Rosewood Communities is a homebuilder based out of Greenville, S.C. owned by Mark Nyblom, a board member and dedicated builder of Homes for Hope. We recently had the chance to interview their office manager, Mia Nyblom, about how they have experienced culture and community with their trades through Homes for Hope events.
“When we do luncheons for subcontractors, we do them on site in the subdivision. Going to them has a better turnout than making them come to us,” Mia noted.
Who wants to work in the hot sun for four hours before a lunch meeting at the office? Bob Schultz, the new home sales specialist, always says, “Make it hard to say no and easy to say yes.” Rosewood Communities works to make it easy for their subcontractors to say “yes” by hosting events on the job site. As a result, they have had nearly perfect attendance by their trade partners at Homes for Hope events.
Mia says, “That’s something that’s crucial to any event: feed the people. They notice the finer details… the cozier it is in there, the more comfortable people are, too.”
If you truly want to build culture and community, it needs to be reflected in your hospitality, and this is something Rosewood excels at. Mia coordinates events with her go-to team that includes Rosewood staff members, trade partners, and a preferred caterer. In addition, to making her guests feel welcome, she is giving community members more opportunities for hands-on involvement.
“One of our trade partners went to the Dominican Republic with Mark Nyblom and shares his experience from the trip at our groundbreakings,” Mia said. “We’ve found that he is able to speak in a relatable way to our partners.”
Scott Sedam of TrueNorth Development believes that the voice of the trade partner matters. At the 2014 Homes for Hope Builder Summit, he said, “The most important thing about engaging workers is giving them a job where they feel they have genuine influence over the work that affects them.” The same principal can be applied here. By inviting their trades to share at events, Rosewood gives them “genuine influence” over their Home for Hope, which their trade partners have used to help build three Homes for Hope since 2010, raising nearly $300,000.
“There’s something to be said about a repetitious dedication. We’ve done it so many times, that everyone knows what to do,” Mia says.
Through repetition, Rosewood has made the Homes for Hope process their own and in doing so, has discovered a community of people that love one another and serving others. One of their landscaping partners unexpectedly decided to share his experience at their last groundbreaking, saying, “I was skeptical of all of it until I was around it. After spending time with these guys, coming to the dedications, and hearing about the cause, it all makes sense.”
If you would like to be connected to staff members from Rosewood Communities about building culture and community with trades, please use the contact information below to contact me. I would be more than happy to connect you.
About the Author:
Carson Bennett
Information Specialist, Homes for Hope
cbennett@homes4hope.org
205-532-6074
