hear feedback from our residents. Only having one bad experience could completely change their outlook on our team and community.

Hands down our service is what sets us apart from our competitors. We were built in 2003 and most of our competitors were built within the past 5 years. We have very limited amenities, nor do we have the bells and whistles as some of our competitors do but we still manage to beat the market! Our occupancy is typically higher, our rents are typically higher, and our level of customer service is much higher.

I’ve been here for two years and have gone through major staffing changes. I have also been short-staffed for almost half of each year for the past two years. With frequent changes in staff, my worry was our residents. I needed to make sure that our residents weren’t affected by our staffing challenges. I needed to make sure that we were able to provide the same quality of living despite our challenges. That was my number one goal.

The reason why we are still able to succeed as a team is because everyone understands and believes in the vision. Additionally, everyone supports each other no matter what. Communication, communication, and communication is another important element of our success.

Being a leader isn’t just a job. It takes the right type of person to be a leader. If you’re wondering whether being a leader is for you, you have to ask yourself if you’re ready to commit. You must be ready to commit to yourself, your company and those you are leading. You have people looking at you as their mentor. That’s a huge responsibility! You must be ready to commit to bringing the best version of yourself to work every single day because people are relying on you. Their success is dependent on your ability to lead and guide them in the right path. The only suggestion that I could give anyone wanting to be a leader or a Community Director is to make sure they are prepared to take on all the responsibilities that come with the title. Anybody could be a boss. It takes the right person to be a leader.

I’m a Community Director at Carmel at Woodcreek West. My day starts at 8am sharp. Once I get into the office, I perform my morning duties which include checking voicemails, emails, approving daily rates, checking in with my core team, checking my calendar for appointments, mapping out the remainder of my day and scheduling focus time for myself. Having a productive hour to myself at the start of my shift is critical. If the first hour doesn’t go as planned, it could throw off my day and set me behind. Once my leasing team arrives, I give them the opportunity to complete their morning procedures before meeting for ESD. Within a blink of an eye, it’s 6pm and it’s time for me to wrap up the day!

After college, I made my way to the Pacific Northwest (WA) which is where I got my foot through the door in property management. I landed my first position as a weekend Leasing Warrior which eventually turned into a full-time split Leasing position. I worked this position for a year and a half, and I might add that I was one of the top leasers at the time. An opportunity became available for a Manager position at a 130-unit C class community. The community wasn’t in the best state and needed a lot of cleanup, but I was up for the challenge. I was offered the position, turned the community around, and then I was on to the next. Since then, I’ve managed many garden-style communities as well as mid-rises and retail spaces. I’ve also been a part of many different committees while managing. I’ve been a part of the training committee; safety committee and my property has been a training property for many new hires. I’ve successfully trained and developed many employees. Some of them have promoted to being an ACD, CD and even Maintenance Supervisor.

Lewis has always been a company that I heard about in the Sacramento area but didn’t know much about. All I knew was that Lewis owned and managed the huge community Homecoming At Creekside in North Natomas. While I was in managing in Downtown San Jose, I considered relocating back to the Sacramento area. I ended up seeing an ad on Indeed for a Business Manager position at HCC. I applied but unfortunately wasn’t given an opportunity to interview but I did build a great relationship with Phillip. He let me know about the growth for Lewis in NorCal which was intriguing. Phillip did a great job educating me on the history of Lewis. Between building a relationship with Phillip and understanding the history of Lewis I knew that Lewis was a company that I wanted to be a part of. Fast forward a few months later the CD position at CWW became available. I traveled from San Jose to Roseville just to secret shop the community to be 100% certain that Carmel at Woodcreek West was where I wanted to be. I interviewed with both Shareka and Lydia and our connection was simply amazing and the rest was just history. I’m glad I made the move, and I couldn’t be happier.