Taylor Design

Taylor Design is a strategy-based design firm with practices in Architectural Design, Interior Design and Design Strategy; with offices in northern and southern California.

Contact

Email: connect@wearetaylor.com
Tel: +1 949 574 1325

Employee Spotlight: Kristy Jordan

An interview with Kristy Jordan

Kristy Jordan is a Senior Associate and Director of Employee Development at Taylor Design. She is based in our Irvine office and has been with the firm for 22 years. We sat down with her to discuss how Taylor Design adapted to working from home amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as her personal favorite moments at the firm.

How do you feel Taylor Design has adapted to working from home?

I’m very proud of how our staff has transitioned to a full work from home schedule with little to no notice. We immediately asked our entire firm about their individual home office needs and quickly worked to get each employee the necessary equipment to comfortably work from home.

Although there were some minor technology hiccups in the first week, our staff adapted well by working together and supporting one another.

What has Taylor Design done to ensure the safety of its staff during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Although we all now work from home, we still need to provide a high level of service to our clients. With most of our projects in the healthcare market, it’s important as ever to continue to support our clients with a renewed focus on safety. Our Corporate Development Team quickly updated our job site safety protocols because of COVID-19 and provided each employee with their own personal essential safety equipment including reusable masks and cleaning supplies.

How does Taylor Design communicate real-time health updates about COVID-19 with staff?

One of the leading qualities of Taylor Design is our ownership culture. Our transparent environment ensures that each employee is aware of the successes and challenges of the firm. This practice has not only continued during COVID-19 but has been a prominent focus for us. Since we are not physically together, we created many avenues to communicate essential information to our staff and established an online urgent communications channel for up-to-date notices, announcements, and resources to navigate through this unprecedented time.

How do you balance your role as a Director of Employee Development to ensure a healthy work/life balance?

The nature of my personality is to always check in and see if there are staff needs, even when I’m off work. But this isn’t required or expected. Our firm reinforces a work/life balance by consistently monitoring staff utilization and rebalancing project needs to ensure there is no excess overtime.

What inspires you in the work you do?

In my role, I don’t directly impact our designs, but I help provide a supportive and collaborate environment that indirectly impacts every project we do. Making sure our employees are equipped with the tools, training, and support to do what they do best inspires me every day.

What have you gained from working at Taylor Design?

The obvious would be a deeper skillset and a greater confidence in my professional life. But for me, the most important thing I’ve gained from Taylor Design is an extended family.

What has been your favorite experience while working at Taylor Design?

My favorite is a personal experience. When I celebrated my 20-year work anniversary with a surprise in-office party, Linda Taylor, founder of Taylor Design and long since retired, attended and gave a speech in my honor. Linda hasn’t been to the office much after retiring, so the fact that she attended touched me deeply. For me, this solidified the fact that our staff is the most important aspect of Taylor Design. She instilled that in our firm from the beginning, and it is still going strong 40 years later.

What are three words you would use to describe Taylor Design?

Taylor Design is a firm of passionate, supportive, and talented people.