At Extra Space Storage, we believe our greatest asset is our employees. From the people who work in our National Sales Center to the managers operating our self storage facilities across the nation, the team behind Extra Space Storage is what makes our company better every single day.
Each quarter, we give out the EXTRAordinary Employee of the Quarter award. These aren’t given to people who just do their jobs. They’re awarded to those who go above and beyond in demonstrating our core values, and the nominations are submitted anonymously by other employees, team leaders, or entire departments.
Below are the EXTRAordinary winners from Q3 2018 featuring the nomination statements from their peers!
Chance Nelson – District Manager, Verboncoeur Division
“Chance did a simply incredible job in his overseeing of [one of our Houston facilities] while the search was on for two new District Managers! Chance’s days were incredibly long, and his inbox always full while bouncing back and forth between Colorado and Texas, and at no point in time did Chance make it look anything less than easy. He was able to visit all the stores on multiple occasions and relieved a ton of pain points for the SM group, all of whom have also commented on Chance’s execution. Chance was able to be part of multiple associate IDPs and promoted an AM to SM in his short time. Chance quickly established relationships with numerous owners and vendors and was dialed into so many fine details of the market, as if he had always been in place in Houston. And as the end of his time in Houston drew near, he made it so there was a seamless transition to the DM taking over duties. It was a pleasure working side-by-side with such a professional who exudes the Extra Space Core Values and is whole-heartedly deserving of the EXTRAordinary Award. Thanks for all you do, Chance!”
Cheryl MacKenzie – District Manager, James Division
“I have the pleasure of nominating my peer Cheryl Mackenzie for exemplifying our company values and continuing to go out of her way to provide value to her store and divisional team…Cheryl always brings a positive and genuine attitude to her interactions with her store and division team. She is strong when she needs to be, but she ALWAYS comes from a place of compassion and a desire to help those around her grow. She is the owner of two of our most common divisional catch phrases: ‘A-Ha Moment’ and ‘Assume Positive Intent.’ Both of these serve to remind us that, first, we need to help guide our teams to their own self-discovery, and second, we need to be direct with each other but assume the employee or peer is always coming into that interaction with an intentionally positive attitude meant to help and guide, not condescend or accuse. Cheryl also brings some excellent ideas and appropriate challenges to our DM Only Sessions, Division Meetings, and calls. She is very focused on people and makes sure that we always come back to making sure our people are valued and developed…Cheryl also gets credit this quarter for helping one of her team (Dan Patten) grow into our newest DLM. She has helped guide his development and provide the growing room necessary to advance…On a more specific note, during Q3 [2018], Cheryl was challenged to help the team with our lagging CPP metric. She spent a good amount of time creating five separate training calls with follow-up, tracking, powerpoints, facilitator notes, DTL involvement, and actionable behaviors that will help the stores succeed long-term. This was no small amount of work that benefited the store teams and also made her peer group’s lives easier by taking on the brunt of the leg work. Thank you, Cheryl! If we are looking for those who truly try to live our values and go above and beyond every day, we should not overlook Cheryl!”
Pamela Bridges – Human Resources Manager, West Coast
“I’d like to nominate Pam Bridges for the EXTRAordinary Award. Day in and day out, Pam truly focuses on the individuals that she partners with, whether it’s the front line, DMs, or others in the department. She always puts her customers first in a supportive and caring way. She’s thorough and reasonable and works diligently to support three divisions. I think DMs would agree: Pam deserves a medal for all of the calls she sits in on with DMs and all of the fires she helps put out. It’s easy to see that Pam really enjoys what she does. We are lucky to have her on our Extra Space team!”
Scott Armstrong – Program Manager, Construction Property Redevelopment
“Scott Armstrong has been instrumental in advancing multiple development projects along the East Coast. He inherited several legacy projects that had languished in feasibility, entitlement, and construction. He was worked hard with his partners in operations, acquisitions, and facilities to ensure that the projects were progressing and being completed to our design standards. He has leveraged his considerable experience in construction management to find quality partners, including designers, contractors, and project managers. Scott has been given multiple new and difficult challenges, and he has provided innovative solutions that have saved Extra Space significant time and resources. Scott is a selfless member of the Construction & Property Development team. He puts in long hours to ensure that his projects stay on time and on budget. He has been extremely flexible and has accommodated the needs of his direct team and partners. Scott’s selfless attitude and tireless work ethic exemplify the qualities of the EXTRAordinary Award winners.”
Martin Gualazzi – IT Help Desk Technician, Store Support
“Martin has it all! I have the pleasure of working with the help desk and IT through different functions. Whether it is because of Breeze, working through the back-end of sSalesforce/Omni, or just getting a new DM set up with their laptop and phone, whatever the case is, Martin is always happy to help. He has a smile and a friendly tone no matter how urgent, big, or small the situation is. In Q3 2018, he’s been there for me and the various departments and projects I’ve needed his help on. If he’s not the person to solve the problem, he’ll also go out of his way to make sure that he finds the answer and follow up until it’s solved, even if it is no longer in his hands. His knowledge and quick thinking showed up big when our Revenue Management team reached out us to solve an issue around customers and their reservations in stores that were about to be in the hurricane’s path. These units were first come, first serve units [that] would be rented quickly, and customers that had made a reservation, would be out of luck. Of course, during the hurricanes in September and October of [2018], that doesn’t make for a positive customer experience. Last year, we called upon a group of five or six DTLs to manually log in to about 40 stores to complete the process overnight. Marty came up with an even better idea this year, and it was completed within an hour. He probably saved 30-40 man hours with his quick thinking. Thanks for being a great partner, Martin!”
John Taylor – Facility Services Manager, East Coast
“John is consistently the most reliable supportive role that I have interacted with. He manages his time extremely well and is always going the extra mile in order to make sure that our properties are in top condition. John always take the time to review quotes or speak with vendors on our behalf in order to ensure the work is being done correctly at the right path.”
Nominations for EXTRAordinary Employee of the Quarter for Q4 2018 have recently closed, and the winners will be announced soon. Check back for more from Extra Space Storage!
