Category: brand
Living our values: (Mosaic) Actions speak louder than words
From vision to reality, the transformation of a space is unique to every location, and every design-build client. To guide our clients through this transition, we rally around our shared Mosaic Actions.
We believe that everyone should enjoy the spaces where they work and live and strive to create living and working environments that align with our clients’ wants and needs. Through our consultative approach, we focus on learning about their plans for the space with the goal of making their vision into a reality.
“The Mosaic Actions are part of our culture and our DNA,” said Ira Singer, Co-Founder of Mosaic Construction. “The Mosaic Actions stand as a flagpole for our Team to rally around. When our Team is focused on the Mosaic Actions, our workflow has a more successful outcome and our client relations and trade partnerships are positively impacted.”
As a rapidly expanding national, award-winning, construction and renovation firm specializing in commercial, multifamily, residential and cannabis design-build, we care deeply about our Team members and making our company a great place to work. We’re a tight-knit entrepreneurial Team that not only delivers uncompromising customer service, but encourages collaboration, mentoring, professional development and a sense of community every single day.
Our Values and Mosaic Actions
From our people to our projects, we are dedicated to providing a positive environment and exceptional experience for our Team of driven, relationship-focused professionals looking to make a positive impact in the exciting world of construction. We also understand the importance of giving back to our community, supporting one another and delivering excellent work to our clients, it’s in our Mosaic DNA.
How do we make this a reality? We continually model, educate and mentor our ‘Mosaic Actions’ which include:
- Anticipate Needs
- Communicate the Story
- Do It the Right Way
- Contribute to a Positive Environment
- Close the Loop
- Build Relationships
These actions are how we live our shared values and ethics. They guide how we conduct business and help to create an elevated experience for our clients and our Teams. It’s how ‘It All Comes Together.’
If it sounds like these are actions that align with your values and ethics, you may be a good fit for our Team. We’re always looking for talented individuals to join us and contribute to our positive work environment. If you’d like to be our next Team member and share your knowledge with us, email us at hiring@mosaicconstruction.net. We look forward to connecting with you!
Mosaic’s cohesive Team starts here: Building relationships and learning from one another
Building relationships is one of Mosaic’s core values that our Team members model consciously. As we have expanded rapidly over the past few years, we have become even more deliberate in building relationships within our Team. One of the vehicles we use to build and foster relationships is our bi-monthly board meetings. They are a touchpoint for sharing experiences, reflection, ideation and of course, connection.
As recently as three years ago, Mosaic’s Team used to meet in our 10-person Conference Room. Today, with Team members throughout the country, and a roster of more than 25 people, we have become more intentional around building relationships with one another and sharing best practices. Now, when the company gets together, we typically gather over Zoom—and our agenda continues to focus on the actions that hold us together, including building relationships and our other Mosaic Actions.
Building strong relationships benefits both our clients and our Team members. To ensure our Team benefits from the experience of our peers, in our bi-monthly board meetings, we share procedures and priorities, and creative solutions from the field. In these meetings, we communicate the story of our successes—and analyze the places where we can improve. We anticipate needs, close loops, and bring it all together for our clients and our Team members. As their trusted design-build partner, we often accompany clients to zoning or permitting meetings, even when out of state, so all questions and concerns can be answered and explained. We are involved early in the site selection process and will attend site walk-throughs with clients while they are considering an asset location, or in the due diligence phase to provide expertise and added value to their decision making.
If you would like to be our next Team member sharing your knowledge and celebrating with us, email us at hiring@mosaicconstruction.net. We look forward to connecting with you!
Stipulated Sum Agreements Make Us the Right Builder for You
Our goal as a design-build firm is to create value for our clients through outstanding service-delivery and building trusted relationships. One of the many ways we achieve our goal is how we structure our contracts. Our clients want to know what they’re paying for, and we are able to clearly spell that out by providing stipulated sum agreements.
What is a Stipulated Sum?
Also referred to as a lump sum contract, a stipulated sum requires a builder to agree to provide specified services for a fixed price based on labor and material costs. The builder is responsible for executing the job properly and will provide its own means and methods to complete the project. Specifically, we use stipulated sum agreements with our multifamily and commercial projects, and they allow us to better define the scope and schedule of projects.
“The Mosaic Construction way is to be a client-first company in which we anticipate needs and focus on relationship-building,” said Singer. “We’ve always led with this approach, and our clients understand the value of that.” – Ira Singer
Why We Use Stipulated Sums
Mosaic Construction uses stipulated sums so that our clients know what they’re getting, and we know exactly what we need to deliver. Our contracts are predictable and easy to manage and benefit our clients in the following ways:
No Hidden Fees
One of Mosaic Construction’s key differentiators is that we never stick our clients with hidden fees, compared to cost-plus-fixed-fee and other contracts. “Our fees are transparent compared to other contractors,” said Ira Singer, Principal of Mosaic Construction on the This is the Real Estate Investing for Cash Flow podcast. “We have no incentive to say, ‘Okay, it’s going to be this much money for cost.’ Stipulated sums are integral in forging trusted relationships with our clients.”
Predictability
Our clients value the predictability of stipulated sum agreements, especially since they reduce risk and give them more confidence. With an agreed upon sum in place, our clients are not liable for any cost overruns. “We formulate construction based on our time and our investment to manage that project and steward it,” added Singer. “Whatever the cost of the project, our timeframe for completion and our fees will remain the same. In this respect, both parties are incentivized to stay on schedule and finish the job on time.”
Better Collaboration
We find that stipulated sum arrangements foster a greater degree of collaboration between Mosaic Construction and our clients. We are able to execute tight project management and more efficient communication to ensure that both parties are adhering to the scope of work. “The Mosaic Construction way is to be a client-first company in which we anticipate needs and focus on relationship-building,” said Singer. “We’ve always led with this approach, and our clients understand the value of that.”
The design-build methodology supports our goal because it allows us to streamline the construction process, which ultimately benefits our clients and our management team. “We view our projects as investments in our clients’ growth and development,” added Singer. “We never think in terms of being one and done; rather, we create an atmosphere where our clients can focus on business development, while we do the best work possible for them.”
How to Attract Tenants With Your Lobby Design
First impressions are everything.
When prospective tenants enter a residential or commercial building, they walk through the lobby first, formulating opinions quickly. A unit or office may be beautiful, but the lobby serves as the face of your property and should accurately depict your company’s brand and culture.
Follow these best practices to attract tenants with your lobby design:
Create an Inviting and Clean Space
Every lobby should have a welcoming vibe that is felt from outside and inside its doors. Appealing to the senses, especially sight and smell, seems like stating the obvious but is often overlooked. Hiring the right maintenance, cleaning, and landscaping companies is key to upholding the image of your property. It starts with the outside. Similar to the curb appeal of a house, maintaining the building’s exterior with improvements to the green areas, for example, can enhance the appearance of your property. Keep sidewalks, walkways, and steps swept of debris as well. Inside, floors, surfaces, and walls should be spotless. In addition, designing the interior with indoor plants and art can create a more aesthetically pleasing environment for tenants.
Make Your Lobby an Extension of the Community
Knowing your neighborhood goes a long way with tenants. When you adapt your lobby to your neighborhood, be it an urban or suburban environment, you foster community, according to Building Design + Construction. they write,
“Create a brand and a place that amplifies the unique qualities of your neighborhood.”
A property located in an urban environment with a wide variety of entertainment, dining and socializing opportunities should feature a lobby that complements those easily accessible amenities, while providing options that will benefit the larger community and bring visitors, commerce and new interest to your building.
Host Lobby Events
People are attracted to a crowd, and when they see others gathering in a space, it piques their curiosity. Whether for an office or condo building, lobby events provide an opportunity for face-to-face interactions with current and prospective tenants. Kirk Layton, President & Founder of the Canadian-based Eservus Online Concierge Services, says this personal touch is much stronger than a building newsletter or tweet. “You only have a few seconds to grab people’s attention in the building lobby…after all, tenants in the lobby are always on their way to somewhere else – to work, to lunch or to a meeting – which makes it difficult to capture their attention,” he writes. “Lobby events are an indispensable part of a property manager’s tenant engagement strategy.”
The Bottom Line
The design of your lobby presents an ongoing opportunity to attract and retain tenants. In today’s ultra-competitive market, demonstrating that you care about tenant comfort and their needs through strategic design is a significant differentiator.