Since 1975, Shindico has been a market leader in Commercial Real Estate and Professional Asset Management in Canada, providing full service to owners and occupiers of retail, office, industrial and multi-residential property. Succeeding by Helping Others Succeed has been Shindico’s mission since our formation.
We are very proud of our Asset Management top performance and industry-leading Brokerage, Development, Property Management and Tenant Representation teams. We asked our team members what Succeeding by Helping Others Succeed has meant to them during their career at Shindico and to share their experiences with clients in the past.
Sandy Shindleman, CCIM, SIOR, FRICS, CRE
President & CEO
How do we Succeed by Helping Others Succeed?
We succeed by helping others succeed in two ways – first internally. If we have all 40-people looking out for each other and making sure that the fundamental job that we have is making sure others and our colleagues succeed. In other words, marketing needs brokerage, development and accounting to succeed. Accounting needs to assist marketing, brokerage etc. If we’re all looking out for each other and doing things to ensure each other succeeds, then obviously we’re all going to succeed in a much greater role together. From an external basis, once again we have 40 people inside the office and a dozen outside the office that know that it’s their job to see our tenants succeed, our customers succeed. By supporting their businesses, by promoting their businesses, by having interest in their businesses and by sharing business ideas that we find in our research to help our tenants succeed because succeeding by helping other succeed is contagious at Shindico everyone can do it. No matter who picks up the phone or answers an email at the office, it doesn’t have to go down a long series of approvals here to help a member of the community to succeed.
My favorite moment with a Shindico client:
It’s hard to pick just one moment of a favorite client interaction because there are many. From helping our pension fund clients help them succeed with their pensioners to get the best and stable returns to our family offices ranging from California to Europe and finding great investments, managing them like they’re our own and seeing the appreciation when we deliver more than expectation. So here we’re all trying to exceed expectations and we’re very happy when people give us testimonials telling us we’ve achieved that goal.
Robert W. Shindleman
Executive Vice President
How do we Succeed by Helping Others Succeed?
Instilled by my parents at an early age was the adage that helping people ( whether it be people you work with, your customers , clients , family, friends or people you may meet only briefly along the way) is the proper and decent thing to do. If we can help people be successful , we too will enjoy success.
My favorite moment with a Shindico client:
Twenty plus years ago, a client of ours was having a rough day and behaving erratically (he was an alcoholic. I took him aside ( as there were other people present at the time) and asked him if there was anything I could do to help him. We had a conversation and eventually, he joined AA and has been sober since.
A few months ago, this person unexpectedly dropped into our office to see me. I had not seen him since the incident referred to above.. He said it had always bothered him that he did not thank me for helping him out that day years ago and so he went out of his way to come and thank me these many years later.
You never know how, what might seem like a small gesture of kindness or caring, can help someone.
Alex Akman
Chief Operating Officer
How do we Succeed by Helping Others Succeed?
Shindico succeeds by helping others succeed in all facets of its business. As Asset Management is the primary line of business, each property is treated as a business unit to maximize its results. Tenants that complement each other and help drive business for each other are sought across the portfolio. Ultimately Shindico doesn’t want to put a tenant in a position where they won’t succeed, because Shindico won’t either.
My favorite moment with a Shindico client:
Helping one of our residential tenants downsize to another building in our portfolio after the sudden passing of her husband. The widow was unable to maintain the higher rental rate that came with her previous apartment, where she had lived for almost 20 years. She wanted to stay in a Shindico managed building, so we worked with her to find her a new home. She is very happy with her new suite, and we look forward to having her for another 20 years. Shindico knows the value of a good tenant, and enjoys helping them succeed so we can as well.
Alex Krozkin
Vice President, Corporate & Construction Finance
How do we Succeed by Helping Others Succeed?
Understanding what others truly needs and going above and beyond a “standard” to make it happen.
My favorite moment with a Shindico client:
Being able to respond to a situation/request at a speed that other companies are not used/able to provide. One of our investors requested a Valuation report on a number of assets. Was able to reply within an hour of the request with a 1-page summary listing.
Leanne Fontaine
Chief Financial Officer
How do we Succeed by Helping Others Succeed?
The best example I have is our commitment to supporting our tenants and their businesses. Whenever we can, we buy goods or services directly from one of our tenants – successful tenants make for successful property owners. The benefit of this philosophy isn’t limited to financial success. In the summer of 2016, we had a fitness facility open up at one of our properties. I was looking for a way to be healthier and joining this gym was a great reason to support one of our tenants while achieving my own personal goals. At the time, I didn’t foresee the positive impact this would have on all aspects of my life. Since then, exercising has become a form of meditation. Working out clears my mind and revitalizes my body. The boost to my energy and my mood allow me to feel great and perform better in all aspects of my work and my personal life. By supporting those around us we are building a stronger system that allows all of us to succeed together.
My favorite moment with a Shindico client:
We pride ourselves on developing positive working relationships with our clients. I regularly work with a consultant to develop reports for our software. He has a vast knowledge base for report writing and we have built a strong working relationship over the years. One day I received a message from him - he was working with an old database for another client and had very little experience in this area. He knew that we had previously worked with this system and contacted me for some insight and guidance on the project. I shared our knowledge and experiences with him and helped him get up to speed on this project much faster than he would have working alone. It was wonderful to be able to help him in this way after all he has done for us.
Kelly Smith
Vice President, Asset & Property Management
How do we Succeed by Helping Others Succeed?
There is no single action taken toward our goal of Succeeding by Helping Others Succeed. It is the embracement of a continuously improving customer service philosophy that firmly and consistently puts our customer’s and client’s needs as our main priority. We deeply respect our customers and strive to ‘treat them like gold’. We don’t expect to receive customer service awards but instead hope to be rewarded over the long-term through unwavering customer loyalty, word of mouth and revenue growth. We truly believe ‘what’s good for the tenant is good for the landlord’. We understand that viewing our customer relationships as a partnership and putting the customer’s needs before our own will ultimately result in both parties reaching their goal. Customer acquisition is only the very first step in what must be a continuing professionally directed strategy in order to create customers for life. This personal and unselfish approach to a customer’s journey with our company ultimately leads our clients to become a part of the Shindico family.
My favorite moment with a Shindico client:
The experiences that I have cherished the most with Shindico clients have been those involving the takeover and turnaround of distressed assets. The turnaround process includes diligent review of leases, property condition and asset management history, identifying areas of opportunity through creative strategic planning and budgeting, and aggressively making the plan come to fruition. This process ultimately leads to professionally managed properties with greater recovery of expenses, minimization of costs, improvements in leasing and tenancy and revitalization of the asset. Although this requires intelligent analysis, execution and a strong work ethic, it is very rewarding to see the results lead to financial success for both landlords and tenants.
Ken Jones
Office & Industrial Tenant Representative
How do we Succeed by Helping Others Succeed?
Speaking from the brokerage side of our business, I see first-hand how we succeed by helping others to succeed. One of the most satisfying aspects of my role is to help prospective tenants channel the passion and excitement for their business into the ideal property for them to succeed in. Real estate costs are typically the second highest expense for a business and by ensuring they secure the right location at the best possible terms, we are able to help them with a major part of their future success.
My favorite moment with a Shindico client:
I represented a non-profit organization whose lease was about to expire and who had become completely disillusioned with landlords and leasing. They had been in a poor location for many years and the building was showing signs of structural wear and tear. Their former landlord did not seem very interested in maintaining the building to a proper standard. By taking their requirement to the marketplace I was able to negotiate a favourable long term lease in a newly redeveloped building with a caring and attentive landlord. My clients were ecstatic about their new work environment and proudly show it off to other organizations.
Sandra Sumner
Director, Property Management
How do we Succeed by Helping Others Succeed?
A tenant of mine had a pipe burst in their space and were not sure how to deal with the repair. I attended on a Sunday evening and made arrangement with Winnipeg Building on their behalf to start the cleanup and remediation. I also contacted a plumber, electrician, and company to repair drywall also on their behalf. They were very appreciative for the assistance.
My favorite moment with a Shindico client:
I attended to a fire at one of our properties and the owner was beside herself not knowing what to do or where to start. I contacted Winnipeg Building on her behalf to start with the cleanup and remediation. I walked her through the steps that needed to be taken, first off – contacting her insurance company to file a claim. When the fire department cleared for us to go into her unit, I went in with her to view the damage and she hugged me and cried on my shoulder thanking me for coming down, offering her advice on how to proceed, and mostly for being a positive presence while she was facing a devastating situation. She has relayed frequently, how grateful she is that I was there for her and how I took control of the situation to provide guidance.
Helen Chattree
Property Analyst
How do we Succeed by Helping Others Succeed?
In my role, a large part of helping others has been in training new members of the Property Administrator team. Training and being a “go to” person in the department has helped me keep up to date with all three roles and sometimes exposes my own weak areas, which I can then focus on improving. So helping others helps with my own growth, knowledge and leadership skills and creates good relationships within the team. Also, helping others simply makes you feel good!
My favorite moment with a Shindico client:
Not one moment but several. My all-time favorite was a residential tenant at Tiffany Towers. She was a bit of a hoarder and was stressed due to an upcoming suite inspection due to the several boxes of clothes and personal stuff stacked almost ceiling high (after a year of living in the suite!). I offered to come by in the evening to go through her unpacked boxes and she, sounding shocked, asked if I was serious. I said, “Sure, my daughter and I would love to come and help you”. She said she had never heard of a landlord offering to help a tenant with unpacking! She stayed with us for over 3 years and was always a delight to talk with – sometimes calling me in the afternoons, when she was bored. Sadly, she passed away last year but her daughter told me that she always spoke very highly of Shindico and the excellent service we provided. I miss her sharp wit and caustic sense of humor.
Melody Plishka
Vice President, Marketing
How do we Succeed by Helping Others Succeed?
We succeed by helping others succeed by always putting our clients interests first. Asking ourselves what do our clients need to make them successful. This focus is in everything we do, from ensuring our properties are always in top shape so that tenants and their customers have a clean and safe environment to do their shopping or work to providing high-quality information and services at all times.
My favorite moment with a Shindico client:
I don’t work directly without outside clients, but my favorite moments are when we all work together as a team to put together a presentation or package for a client. I love the collaboration and seeing the finished and polished product at the end. I also really like it when we get positive feedback on the things we provide for our clients from brochures and our website to social media.
Linda Cymbalisty
Vice President, Human Resources
How do we Succeed by Helping Others Succeed?
Shindico succeeds by helping others succeed by caring. We want to put clients in spaces that will work for them, not just fill a vacant space with any tenant that is willing to take it, but rather one that will thrive in it.
The Executive Management team as well as everyone at Shindico cares . . . . . about family, about tenants, about staff, about each other.
My favorite moment with a Shindico client:
There are many, but the respect shown by others when they know you are with Shindico. My favourite example actually happened while on vacation in Ottawa. A fairly prominent Winnipegger happened to be getting out of a cab that we were about to get into. He would be well known at the event we were attending and likely inundated with people trying to talk to him. He said a quick hello to those around us and clearly wanted to keep moving. When I said “Hi, John*, I’m Jane* from Shindico” he actually turned back around and shook my hand and said nice to see you. It was very apparent by the look on his face and his reaction to hearing the company name that now I was someone worth stopping for, and it felt great!
