Leading Maintenance Teams with Care & Respect – with Hermond Lawson, Chris Adams & Chenal Alford

Student Housing Matters

What makes a Director of Facilities successful in leading their maintenance team?

It’s more than just showing up and doing the job. And it’s more than just taking good care of the facility.

Success comes from taking care of the students and staff as well, building relationships with them as people to make sure they have what they need to thrive.

Chris Adams is Director of Facilities for The Village at the University of South Florida, Chenal Alford (better known as Al) is Director of Facilities for Millennium Hall at Towson University, and Hermond Lawson serves as Assistant Director of Facilities for Walker Avenue Apartments at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

On this episode of Student Housing Matters, Hermond, Chris and Al join host Jeremy Steed to explain how they got their start in facilities maintenance at COCM and share their experiences working at different sites in multiple roles.

Hermond, Chris and Al discuss how campus maintenance has evolved since the 2000s, describing why ongoing training is crucial for their teams and how the design of the facilities themselves have changed to benefit students.

Listen in to understand how Hermond, Chris and Al build a culture of respect and transparency on their teams and learn how their genuine care for staff and students contributes to their success!

Topics Covered

How Hermond, Chris & Al got their start in facilities maintenance at COCM

Hermond, Chris & Al’s experiences working at different COCM sites in multiple roles

How facilities maintenance has evolved since the 2000s

What Hermond learned from the students he was teaching to answer maintenance calls

Hermond, Chris & Al’s appreciation for the support they receive from COCM leadership

The ongoing education and training required for maintenance teams

How Hermond, Chris & Al build a culture of respect and transparency among their teams

How the facilities themselves have changed over time to benefit students

Connect with Hermond, Chris & Al

COCM Operations & Management

Connect with Jeremy

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Jeremy on LinkedIn

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