THE LINCOLN
MESSENGER Inspiration Station Maintenance Mania National Championship Lincoln Charities Marketing Technology & Innovation RECP Community Services Lincoln HR, Training and Development Call Center Policy
Second Quarter, Issue 9 • July , 2015
INSPIRATION STATION “If you intend to go to work there is no better place than right where you are; if you do not intend to go to work, you cannot get along anywhere.” – Abraham Lincoln, 1851
Hopefully everyone is enjoying their summer. As has been the case across the
day that is contributing to our success
industry, we find ourselves in the busiest
across LMH, those ideas were shared with
time of year and with the volume of work,
all of the various Regions. In addition,
the challenge to consistently perform at
each Region reviewed the areas where our
our peak each day is more difficult than
residents felt we were coming up short
any other time. Despite that challenge,
and then they developed an action plan
YOU are doing an OUTSTANDING
to focus on delivering on our mission to
job at raising the bar with each resident
provide EXEMPLARY customer service on
interaction. Last year, Lincoln Military
a consistent basis.
Housing (LMH) was recognized as a
Employee Milestones
company who lead all military housing providers with our sky high SatisFacts
Payroll & Benefits
met to identify what we are doing each
customer service scores…in 2015 we are BEATING those numbers. At our leadership meeting in May, the team that works each day to support the Districts in their service of our residents
I am continually impressed by this group’s desire to GET BETTER, to realize that whatever our role, wherever we are working – “THERE IS NO BETTER PLACE THAN RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!” Thank You Team Lincoln! - Philip Rizzo
Maintenance Mania® National Championship
Joel Martinez takes third overall in this years competition.
Congratulations to Joel Martinez, who was one of 20 finalists to participate in the National Apartment Association’s (NAA) Maintenance Mania®. Going into the competition, Joel placed tenth with an overall time of 1:28.182. There were seven events, of which Joel placed in three! Joel placed third overall with a time of 1:23:07 and placed in three individual events; First Place - Four Seasons Ceiling Fan Installation Second Place - Kidde Smoke Detector Third Place - Kwikset Lock/Rekey Maintenance Mania® is a national program offered by NAA and presenting sponsor HD Supply, in which maintenance
technicians compete in various skill-based games. Each NAA local affiliate has their maintenance technicians compete individually to win various local awards and a chance to compete at the National Championship held at the annual NAA Education Conference & Exposition. The event consists of several skill-based contests created from common maintenance activities. All games are timed to determine the fastest competitor in each game and overall. Congratulations Joel on the outstanding performance and thank you for representing Lincoln Military Housing!
Lincoln Charities Lincoln Charities has been able to help seven families year-to-date. Although some of these stories are not ones we have permission to share, please know that your donations are working hard to support the lives of Lincoln employees and their families in times of tragedy. You are invited to check out the Lincoln Charities page of the Knowledge Center for some great resources, including our 2015 Lifehack Video, online Request for Assistance form, $1-perpaycheck automatic payroll deduction form, social media links, and additional ways you can support the charity via Amazon, iGive, and the Lincoln Charity Ambassador program. Look for our Second Quarter Newsletter coming soon!
Marketing PPV Lead Sharing & Credit Card Portal Lincoln Military Housing will soon be accepting credit cards for damages. The payment portal will be hosted on LincolnMilitary.com and will accept all major credit cards. We are in the process of testing and anticipate launching in the third quarter of this year. The Privatized Military Housing Committee (PMHC) Marketing Subcommittee has been meeting quarterly to
develop a lead sharing program between our companies. The program will enable us to share resident information with the new installation (PPV) they will be moving to. Winn Residential and Corvias Military Living launched a pilot in late March, both receiving qualified leads they otherwise would not have. LMH hopes to participate in this program and we are analyzing options at this time.
Technology & Innovation It Update
The IT applications group is researching the Yardi 7S application upgrade. The Yardi 7S version can be used in any browser with the exception of scanning invoices in PayScan, writing checks or scanning checks in RentCafe. These three tasks will still need to be performed in Internet Explorer. Approving and viewing invoices can be done in any browser, it’s only the scanning function that requires Internet Explorer. In late July we held a 7S testing with nearly 40 representatives with different rolls throughout LMH. Pending the results of the sessions, we are hoping to go live by the end of 2015.
RECP Scott Region is going solar! Permission to operate was received in June for rooftop mounted solar photo-voltaic (PV) systems installed at the Village at NTC, one of 28 communities in Scott Region whose families will benefit from these systems under a power purchase agreement between San Diego Family Housing, LLC and SolarCity Corporation. The 127 rooftop PV systems at The Village at NTC began providing electricity to
$.42 per kWh. Tiered rates will no longer be used for families/ homes in these communities receiving solar; rather, new rates will be flat rates that are an aggregate of total cost for solar electricity and public utility-provided electricity. New residential electric rates stemming from this project will be much lower than current rates, and will be applied to residential kWh usage to calculate residents’ monthly credits and charges under RECP.
500 homes on 19 June, meeting the majority of total resident electricity needs with daily production of approximately 4000 kWH. Electricity produced from each rooftop PV unit is virtually distributed throughout the community; each family enjoys the benefits equally, even if there is not a PV unit on their specific home.
The only changes residents will see on their monthly utility statements is the lower cost per kWh.
Just as the Resident Energy Conservation Program (RECP) reduces utility costs by incentivizing lower household electrical usage, this renewable energy project is lowering utility costs through the provision of environmentally-friendly power at a greatly reduced price. As a frame of reference, the top tier rate for electricity from the San Diego area public utility provider is
This initiative is one of the largest thus far for privatized military family housing, and was executed under the cognizance of the Department of the Navy’s Renewable Energy Program Office (REPO). It is a key part of SECNAV’s goal of producing or procuring one gigawatt of renewable energy by the end of 2015. The significant long-term savings from this project will be reinvested in our homes and communities to provide our military families with an improved quality of housing.
Community Services Mission Moments
In 2012 Lincoln Military Housing, Brown Region, hosted a Family Camping Trip during their annual Kids Crew Program. Families from Naval Base Ventura County were treated to an allinclusive camping trip to Lake Cachuma. Each family received a free tent and bag of camping gear upon arriving to the lake. The mission moment came nearly two years later, in April of 2014, when one of the service members that attended the event sent a “Thank You” letter to Kaleen Gage, the coordinator for this event. The following is a sample of the letter: “Thank you Lincoln for keeping families engaged in awesome adventures and fun events. It really does help families to decompress from the optempo of work, deployments, distractions and the normal TV-induced slumber that we seem to get locked into. This event initiated outdoor adventure and recreation attitude for several families. For my family this ignited a fire for camping and outdoor recreation that we had wanted to do but were reluctant to start. We now have a family tradition of outdoor recreation and camping year-round. We’ve been on several camping (about 5-7) trips per year and countless
tailgating and beach camping outings thanks to the Lincoln trip, and Ms. Kaleen, in the summer of 2012”. We may never fully understand the positive long lasting effects that LMH events have on the families we serve, but one thing’s certain, this one event has cascaded into a lifetime of memories for this family.
Lincoln HR, Training and Development
Team Member Summer Health and Wellness Tips Summer is here and we are all spending more time outdoors. Whether you are at work, relaxing at home or exploring the great outdoors, it is important to remember some fundamental tips to make your summer a healthy and safe one.
Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke
Sun Exposure
• Drink plenty of water to keep your body well hydrated, bring a supply of water with you at all times.
To make sure that your barbeque is the only thing that’s roasting; the following steps should be taken to limit your skin’s exposure to sun: • Apply sunscreen (SPF 15+) to all areas of the body -45 minutes before venturing outdoors • Wear wide-brimmed hats or caps to protect your neck, ears, face and head • Wear sunglasses with built-in UV protection to shield eyes from glare and radiation • Monitor your sun exposure when outside, by opting for shade, such as trees or shelters • Limit exposure. UV rays are most intense between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Prolonged exposure to the heat of the summer months can lead to dangerous heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke. To minimize your risk and keep cool this summer:
• Don’t overexert yourself - take frequent short breaks in cool shade or air-conditioned areas, whenever possible. • Eat smaller meals before work activity. • Wear light-colored, loose-fitting, breathable clothing—cotton is good. Check with your manager if you are unsure what clothing is permissible per LMH’s dress code policy. • Avoid caffeine and alcohol or large amounts of sugar - these items have a tendency to dehydrate and increase your thirst. At LMH, we wish all of our Team Members an enjoyable, healthy and safe summer season and that you keep on the path to good health.
Call Center
Policy
PHOTO
Recently there have been some changes in the Audit Department. Trina Williams, a Lincoln employee for almost 15 years, was recently promoted to be the National Manager of Transitions. This is a new department and we all wish her well in this exciting, challenging new role. Cheryl Williams (no relation to Trina!) is the now
Cheryl Williams
Summer is HERE! While this season is always our busiest time of the year, the call center team would like to remind all of the district teams, that we are here to support you. We are committed to serving you and your residents with a friendly and caring smile. If you have suggestions on how we can better serve you, please reach out to us. We’re just a phone call away! While our summer weather is HOT, our SatisFacts resident satisfaction scores are even HOTTER! For Move In and Work Order Surveys, our satisfactions scores are maintaining within the EXCEPTIONAL range of 4.50 and higher (HOTTER)! As a team, let’s continue to stay focused on delivering our MISSION to our residents every day. On Friday, June 26th at 2:28pm , we received our 100,000th call this year! Our team is celebrating this summer by going for GOLD with our Summer Call Olympics! We’ll be awarding gold, silver and bronze medals for the Most Inspiring calls, Most Vision Driven calls, Funniest/Best Blooper calls, Most Successful calls, Longest calls and even That Was Odd calls! Be sure to cheer the team on this summer as they GO FOR GOLD!
auditing LMH districts. Cheryl has been with the Audit Department for two and a half years. In January, she became a Certified Training Associate and she is developing an online course for Lincoln’s conventional side. Before coming to Lincoln, Cheryl had 11 years of onsite experience, including seven years as a Property Manager. Cheryl is a proud mom of two sons, and an even more proud grandmother of two grandsons and one granddaughter. Cheryl is the team’s expert baker of brownies. Other Auditors describe her as positive and encouraging. Cheryl enjoys being an Auditor because she views it as a way to train Lincoln employees and help them to improve. Cheryl is a very valuable member of the team and we hope you will give her a warm welcome if you are lucky enough to be visited by her.
Feedback We would love to hear your thoughts and opinions about the content covered in the newsletter! Please visit LMHFeedback.com to share your comments or suggestions on what you would like to see featured in the next issue!
Employee Milestones Browne
Crennan
Scott
• Tom Patu - 5 Years
• Lilliania Aronson - 5 Years
• Sendy Lopez - 5 Years
• Adam Quinn - 10 Years
• Soloman Toa - 5 Years
• Myron Goffigan - 5 Years
• Rocio Rodriguez - 5 Years
• Cilene Terrell - 10 Years
• Morgan Frank - 5 Years
• Edward Valedon - 5 Years
• Becky Peralta - 5 Years
• Noemi Campos - 10 Years
• Rebecca Goldsmith - 5 Years
• Stacy Skiles - 5 Years
• Blythe Paley - 5 Years
• Aurelio Guzman - 10 Years
• Lucrecia Ferrer - 5 Years
• Michael Hudson - 5 Years
• Barreda Martinez - 5 Years
• Antonio Huerta - 5 Years
• Jessica Younce - 10 Years
• Sergio Barajas - 10 Years
• Maria Briseno - 10 Years
• Jamie Taylor - 10 Years
• Angelica Magallanes - 10 Years
Payroll & Benefits
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Lincoln Military Housing’s Core Values
Our Core Mission “To provide military families with exemplary service in a quality home environment. To provide employees with unparalleled opportunities for personal and professional development. To provide our military partners with quality homes and vibrant neighborhood.”
Balance - We all take responsibility for creating and maintaining a healthy work-life balance for ourselves and each other. Commitment - We passionately strive each day to deliver on our mission to serve our residents, our partners and each other. Communication - Our interactions with each other are respectful, we listen with an open mind, provide honest feedback and we are receptive to new ideas. Empowerment - Each of us is encouraged to take initiative, ownership and make good business decisions in the best interest of those we serve. Integrity - We are honest and truthful, we do what is right - ALWAYS. Respect - We strive to treat others as we would like to be treated.