A community-minded approach to development

People are at the heart of everything we do at Mosaic and it is because of this that community engagement plays a vital role in our development process.  Maintaining a positive presence before, during, and long after our projects have been completed is essential to fostering authentic connections with our neighbours and realising mutually beneficial outcomes.

Our Head of Community Engagement Chris Boyle is as equally passionate about property as he is about ensuring we leave a positive footprint in the neighbourhoods we are lucky enough to develop in. Chris’s hard work and honest, transparent approach saw him recently recognised at the 2019 UDIA Qld Awards for Excellence, highlighting the positive outcomes achieved on Drift by Mosaic in Coolum Beach. His process is also now being used as the benchmark by local Councils.

Learn more about Chris’ journey with Mosaic, his commitment to ethical business practices, and how he achieves balance in such a challenging role.

How did you get your start in property and what put you on track for a career at Mosaic?

I’d always had an interest in the property industry, originally completing a building surveying degree in the UK. My career in construction started at Laing O’Rourke Australia in their graduate program. This provided the opportunity to experience different facets of the industry before eventually accepting a role as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor.

Through this program, I discovered a real passion for built-form construction. Keen to move into something more challenging and rewarding, I decided to explore a career in property development. It was a recruiter who mentioned an exciting opportunity with a local developer, and fortunately for me, that turned out to be Mosaic.

What has your career journey with Mosaic looked like?

I initially joined Mosaic in 2015 as an Assistant Development Manager, supporting the process from site acquisition, planning, and application through to construction and settlement. It was a demanding role that gave me incredible insight into the sheer volume of work required to bring a multi-residential project to life.

I recognised very early on Mosaic’s deep-seated commitment to the communities in which it builds, taking an active approach to engage with our neighbours at every stage of the development process. Initially, this was managed by David Handley, Director of Developments and Mosaic’s Co-Founder, but as the company grew quite rapidly, the requirements became greater and increasingly critical to the point where a full-time resource was needed.  Already working closely with David, I was offered the opportunity to assist in the creation of a formal community engagement strategy and framework. This was the catalyst to my current role as Head of Community Engagement.

Why is community engagement so important to Mosaic?

Mosaic’s genuine approach to their communities is a key differentiator from other property developers. Nurturing relationships and open lines of communication between stakeholders including Councils, neighbours and community groups gives us the ability to optimise positive for all involved. Taking into account feedback during the design phase has enabled us to create exceptional developments that deliver enduring value to the community.

It is also important because in demonstrating that we genuinely care about what we build and allowing people to have their say and be heard, it helps create ambassadors for Mosaic and gives us a social license to operate. This is vital, whether it’s communities where we have several developments, where we are building for the first time, or where there is strong resistance to development.

I am so proud of the fact that our engagement framework is now being used as the benchmark by local Councils and the learnings and framework have been shared with the Urban Development Industry of Australia (UDIA) to form its industry best practice Community Engagement Guide. We were also the recipients of the highly esteemed UDIA (Qld) Award for Excellence in Community Engagement in 2019.

What would a typical day/week involve as Head of Community Engagement?

I’m working across all Mosaic projects through all development stages from acquisition, through construction to completion, so my days are always varied which is something I really love about my role. Faced with the daily challenge of ever-changing priorities, I’m managing multiple competing tasks, which can be anything from creating a stakeholder engagement strategy for a new project to meeting with a neighbour or community group about a concern, to working in-house with our construction team to reduce the impacts of a development.

It is also a vital part of my role and an important component of Mosaic’s engagement strategy to lead with education. Technical project information is now readily available online to communities, but in most cases, it’s being misinterpreted, and often incorrectly and innocently shared across social media. Mosaic strives to be on the front foot by taking the time to work within the community educating neighbours and improving general understanding of how the planning framework works, and what good development that is considerate to the community looks like.

What would you attribute as a driving factor to your career success at Mosaic?

The calibre of people working at Mosaic is uncommonly high; anyone looking for a career at Mosaic needs to be prepared to continually push themselves in the pursuit of excellence. I have a thirst for continuous improvement and take on any opportunity for professional and personal development. This might be as simple as listening to a peer, a consultant, a neighbour or a member of Council for example. I also read influential books and partake in industry conferences and external courses.

I’ve also been very fortunate to work closely with some exceptional, experienced professionals within Mosaic, particularly the Directors and our Chief Operating Officer – all of whom have been a major influence on my development and success to date.

How do you balance your work and personal commitments with such a demanding role?

I practice self-discipline and am particularly strict with time management. When I’m at work, I work with intensity, completely focused on the task at hand. This allows me to be present when I’m at home with my family. I also find meditation, practicing gratitude and exercising regularly helps keep me balanced. I am a huge fan of boxing, which also requires strong mental and physical stamina, and I regularly train and at times compete in the sport.

My downtime is all about quality time with friends and family. I became a first-time dad last year, so I’m loving spending as much time as possible with my baby boy. And with my family being originally from Liverpool I am a huge Liverpool FC fan – 2020 is surely our year!