A clear company mission statement helps to explain the ongoing success of Mark-Taylor Companies, an Arizona-based developer, owner and investment manager of class A multifamily communities: “To create exceptional communities that invite, inspire and feel like home.” But that mission couldn’t be realized without first creating a strong company culture, says John Carlson, who’s been with Mark-Taylor for 19 of the company’s 36-plus years in business and has served as its president since 2016. “I really want to create an environment that employees love and they refer to Mark-Taylor as home,” he says.
Strong employee buy-in is a crucial aspect of that company culture. “At the foundation, we have to ensure that all of our employees understand exactly where we are going and why,” Carlson says. Technology helps make that possible. This includes an employee e-newsletter and intranet to make sure everyone has all the information, resources, and connections at their fingertips to thrive at the company and contribute to the culture.
An innovative system goes further to help Mark-Taylor employees do their jobs quickly, efficiently, and in a collaborative way. Tasks by HappyCo., a mobile-enabled app, lets employees input repair jobs, order needed parts from the inventory database, automatically keep their warehouse informed of what’s needed, and make sure everyone involved with servicing an apartment or the building in general is on the same page and communicating to make the job go as smoothly as possible.
But that focus on using technology to help people thrive doesn’t stop with Mark-Taylor’s employees and the company culture. It all comes down to the company’s core focus: providing its residents and prospective renters with a five-star, white-glove experience.
Hobbes, a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) tool, answers prospective renters’ questions about square footage of the apartments, rental rates, the closest schools, and more through a chat box on the website and sends only questions it needs help with to the company’s employees. This frees up the employees to spend time on deeper, more meaningful interactions with the people they serve — and each other. Henry, the resident portal, lets renters easily communicate with staff and other residents. Because of Henry’s integration with the Tasks by HappyCo system, residents can submit a work order ticket, communicate with the staff about when the job will be done, receive a notification the job is complete (with a summary and optional photo) and more — all online.
A powerful, simple-to-install internet connection is key. Cox’s Quick Connect lets new residents connect to high-speed internet right at move-in by activating the pre-installed equipment in their apartment. Moving day is one of the most stressful days for people, Carlson says, and making it easy for new residents to connect to the internet in their new home is crucial for the company’s mission. “It goes back to the five-star experience for residents,” he says, noting that Cox has built the tech infrastructure at all of the multifamily developer’s projects in Arizona. “If I could boil it down to two words: true partnership.”
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