November 9, 2024 • 26 mins
Ever wondered how the multifamily construction industry is evolving through the lens of women leaders? Join us for an exclusive conversation with Stacie Edwards, Vice President of People and Culture, and Valerie Currin, Senior Vice President of the Market Rate Segment at THS National, LLC. With Stacie's seven-year tenure blending HR acumen with a family background in construction and Valerie's fresh perspective supported by deep-rooted family ties to the industry, you'll gain invaluable insights into THS National's strategic moves in market rate and affordable housing, their expansion into Texas, and future ventures into student housing and senior living.
Listen as Stacie and Valerie recount their impactful experiences at a women-focused industry summit in Phoenix, emphasizing the transformative power of networking and mentorship. They share practical strategies for client onboarding, setting clear expectations, and the importance of understanding client roles and needs. Discover how THS National fosters successful client partnerships and talent retention through regular surveys, stay interviews, and a strong sense of community among remote workers. This episode celebrates the multifamily industry's inclusivity and diversity, highlighting the essential qualities of an ideal client for THS National and underscoring the ultimate goal of resident satisfaction.
Meet Stacie and Valerie in Multifamily Women® Summit.
Connect with Multifamily Women®:
Carrie Antrim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrieantrim/
Multifamily Women® Summit: https://multifamilywomen.com/
Be a Guest on the Podcast or at the Summit: https://apps.multifamilywomen.com/speakingrequest
Multifamily Women® Leadership Series: https://apps.multifamilywomen.com/join
Multifamily Innovation® Council: https://multifamilyinnovation.com/council/
Multifamily Innovation® Summit: https://multifamilyinnovation.com/
Best Places to Work Multifamily®: https://bestplacestoworkmultifamily.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome back to another episode of the
Multifamily Women podcast.
We are so excited today we havesome amazing guests.
They are with THS National, wehave Stacey Edwards, who is a
vice president of people andculture, and Valerie Curran, who
is the SVP of the market ratesegment, and we are so happy to
(00:20):
have you two here today.
So let's start with Stacey.
Stacey, tell us about how yougot into multifamily and how
your career kind of blossomedfrom there.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Sure, Well, I've been in multifamily for seven years
now, but my background in HRspans many industries.
Multifamily was not somethingthat I had originally planned on
getting into, but being thewife of an engineer and having a
father who was a mastercarpenter construction kind of
seemed like a natural flow forme when I decided to go back in
(00:49):
the job market again.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Very nice.
And Valerie, what about you?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
I'm a newbie in the industry, so I've been in the
industry for 16 months.
I've had family and friendsthat have been in the industry
for 20 plus years, but I love it.
I left a really really greatindustry and really didn't think
I would be able to find anotherindustry this great, but I am
(01:15):
so happy to be a part of it andI don't think I'll ever leave.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Wow, yeah, that's how a lot of us feel about
multifamily.
So tell us a little bit aboutTHS National and the service
that you provide.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
So we're a multifamily general contractor,
we're a national contractor.
We focus on two primarysegments.
You've got your market ratesegment and then just two years
ago, we started affordablehousing.
So we are primarily in thesoutheast market.
We're headquartered out ofRaleigh, north Carolina, but we
(01:50):
have offices all throughoutFlorida, georgia, south Carolina
, virginia.
We are moving in andparticipating in the Texas
market, which we are veryexcited about and that's the
skyline that you see behind us.
So I'm very excited about that.
But you know, at the end of theday I would say THS National,
(02:11):
we're community builders.
You know we fill a bigalignment with trying to provide
services and really goodprojects for our clients and
their residents.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Very cool and what's on the horizon for THS that you
are excited about?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
I'll speak to that a little bit.
Moving into affordable housingwas really exciting two years
ago and we're just scratchingthe surface of that.
We've got lots and lots ofopportunity throughout the whole
US going forward.
We have people coming out ofthe woodwork saying, hey, we
need a good GC to help us makethese communities a really
lovely place for the residentsto live.
(02:49):
So that's a big thing thatwe're definitely focusing on the
expansion into Dallas as well alittle bit this year and a big
push into 2025, which is whyValerie's here boots on the
ground now in Dallas.
We have a couple of other THSemployees who are also here in
the city as well.
So that's really exciting.
And then we're always lookingfor new segments to get into.
(03:12):
There's student housing andhospitality and senior living.
There's lots of opportunities.
So we're just kind of excitedto figure out what our next
segment is going to be and wherewe're going to go from there.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Very cool, and so let's start with Valerie.
Tell us a little bit about yourrole and what specifically you
do at THS.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
So I'm over our sales and operations segment for for
the market rate business Rightnow.
That consists of approximately80 employees.
But you know I'm really thereto make sure that we have the
right footprint in each of ourmajor markets that supports our
(03:51):
client needs and you know,primarily it's to focus on the
client experience.
You know we're going out thereand building relationships in
these local markets and you knowwe've got to be able to support
what we're selling, so we'vegot to be able to anticipate
what our clients needs are anddeliver on that.
So so my role was really tomake sure that we're continuing
(04:12):
to build out the teams andsupport our people in their
development journey as well, toprovide that great experience
for our clients.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Wow, I love that and I love that you're staying
focused on the consumer.
I feel like it's easy to getderailed and I think it's really
important in this industry tobe always focusing on the
consumer.
I agree with that.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Yeah, I think that's really great.
You know the one thing as Isaid earlier, I'm very new in
the industry, but what I loveabout this industry and what I
see it's about relationships andto me, all the value in a
partnership with a customer isall about the relationship.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Absolutely, and creating those lasting
relationships, because we hear alot that something will roll
out and maybe that's where thepartnership might end, and so
the fact that you're kind ofcreating those long-term
relationships, I think that'sreally important and really
exciting for people using yourproducts.
And what about you, Stacey?
What do you do so?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
I.
I have the fun pleasure ofoverseeing our people and the
culture part of the organizationI also, you know.
So that encompasses HR as wellas training and development,
safety we just hired a newsafety specialist, which is
really exciting.
He's doing a great job, we'rehappy to have him and then
marketing as well.
So my reach encompasses quite afew areas of the business.
(05:31):
I don't get to do thecustomer-facing stuff as much as
Valerie does, and I do enjoythat part of it.
But I do get to hear the funthings that come across my desk
from happy clients who like toreach out and say you know, our
people did a great job and it'sfun celebrating our folks when
we get those messages.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
I love that.
What do you love about the THSculture?
Speaker 2 (05:52):
You know it is.
So I, I, I joke because I hadum, shame on me a preconceived
notion of what a constructioncompany was like prior to coming
to THS, and that was a cowboycowboy boots, mustache mustache
smoking cigar with his feet onthe table.
And that definitely was not thecase when I got there.
A very, very smart, drivengroup of individuals that I work
(06:12):
with and I have to say, sevenyears later, it's not and I joke
about this as well my husbandrolls his eyes because he's the
engineer.
You know I say it's not superglamorous, but the reason why
I'm still here seven years lateris the people we work with,
amazing people, and, uh, I'mvery fortunate to really enjoy
each one, each and every one ofthem that I get to, you know, go
(06:34):
see and talk to every day.
So it's, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
I love that, and let's talk a little bit about
you know what you leaned intothere.
What is it like being a femalein this business?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
There's not as many of us as I would hope would like
you know we are working,working on that.
Val's addition to the team waswonderful.
For me, having anotherexecutive female voice alongside
mine has been fabulous, so verygrateful to have her part of
the team.
But it's it's.
It's an interesting industryfor females and I honestly wish
more and more we're getting intoit because it can be a great
(07:09):
career and the impact that weget to make on these communities
.
That's one of the things that Ilove is going out and seeing
the before and after, and someof the properties you see can be
devastating, whether it's afire rebuild or even our new
affordable housing line and thatsegment, you know, seeing the
before and after is just amazingand I think you know, for me as
a female in the industry,knowing we're making an impact
(07:30):
in communities has been great.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
I love that.
I think it's really importantto talk about because I think a
lot of women, you know they wantto dip their toe in the
construction side or the, youknow, the build side, and I just
think it's really awesome thatyou two are taking the leap and
paving the way, and I love thatfor our listeners and for you.
And so what about?
What are the benefits, as aclient, of working with THS?
Speaker 3 (07:56):
I think you know I'd go back to something I
referenced earlier that you knowwe're community builders and
you know we exist because of ourclients.
So when you ask, you knowwhat's the benefit about working
with us is we're not there justto do your big CapEx
improvement projects, right?
We're there to understand fromour client's perspective is
(08:19):
what's your growth plans?
You know what other markets areyou moving into?
We want to be attached to them,so we're growing with them, so
we can always support theirneeds.
We don't want to have a clientwhere we're only doing one
project and then we nevercollaborate again.
That's not how we we've builtour business over the last 17
years and it's certainly not.
You know what we need to do tokeep growing.
(08:41):
We want to stay along with ourclients through their journey of
growing as well.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
That is a great answer, and you are sponsoring
the Multifamily Women's Summitthis year, so tell us a little
bit about what inspired you towant to be a sponsor of the
Women's Summit this year.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Stacey and I went last year.
It was our first time attendingand, wow, I was only three
months into my role at THS andin the industry and what a way
to be welcomed.
I remember leaving there, going.
I have found a new home, I havefound a new industry.
You know I am a big fan of justadvocating for women leadership
(09:23):
, fan of just advocating forwomen leadership, coming
alongside other women as welland inspiring one another.
And I'm just excited toparticipate in the event again
and we made some friends at thatevent that we still, you know,
keep in contact with.
So yeah, we're great, greatlyappreciative of being asked to
come back and to be a sponsorand to participate.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
I love that you had that experience.
Stacey, did you have any greattakeaways?
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Very similar to what Val said.
For me, it was a littledifferent when I got the email
saying hey, there's this greatevent going on in Phoenix.
Would you be interested?
Val hadn't actually quitejoined the team yet, so I was
hopeful she would be joining uswithin a couple weeks.
I'm like all right, I've got tosign up to go to Phoenix for
going to this new event, butprior to, you know, engaging in
(10:10):
it.
I think I might have spoken toCarrie on the phone.
I called up and I was like hey,what is this about?
Like, this sounds likesomething we would like to go to
, but tell me more.
So when you know, when weactually got there and had a
chance to see and meet a lot ofthe participants and the people
who were there with us as well,from every industry, whether
they were a supplier or a vendoror working in, actually, in the
(10:31):
apartment communitiesthemselves, it was really a neat
experience and one that we bothsaid left there saying, yep,
we're coming back next year.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Awesome and I'm so glad that you formed some
connections.
I think that's probably myfavorite thing about the summit
is that it's such a levelplaying field.
We don't do a trade show, so wedon't have.
You're over here and people cancome to you and we make it very
equal, very even so that we'reall just women in our industry
who are innovating together tosolve the same problems, and so
we're really excited to have youagain this year.
(11:00):
Excited to have you again thisyear.
Tell me a little.
Tell me a little bit about someof the connections that you
formed in this industry and whatthat means in this industry to
you in terms of client building,client relationships building
people relationships.
Let's start with Stacey.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Well, I, I.
There was one lady inparticular who I had met with
and she was actually in a marketthat we hadn't kind of branched
into into, or we're just kindof starting to get into that
market, and she was a hugeresource to me to give me
insight on okay, you need tojoin this association, you join,
you know another one and and ifyou're going to be interacting
with you know this individual atour company, you know here's
(11:38):
the best way to work with him.
So she was very helpful on someyou know, insight into her
organization and and the peoplewho she works with and and how
best to just get our foot in thedoor in that new, that new
region that we were moving into.
So it was, she was was great.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Awesome, and.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Valerie, you know, I think people are always evolving
and that means we're alwayschanging and we could always be
moving.
And you know, just because youmake a connection over here,
that may not work for you in thepresent moment, it doesn't mean
that it can't in the future.
I'm a big believer of communityand learning from one another
(12:15):
and I think it's always great tobuild relationships.
And you know, don't evenunderestimate yourself, because
you never know what you'regiving to someone as well.
It's not just about what youcan receive, but also about what
you can give through the powerof networking.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
I love that answer and I think being females and
women in this industry andpaving the way, like I said, in
a new side of the industry thatisn't heavily represented by
women at this time isn't heavilyrepresented by women at this
time Talk a little bit aboutthat and are you mentoring
anyone that's maybe on your teamthat you feel excited about?
That you're helping bring thatnew generation up in that way.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Yeah, that's a really great question.
You know I love to mentorindividuals, but I would say the
ones that I mentor every dayare my daughters.
You know I have two college agechildren and you know I've
spent a life of mentoring them.
But especially where they're atin their own journey of going
(13:18):
into adulthood, you know they'restill trying to figure out
what's that next thing I shoulddo.
Where do I want to go?
And I keep selling them on thisindustry.
I'm like it's an industry ofcommunity.
It's got so many differentfacets to it of different things
you can do.
Why don't you come and try itout?
So I'm right now trying to sellthem on the industry to come
join.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
And that's funny too, because we all have such.
From what I've recognized inour industry, a lot of us come
from a totally differentbackground and we just fall into
multifamily and then we staybecause it's just so unique and
you can harness almost any skillset in this industry.
Truly, I'm a theater background.
I mean I'm here podcasting withyou.
So you know, I think that'swhat's so unique about it is
(14:01):
it's such you can always landhere, you know.
I think that's what's so uniqueabout it is it's such you can
always land here, you know.
And yeah, so what about you,stacey?
Do you have any mentees?
Speaker 2 (14:10):
I think we're always mentoring, whether it's
intentional or not.
You know, I know a large partof what Val does because she
enjoys it so much is, you know,walking out of meetings saying
that was a great section.
You know, I feel like you know,like I was able to give some
good advice and things of thatnature.
So I believe it is somethingand part of my role in the
(14:35):
organization being over thepeople and the culture of the
organization is a large part ofit is mentoring, and maybe not
mentoring in a traditional sense.
But advice this is how I'vebeen there done.
Advice this is how you know II've been there, done that.
This is how I handled it.
Um, you know, here's maybe some, some ways you could do things
a little differently or try itthis way next time, um, but I do
think it definitely a lot of itgoes on, especially at our
(14:55):
level within the organization,for a lot of our younger men and
women, uh, at the company.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
So that's awesome.
Well, you two are doing amazingthings, so I love this dynamic.
That's here too, because I lovethinking about the client
facing side and the people andhow those two elements work so
nicely together.
So I love that you two are soclose and that you're in
communication with each other alot.
How do your roles kind of feedoff of each other where you're
(15:23):
working on the culture of yourpeople, but then you're also
thinking about how that impactsthe client at the end of the day
and I'll let whoever wants tostart start.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of crossover there, right
, because you know you askedearlier, lauren, what's
something that's on the horizonfor THS and I just think it's
growth, right, it's growth andit's adding more people to the
THS family and to our culture.
And you know, for me it'simportant to be able to tell
(15:55):
Stacey and her team, you knowthese are the needs of our
clients.
This is the type of skill setthat we need to be able to
provide from relationshipbuilding, community building,
and here's the skill set that weneed on the operations side to
make sure that we're providinggood services.
So I think you know the two ofus collaborate frequently,
(16:16):
probably all the time, really ofjust you know how do we
continue to develop thestructure, whether it be through
training and development,future operations of the team to
support what the client needs.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
And having you know the more females we can bring
into the industry.
It helps to negate that goodold boy network type of you know
, stigma.
That kind of came along withconstruction and we're doing a
great job of that.
And and having Val to to umcollaborate with has been, you
know, breath of fresh air, in alarge part because she's fairly
(16:50):
new to the organization.
So it's always good to haveoutside perspectives and and new
, new, fresh ideas of someonecoming on board.
That's looking at things MaybeI'm, I might be a little too
close to a situation and she'sable to take a step back and
look at it and say, yeah, youknow what, let's, let's, let's
go this direction.
So it's, it's been awesome.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
I love that.
And, valerie, what industry didyou come from?
Speaker 3 (17:10):
So I came from um.
I worked for a manufacturer forfor 20 years, um, but we were
providing uh security products,so it was more in the commercial
construction side.
Um, it was more officebuildings, data centers,
manufacturing things like that.
So there's still a tie in, youknow, on the construction as a
(17:31):
whole.
But you know, at the end of theday, I don't think it matters
what industry you're in.
People buy from people and Ithink it's great when you can
take something that you learnedfrom somewhere else and adapt
that into a new industry andthen again be in a new industry
and learn new things the clientsuccess journey, because you
(18:04):
know, I love that.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
You mentioned that your clients really get that
hands-on experience and it's notjust that onboarding, it's
about longevity.
So what are you doing?
Are you listening, surveying?
What are we doing to keepclients?
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Uh, it's, that's a great question.
You know, um, I think, from theonboarding of a client.
You know it starts from day one, from an introduction, and you
know it starts from day one,from an introduction, and you
know understanding what aperson's role is within an
organization, understanding whattheir needs are, understanding
what problems they're trying tosolve and can we solve those
(18:36):
problems for them.
But then I'm a big believer insetting expectations up front,
you know, and making sure thoseexpectations are aligned.
But then I'm a big believer insetting expectations up front,
you know, and making sure thoseexpectations are aligned.
So you know defining what it isthat they need, making sure
that our teams internallyunderstand that so we can
deliver on that.
But you know the start of arelationship doesn't and the
(18:58):
journey of the relationshipdoesn't end after one project.
Right, our clients areconstantly moving into new
markets and evolving and youknow we want to participate with
them in that.
They have leadership summitsthroughout the year and
different meetings where they'retrying to bring in different
partners, and let us be a partof their journey is how they
(19:20):
grow as a company.
So we're participating in thatas well and again, being in our
local associations and localindustry events to make sure we
understand what's going on inthe market and how do we need to
pivot and evolve to respond tothat.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Wonderful.
And then, conversely, on theother side of things, stacey,
what are you doing to retain toptalent?
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Oh goodness.
Well, we're always trying to dothings a little different than
our competitors or even, youknow, any other industry out
there in the market it is.
It is definitely a war ontalent right now.
For sure, and we've been verylucky we have a good, you know,
good high retention rate.
We've, you know, have greatplace to work certified,
certified for the last threeyears running.
(20:05):
So we do surveys constantly ofour people, or a couple of times
a year with our folks, just tomake sure that we're tapping
into areas that we may need toimprove on.
We do stay interviews, so we'retrying to get ahead of anything
.
If there's an issue going onthat we're not aware of, it
allows us the opportunity to goin and make those changes as
(20:25):
need be, if it's something thatwe're able to change.
So that, and then just tryingto get out there, valerie and I
travel quite a bit.
We bring some of our otherexecutive leadership with us too
from time to time and seeingthe people, we have a lot of men
on an island, so to speak, andthat's hard when you're not
interacting every day withcoworkers.
We're very fortunate or I am,anyway, I go into the office
(20:45):
every day Val's hybrid.
She's here, there andeverywhere.
So you know it's, it's whenyou're working by yourself.
We try to create a real senseof community within the
organization, even for thosefolks that are satellite or
remote.
And you know, just do do itthrough various virtual calls.
But you know, try, do do itthrough various virtual calls,
but, um, you know, try to visitas often as we can.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Love that.
The in-person touch is so, sonecessary and so nice.
These days.
We're we're on zoom so often,so it's really nice to have that
face-to-face time with yourpeople.
I love that.
So really quick, valerie what?
What is your ideal client looklike, meaning what types of
(21:27):
companies work with you?
Are you delivering more of acatered experience, more of a
boutique style?
What is the ideal client forTHS?
Speaker 3 (21:37):
Um, I think that the ideal client for us is, um, the
ideal client for us is reallyone that understands what it
means to partner with us.
Right, I think it's apartnership and I want to really
hone in on a partnershipbecause, you know, nothing is
easy in construction, nothing iseasy in doing renovation work,
(22:00):
because you never know what's onthe other side of a wall.
Right, there could be delays.
You're relying on variousnuance.
That's out of the control ofDHS and that's also out of the
control of our client, you know.
So I think for me, it'spartnering with clients that are
again willing to help usunderstand what their needs are,
(22:22):
how we can solve them and, whenwe do come across challenges,
how do we work together toprovide a great experience, not
for just the needs that they mayhave rather it be completing a
project on schedule, butthinking about, you know, the
residents that are impacted bythe work that we're doing.
You know we're going in tocommunities where people live,
(22:43):
so I'm always like, do we allunderstand, at the end of the
day we're doing?
You know we're going in tocommunities where people live,
so I'm always like, do we allunderstand?
At the end of the day.
We're there to serve residentsand provide them a good
experience in a place thatthey're proud to come home to
every day.
So I think you know our idealclient is someone that
understands we're both there toserve residents in a community.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
I think that's great, and I love that you're thinking
about the resident at the endof all of this, because we have
our clients, but at the end ofthe day, you're right, we're
serving people in their homes.
This is incredibly importantwork that you're doing and I
just I think it's great that youhave your eye on the resident
at all times.
That's a really good outlook.
And so when you are runninginto these hurdles, or do you
(23:26):
kind of line up that as apossibility, or do you let
people know look, we might hitsome snags, but we're here to
work through it with you.
What does that look like whenyou encounter those?
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Yeah, I think it all goes into proper planning right.
We are very blessed to havepeople that have been in this
industry or been in otherconstruction industry for a very
long time, so you know, theyknow what we're the possible
risks that we encounter.
So I think you know if we'replanning for that and kind of
(23:56):
going through ourpre-construction meetings and
understanding what are all thepossible things that could
happen, have we planned for that?
And when the inevitable happensand things are outside of our
control, it's all about propercommunication, getting on the
phone with the client, workingout a plan together and being
aligned on that.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
I think it's really great for people to have a
partner like you who is able tohelp them navigate through that
process, because I can't imaginehaving to try to jump all these
hurdles on my own.
So I think it's wonderful thatTHS is willing to partner with
people to help them throughthose hurdles that they hit.
And is there anything else onthe horizon that you're excited
(24:36):
about or that you want to leaveour listeners with today?
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Personally for me, I'm most excited about being in
Texas.
This is my new home and I'mjust so excited to be able to
come into one of the biggestmarkets in multifamily and serve
our clients here and continueto build out our organization
here to serve our customers.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Yeah, and on my side of the house it's really
welcoming those new employeesand new team members into the
company.
We've met some amazing peopleand have such a great group of
folks that we work with, andjust continuing to have that
servant leader mindship andteaching others our way, that's
one of the things that I lookforward to.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Wonderful, and where can our listeners learn a little
bit more about THS National?
You can go to our website.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
We have tons of great content out there.
But look for us in all thelocal apartment association
trade shows.
We participate a lot in NMHC.
We're there for all of thoseconferences, we're at NAA, but
we're constantly trying to putout content and, you know, tell
(25:45):
people more about who we are,not just what we do.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Wonderful.
Well, I want to thank you againboth for being on the
Multifamily Women's Podcastagain today, and we can't wait
to see you at the summit.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Yes, we're excited.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
Well, thanks for sharing time with us today, for
sure, and thank you all forlistening.
This has been another episodeof the Multifamily Women's
Podcast.
You know where to find us atwwwmultifamilywomencom.
Welcome back to another episode of the
Multifamily Women podcast.
We are so excited today we havesome amazing guests.
They are with THS National, wehave Stacey Edwards, who is a
vice president of people andculture, and Valerie Curran, who
is the SVP of the market ratesegment, and we are so happy to
(00:20):
have you two here today.
So let's start with Stacey.
Stacey, tell us about how yougot into multifamily and how
your career kind of blossomedfrom there.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Sure, Well, I've been in multifamily for seven years
now, but my background in HRspans many industries.
Multifamily was not somethingthat I had originally planned on
getting into, but being thewife of an engineer and having a
father who was a mastercarpenter construction kind of
seemed like a natural flow forme when I decided to go back in
(00:49):
the job market again.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Very nice.
And Valerie, what about you?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
I'm a newbie in the industry, so I've been in the
industry for 16 months.
I've had family and friendsthat have been in the industry
for 20 plus years, but I love it.
I left a really really greatindustry and really didn't think
I would be able to find anotherindustry this great, but I am
(01:15):
so happy to be a part of it andI don't think I'll ever leave.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
Wow, yeah, that's how a lot of us feel about
multifamily.
So tell us a little bit aboutTHS National and the service
that you provide.
Speaker 3 (01:27):
So we're a multifamily general contractor,
we're a national contractor.
We focus on two primarysegments.
You've got your market ratesegment and then just two years
ago, we started affordablehousing.
So we are primarily in thesoutheast market.
We're headquartered out ofRaleigh, north Carolina, but we
(01:50):
have offices all throughoutFlorida, georgia, south Carolina
, virginia.
We are moving in andparticipating in the Texas
market, which we are veryexcited about and that's the
skyline that you see behind us.
So I'm very excited about that.
But you know, at the end of theday I would say THS National,
(02:11):
we're community builders.
You know we fill a bigalignment with trying to provide
services and really goodprojects for our clients and
their residents.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Very cool and what's on the horizon for THS that you
are excited about?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
I'll speak to that a little bit.
Moving into affordable housingwas really exciting two years
ago and we're just scratchingthe surface of that.
We've got lots and lots ofopportunity throughout the whole
US going forward.
We have people coming out ofthe woodwork saying, hey, we
need a good GC to help us makethese communities a really
lovely place for the residentsto live.
(02:49):
So that's a big thing thatwe're definitely focusing on the
expansion into Dallas as well alittle bit this year and a big
push into 2025, which is whyValerie's here boots on the
ground now in Dallas.
We have a couple of other THSemployees who are also here in
the city as well.
So that's really exciting.
And then we're always lookingfor new segments to get into.
(03:12):
There's student housing andhospitality and senior living.
There's lots of opportunities.
So we're just kind of excitedto figure out what our next
segment is going to be and wherewe're going to go from there.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Very cool, and so let's start with Valerie.
Tell us a little bit about yourrole and what specifically you
do at THS.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
So I'm over our sales and operations segment for for
the market rate business Rightnow.
That consists of approximately80 employees.
But you know I'm really thereto make sure that we have the
right footprint in each of ourmajor markets that supports our
(03:51):
client needs and you know,primarily it's to focus on the
client experience.
You know we're going out thereand building relationships in
these local markets and you knowwe've got to be able to support
what we're selling, so we'vegot to be able to anticipate
what our clients needs are anddeliver on that.
So so my role was really tomake sure that we're continuing
(04:12):
to build out the teams andsupport our people in their
development journey as well, toprovide that great experience
for our clients.
Speaker 1 (04:20):
Wow, I love that and I love that you're staying
focused on the consumer.
I feel like it's easy to getderailed and I think it's really
important in this industry tobe always focusing on the
consumer.
I agree with that.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
Yeah, I think that's really great.
You know the one thing as Isaid earlier, I'm very new in
the industry, but what I loveabout this industry and what I
see it's about relationships andto me, all the value in a
partnership with a customer isall about the relationship.
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Absolutely, and creating those lasting
relationships, because we hear alot that something will roll
out and maybe that's where thepartnership might end, and so
the fact that you're kind ofcreating those long-term
relationships, I think that'sreally important and really
exciting for people using yourproducts.
And what about you, Stacey?
What do you do so?
Speaker 2 (05:08):
I.
I have the fun pleasure ofoverseeing our people and the
culture part of the organizationI also, you know.
So that encompasses HR as wellas training and development,
safety we just hired a newsafety specialist, which is
really exciting.
He's doing a great job, we'rehappy to have him and then
marketing as well.
So my reach encompasses quite afew areas of the business.
(05:31):
I don't get to do thecustomer-facing stuff as much as
Valerie does, and I do enjoythat part of it.
But I do get to hear the funthings that come across my desk
from happy clients who like toreach out and say you know, our
people did a great job and it'sfun celebrating our folks when
we get those messages.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
I love that.
What do you love about the THSculture?
Speaker 2 (05:52):
You know it is.
So I, I, I joke because I hadum, shame on me a preconceived
notion of what a constructioncompany was like prior to coming
to THS, and that was a cowboycowboy boots, mustache mustache
smoking cigar with his feet onthe table.
And that definitely was not thecase when I got there.
A very, very smart, drivengroup of individuals that I work
(06:12):
with and I have to say, sevenyears later, it's not and I joke
about this as well my husbandrolls his eyes because he's the
engineer.
You know I say it's not superglamorous, but the reason why
I'm still here seven years lateris the people we work with,
amazing people, and, uh, I'mvery fortunate to really enjoy
each one, each and every one ofthem that I get to, you know, go
(06:34):
see and talk to every day.
So it's, it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
I love that, and let's talk a little bit about
you know what you leaned intothere.
What is it like being a femalein this business?
Speaker 2 (06:46):
There's not as many of us as I would hope would like
you know we are working,working on that.
Val's addition to the team waswonderful.
For me, having anotherexecutive female voice alongside
mine has been fabulous, so verygrateful to have her part of
the team.
But it's it's.
It's an interesting industryfor females and I honestly wish
more and more we're getting intoit because it can be a great
(07:09):
career and the impact that weget to make on these communities
.
That's one of the things that Ilove is going out and seeing
the before and after, and someof the properties you see can be
devastating, whether it's afire rebuild or even our new
affordable housing line and thatsegment, you know, seeing the
before and after is just amazingand I think you know, for me as
a female in the industry,knowing we're making an impact
(07:30):
in communities has been great.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
I love that.
I think it's really importantto talk about because I think a
lot of women, you know they wantto dip their toe in the
construction side or the, youknow, the build side, and I just
think it's really awesome thatyou two are taking the leap and
paving the way, and I love thatfor our listeners and for you.
And so what about?
What are the benefits, as aclient, of working with THS?
Speaker 3 (07:56):
I think you know I'd go back to something I
referenced earlier that you knowwe're community builders and
you know we exist because of ourclients.
So when you ask, you knowwhat's the benefit about working
with us is we're not there justto do your big CapEx
improvement projects, right?
We're there to understand fromour client's perspective is
(08:19):
what's your growth plans?
You know what other markets areyou moving into?
We want to be attached to them,so we're growing with them, so
we can always support theirneeds.
We don't want to have a clientwhere we're only doing one
project and then we nevercollaborate again.
That's not how we we've builtour business over the last 17
years and it's certainly not.
You know what we need to do tokeep growing.
(08:41):
We want to stay along with ourclients through their journey of
growing as well.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
That is a great answer, and you are sponsoring
the Multifamily Women's Summitthis year, so tell us a little
bit about what inspired you towant to be a sponsor of the
Women's Summit this year.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Stacey and I went last year.
It was our first time attendingand, wow, I was only three
months into my role at THS andin the industry and what a way
to be welcomed.
I remember leaving there, going.
I have found a new home, I havefound a new industry.
You know I am a big fan of justadvocating for women leadership
(09:23):
, fan of just advocating forwomen leadership, coming
alongside other women as welland inspiring one another.
And I'm just excited toparticipate in the event again
and we made some friends at thatevent that we still, you know,
keep in contact with.
So yeah, we're great, greatlyappreciative of being asked to
come back and to be a sponsorand to participate.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
I love that you had that experience.
Stacey, did you have any greattakeaways?
Speaker 2 (09:48):
Very similar to what Val said.
For me, it was a littledifferent when I got the email
saying hey, there's this greatevent going on in Phoenix.
Would you be interested?
Val hadn't actually quitejoined the team yet, so I was
hopeful she would be joining uswithin a couple weeks.
I'm like all right, I've got tosign up to go to Phoenix for
going to this new event, butprior to, you know, engaging in
(10:10):
it.
I think I might have spoken toCarrie on the phone.
I called up and I was like hey,what is this about?
Like, this sounds likesomething we would like to go to
, but tell me more.
So when you know, when weactually got there and had a
chance to see and meet a lot ofthe participants and the people
who were there with us as well,from every industry, whether
they were a supplier or a vendoror working in, actually, in the
(10:31):
apartment communitiesthemselves, it was really a neat
experience and one that we bothsaid left there saying, yep,
we're coming back next year.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Awesome and I'm so glad that you formed some
connections.
I think that's probably myfavorite thing about the summit
is that it's such a levelplaying field.
We don't do a trade show, so wedon't have.
You're over here and people cancome to you and we make it very
equal, very even so that we'reall just women in our industry
who are innovating together tosolve the same problems, and so
we're really excited to have youagain this year.
(11:00):
Excited to have you again thisyear.
Tell me a little.
Tell me a little bit about someof the connections that you
formed in this industry and whatthat means in this industry to
you in terms of client building,client relationships building
people relationships.
Let's start with Stacey.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Well, I, I.
There was one lady inparticular who I had met with
and she was actually in a marketthat we hadn't kind of branched
into into, or we're just kindof starting to get into that
market, and she was a hugeresource to me to give me
insight on okay, you need tojoin this association, you join,
you know another one and and ifyou're going to be interacting
with you know this individual atour company, you know here's
(11:38):
the best way to work with him.
So she was very helpful on someyou know, insight into her
organization and and the peoplewho she works with and and how
best to just get our foot in thedoor in that new, that new
region that we were moving into.
So it was, she was was great.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Awesome, and.
Speaker 3 (11:54):
Valerie, you know, I think people are always evolving
and that means we're alwayschanging and we could always be
moving.
And you know, just because youmake a connection over here,
that may not work for you in thepresent moment, it doesn't mean
that it can't in the future.
I'm a big believer of communityand learning from one another
(12:15):
and I think it's always great tobuild relationships.
And you know, don't evenunderestimate yourself, because
you never know what you'regiving to someone as well.
It's not just about what youcan receive, but also about what
you can give through the powerof networking.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
I love that answer and I think being females and
women in this industry andpaving the way, like I said, in
a new side of the industry thatisn't heavily represented by
women at this time isn't heavilyrepresented by women at this
time Talk a little bit aboutthat and are you mentoring
anyone that's maybe on your teamthat you feel excited about?
That you're helping bring thatnew generation up in that way.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Yeah, that's a really great question.
You know I love to mentorindividuals, but I would say the
ones that I mentor every dayare my daughters.
You know I have two college agechildren and you know I've
spent a life of mentoring them.
But especially where they're atin their own journey of going
(13:18):
into adulthood, you know they'restill trying to figure out
what's that next thing I shoulddo.
Where do I want to go?
And I keep selling them on thisindustry.
I'm like it's an industry ofcommunity.
It's got so many differentfacets to it of different things
you can do.
Why don't you come and try itout?
So I'm right now trying to sellthem on the industry to come
join.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
And that's funny too, because we all have such.
From what I've recognized inour industry, a lot of us come
from a totally differentbackground and we just fall into
multifamily and then we staybecause it's just so unique and
you can harness almost any skillset in this industry.
Truly, I'm a theater background.
I mean I'm here podcasting withyou.
So you know, I think that'swhat's so unique about it is
(14:01):
it's such you can always landhere, you know.
I think that's what's so uniqueabout it is it's such you can
always land here, you know.
And yeah, so what about you,stacey?
Do you have any mentees?
Speaker 2 (14:10):
I think we're always mentoring, whether it's
intentional or not.
You know, I know a large partof what Val does because she
enjoys it so much is, you know,walking out of meetings saying
that was a great section.
You know, I feel like you know,like I was able to give some
good advice and things of thatnature.
So I believe it is somethingand part of my role in the
(14:35):
organization being over thepeople and the culture of the
organization is a large part ofit is mentoring, and maybe not
mentoring in a traditional sense.
But advice this is how I'vebeen there done.
Advice this is how you know II've been there, done that.
This is how I handled it.
Um, you know, here's maybe some, some ways you could do things
a little differently or try itthis way next time, um, but I do
think it definitely a lot of itgoes on, especially at our
(14:55):
level within the organization,for a lot of our younger men and
women, uh, at the company.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
So that's awesome.
Well, you two are doing amazingthings, so I love this dynamic.
That's here too, because I lovethinking about the client
facing side and the people andhow those two elements work so
nicely together.
So I love that you two are soclose and that you're in
communication with each other alot.
How do your roles kind of feedoff of each other where you're
(15:23):
working on the culture of yourpeople, but then you're also
thinking about how that impactsthe client at the end of the day
and I'll let whoever wants tostart start.
Speaker 3 (15:33):
Yeah, I think there's a lot of crossover there, right
, because you know you askedearlier, lauren, what's
something that's on the horizonfor THS and I just think it's
growth, right, it's growth andit's adding more people to the
THS family and to our culture.
And you know, for me it'simportant to be able to tell
(15:55):
Stacey and her team, you knowthese are the needs of our
clients.
This is the type of skill setthat we need to be able to
provide from relationshipbuilding, community building,
and here's the skill set that weneed on the operations side to
make sure that we're providinggood services.
So I think you know the two ofus collaborate frequently,
(16:16):
probably all the time, really ofjust you know how do we
continue to develop thestructure, whether it be through
training and development,future operations of the team to
support what the client needs.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
And having you know the more females we can bring
into the industry.
It helps to negate that goodold boy network type of you know
, stigma.
That kind of came along withconstruction and we're doing a
great job of that.
And and having Val to to umcollaborate with has been, you
know, breath of fresh air, in alarge part because she's fairly
(16:50):
new to the organization.
So it's always good to haveoutside perspectives and and new
, new, fresh ideas of someonecoming on board.
That's looking at things MaybeI'm, I might be a little too
close to a situation and she'sable to take a step back and
look at it and say, yeah, youknow what, let's, let's, let's
go this direction.
So it's, it's been awesome.
Speaker 1 (17:06):
I love that.
And, valerie, what industry didyou come from?
Speaker 3 (17:10):
So I came from um.
I worked for a manufacturer forfor 20 years, um, but we were
providing uh security products,so it was more in the commercial
construction side.
Um, it was more officebuildings, data centers,
manufacturing things like that.
So there's still a tie in, youknow, on the construction as a
(17:31):
whole.
But you know, at the end of theday, I don't think it matters
what industry you're in.
People buy from people and Ithink it's great when you can
take something that you learnedfrom somewhere else and adapt
that into a new industry andthen again be in a new industry
and learn new things the clientsuccess journey, because you
(18:04):
know, I love that.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
You mentioned that your clients really get that
hands-on experience and it's notjust that onboarding, it's
about longevity.
So what are you doing?
Are you listening, surveying?
What are we doing to keepclients?
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Uh, it's, that's a great question.
You know, um, I think, from theonboarding of a client.
You know it starts from day one, from an introduction, and you
know it starts from day one,from an introduction, and you
know understanding what aperson's role is within an
organization, understanding whattheir needs are, understanding
what problems they're trying tosolve and can we solve those
(18:36):
problems for them.
But then I'm a big believer insetting expectations up front,
you know, and making sure thoseexpectations are aligned.
But then I'm a big believer insetting expectations up front,
you know, and making sure thoseexpectations are aligned.
So you know defining what it isthat they need, making sure
that our teams internallyunderstand that so we can
deliver on that.
But you know the start of arelationship doesn't and the
(18:58):
journey of the relationshipdoesn't end after one project.
Right, our clients areconstantly moving into new
markets and evolving and youknow we want to participate with
them in that.
They have leadership summitsthroughout the year and
different meetings where they'retrying to bring in different
partners, and let us be a partof their journey is how they
(19:20):
grow as a company.
So we're participating in thatas well and again, being in our
local associations and localindustry events to make sure we
understand what's going on inthe market and how do we need to
pivot and evolve to respond tothat.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
Wonderful.
And then, conversely, on theother side of things, stacey,
what are you doing to retain toptalent?
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Oh goodness.
Well, we're always trying to dothings a little different than
our competitors or even, youknow, any other industry out
there in the market it is.
It is definitely a war ontalent right now.
For sure, and we've been verylucky we have a good, you know,
good high retention rate.
We've, you know, have greatplace to work certified,
certified for the last threeyears running.
(20:05):
So we do surveys constantly ofour people, or a couple of times
a year with our folks, just tomake sure that we're tapping
into areas that we may need toimprove on.
We do stay interviews, so we'retrying to get ahead of anything
.
If there's an issue going onthat we're not aware of, it
allows us the opportunity to goin and make those changes as
(20:25):
need be, if it's something thatwe're able to change.
So that, and then just tryingto get out there, valerie and I
travel quite a bit.
We bring some of our otherexecutive leadership with us too
from time to time and seeingthe people, we have a lot of men
on an island, so to speak, andthat's hard when you're not
interacting every day withcoworkers.
We're very fortunate or I am,anyway, I go into the office
(20:45):
every day Val's hybrid.
She's here, there andeverywhere.
So you know it's, it's whenyou're working by yourself.
We try to create a real senseof community within the
organization, even for thosefolks that are satellite or
remote.
And you know, just do do itthrough various virtual calls.
But you know, try, do do itthrough various virtual calls,
but, um, you know, try to visitas often as we can.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
Love that.
The in-person touch is so, sonecessary and so nice.
These days.
We're we're on zoom so often,so it's really nice to have that
face-to-face time with yourpeople.
I love that.
So really quick, valerie what?
What is your ideal client looklike, meaning what types of
(21:27):
companies work with you?
Are you delivering more of acatered experience, more of a
boutique style?
What is the ideal client forTHS?
Speaker 3 (21:37):
Um, I think that the ideal client for us is, um, the
ideal client for us is reallyone that understands what it
means to partner with us.
Right, I think it's apartnership and I want to really
hone in on a partnershipbecause, you know, nothing is
easy in construction, nothing iseasy in doing renovation work,
(22:00):
because you never know what's onthe other side of a wall.
Right, there could be delays.
You're relying on variousnuance.
That's out of the control ofDHS and that's also out of the
control of our client, you know.
So I think for me, it'spartnering with clients that are
again willing to help usunderstand what their needs are,
(22:22):
how we can solve them and, whenwe do come across challenges,
how do we work together toprovide a great experience, not
for just the needs that they mayhave rather it be completing a
project on schedule, butthinking about, you know, the
residents that are impacted bythe work that we're doing.
You know we're going in tocommunities where people live,
(22:43):
so I'm always like, do we allunderstand, at the end of the
day we're doing?
You know we're going in tocommunities where people live,
so I'm always like, do we allunderstand?
At the end of the day.
We're there to serve residentsand provide them a good
experience in a place thatthey're proud to come home to
every day.
So I think you know our idealclient is someone that
understands we're both there toserve residents in a community.
Speaker 1 (23:02):
I think that's great, and I love that you're thinking
about the resident at the endof all of this, because we have
our clients, but at the end ofthe day, you're right, we're
serving people in their homes.
This is incredibly importantwork that you're doing and I
just I think it's great that youhave your eye on the resident
at all times.
That's a really good outlook.
And so when you are runninginto these hurdles, or do you
(23:26):
kind of line up that as apossibility, or do you let
people know look, we might hitsome snags, but we're here to
work through it with you.
What does that look like whenyou encounter those?
Speaker 3 (23:36):
Yeah, I think it all goes into proper planning right.
We are very blessed to havepeople that have been in this
industry or been in otherconstruction industry for a very
long time, so you know, theyknow what we're the possible
risks that we encounter.
So I think you know if we'replanning for that and kind of
(23:56):
going through ourpre-construction meetings and
understanding what are all thepossible things that could
happen, have we planned for that?
And when the inevitable happensand things are outside of our
control, it's all about propercommunication, getting on the
phone with the client, workingout a plan together and being
aligned on that.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
I think it's really great for people to have a
partner like you who is able tohelp them navigate through that
process, because I can't imaginehaving to try to jump all these
hurdles on my own.
So I think it's wonderful thatTHS is willing to partner with
people to help them throughthose hurdles that they hit.
And is there anything else onthe horizon that you're excited
(24:36):
about or that you want to leaveour listeners with today?
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Personally for me, I'm most excited about being in
Texas.
This is my new home and I'mjust so excited to be able to
come into one of the biggestmarkets in multifamily and serve
our clients here and continueto build out our organization
here to serve our customers.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Yeah, and on my side of the house it's really
welcoming those new employeesand new team members into the
company.
We've met some amazing peopleand have such a great group of
folks that we work with, andjust continuing to have that
servant leader mindship andteaching others our way, that's
one of the things that I lookforward to.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Wonderful, and where can our listeners learn a little
bit more about THS National?
You can go to our website.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
We have tons of great content out there.
But look for us in all thelocal apartment association
trade shows.
We participate a lot in NMHC.
We're there for all of thoseconferences, we're at NAA, but
we're constantly trying to putout content and, you know, tell
(25:45):
people more about who we are,not just what we do.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Wonderful.
Well, I want to thank you againboth for being on the
Multifamily Women's Podcastagain today, and we can't wait
to see you at the summit.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Yes, we're excited.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
Well, thanks for sharing time with us today, for
sure, and thank you all forlistening.
This has been another episodeof the Multifamily Women's
Podcast.
You know where to find us atwwwmultifamilywomencom.
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