Ideas are everywhere. They are inspiring. They help us improve upon what we do. They lead to innovation. At the beginning of 2021, we were looking for a way to capture all the incredible ideas our team members have each day, to engage them and encourage them to be creative. Thus, our CIRCLE initiative was born and has sparked just what we intended – loads of creativity and innovation! Over 150 ideas were submitted this year, some of which we have already implemented. We are excited to implement more CIRCLE ideas in 2022 and see more of what our team can dream up.
CIRCLE is an acronym we created to help categorize and spur ideas. Each idea must fit into one of these six pillars:
2021 CIRCLE Success Stories
There were a few standout CIRCLE submissions that have been implemented this year. Firstly, with the amount of CIRCLE ideas coming in each month, Michael Johnson, CFO, offered the idea of having a master tracker to showcase all of the CIRCLE ideas coming in for each pillar, who submitted them, and which ones are being implemented. This tracker now lives in an internal Microsoft Teams channel for each team member to access the dashboard and watch CIRCLE videos.
Rob Lochner, Vice President of Development, envisioned a post-pandemic fitness center design to address the need for more residents to work out at home throughout all seasons. He has been working with our architects on the apartment buildings at Olive Crossing and Cortex to design indoor/outdoor gyms that provide clean air, optimized layouts, and ample space to work out. While we have always focused on wellness in building amenities, the COVID-19 crisis has elevated our residents’ awareness of the importance of health and fitness thus changing their expectations around what is desired in their home gym.
Both Kim Potts, Property Manager, and Blake Hancock, Resident Experience Specialist, came up with ideas for #KeeleyCares and KeeleyLife projects. Kim suggested we partner with and sponsor the Veterans Community Project to build tiny homes for homeless veterans in North City St. Louis. Blake came up with the idea to partner with BJC Healthcare during Breast Cancer Awareness Month to offer mammogram screening at our properties. We are in contact with both organizations to turn these ideas into a reality.
Finally, Maggie St. Geme, Marketing Manager, proposed a new cultural pillar, KeeleyGreen, to grow Keeley’s sustainability efforts as we work to enhance the communities in which we live, work, and engage. Maggie is now leading a committee of Keeley’ns dedicated to sustainability who will help improve our current efforts, bring new methods to the table, and get our people excited about doing what they can to do good for our environment. Keep an eye out for more information as we officially launch KeeleyGreen in 2022!
At Keeley Properties, we have an entrepreneurial spirit focused on growth, knowing it is the way to take our people, properties, and pipeline to the next level. We are so proud of each other for sharing CIRCLE ideas, both great and small, simple and complicated. We are continuously evaluating the ideas that come in – some stick, others don’t, and some make us think differently or go explore in a new direction. The vision of our CIRCLE initiative is that all of these ideas enhance our work and drive growth for Keeley Properties. Stay tuned for more!