Over the last five decades, Lloyd Companies, based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, expanded from a mom-and-pop shop property management company to a full-service real estate company that builds communities.
Organizations that expand dramatically often need help adjusting to the complexities that can isolate different departments or lines of business. Lloyd’s growth in size and scope meant it needed a new blueprint to operate and a stronger internal structure to support it.
Chief Executive Officer Chris Thorkelson took the helm when the Lloyd Companies co-founder retired. One of the first things he did was search for a system that could help maintain the increasingly complex business model.
Chris tried a few different models, having consultants come in to help with strategic planning, but they never ended up with actionable plans to achieve their goals. The strategic plans ended up being pretty words on paper that sat in a drawer all year. During annual planning, when the leaders reviewed the plan, they realized that if something had been accomplished, it was more out of luck than any purposeful actions.
In 2015, Chris learned about EOS® from a CEO peer group and thought it could provide the missing processes and practical tools Lloyd Companies needed. He charged Chief of Staff Becky Word with properly implementing EOS throughout the organization.
So, Lloyd Companies began Running on EOS™… or so they thought.
Vision
After Becky attended the 2021 EOS Conference™ in Houston, she realized her organization was only haphazardly and half-heartedly using EOS Tools. They were only following some of the EOS Process® and avoiding confrontations if someone pushed back on any changes.
Becky said their weekly meetings weren’t productive, they weren’t tracking meaningful Measurables, work wasn’t getting done, and no one seemed to be on the same page.
“I remember thinking, ‘This is embarrassing. We either need to commit to doing it or just forget about it because right now we’re not Running on EOS,’” she said after seeing how other companies operated. “I came back and told Chris I thought we needed to jump in with both feet.”
A month later, the company leaders met with EOS Implementer® Kyle Kangas, a fellow South Dakotan who’d led a family-owned lumberyard before joining EOS. He knew the area and what it was like running a family business.
Traction®
With Kyle’s guidance, the leaders began to understand why that level of clarity and accountability had previously eluded them.
Up to that point, each of their leadership meetings had included every director and executive, regardless of their involvement level. Often, leaders didn’t raise important issues because some in the room were uncomfortable discussing them.
Taking Kyle’s suggestion, they reduced the meeting size to only the five core leaders (aka the leadership team).
Things improved almost immediately. Leadership team meetings became more productive. The members routinely completed action items, discussions were more productive, and everyone understood the company roadmap and their role in reaching the final destination.
Then, the company began rolling out EOS to different divisions. The construction division, with its focus on safety and productivity, quickly embraced the new system. The property management team, where the bulk of Lloyd’s employees work, embraced Running on EOS as well.
Becky said the goal now is to roll out EOS into every line of business, including development, real estate, and hospitality services. Becky even named two conference rooms in Lloyd’s new corporate headquarters Traction and Vision. These help team members remember the concepts from the moment they walk into the meeting.
Healthy
The results have been impressive.
In 2021, Lloyd Companies had 150 employees. After becoming more intentional about Running on EOS, the organization now has around 500 employees.
At the end of 2023, the property management division managed roughly 9,000 doors. By 2031, their goal is to manage 20,000.
The leadership team also looks to extend its portfolio by exploring a fourth market in addition to Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and Des Moines.
Such heady growth could easily strain team morale. But Lloyd Companies has experienced the opposite. For the past two years, the organization has earned exceptionally high employee Net Promoter Scores (81+ vs. 50 on average) with 87% employee participation.
The results affirm what Becky already knew.
“We’re so focused on the employee experience,” Becky said. “There used to be sidebar conversations without anyone sharing the outcomes. Things fell off the radar because no one was held accountable. Now, we’ve improved communication by holding all-employee meetings so that everyone knows what’s happening, we get their buy-in, and they keep us on track.”
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