In Praise of the Hardest Working People in Property Management
I don’t envy the front line team members at our apartment communities right now. The dismal economic conditions have made life extremely difficult for these associates in so many ways. High unemployment rates have lead to a shrinking renter pool, higher vacancy, negative rent growth, and competitive concessions. The pressure on our on-site teams to achieve their budgeted occupancy and revenue goals is tremendous.
At the same time, owners and management companies are slashing budgets to try to compensate for struggling revenue streams. Consequently, on-site associates are asked to do more with less: less marketing dollars, less turnover funds, and in some cases, even less personnel.
Apartment community residents are adding to the drama by being more demanding than ever before. Facing their own pressures such as employment uncertainty, renters are putting the squeeze on their community management teams in the search for reduced rent, flexibility in lease terms or other services. Life’s stresses have made residents a cranky lot; they’ve been known to blow their tops at undeserving Leasing Consultants or Maintenance Technicians who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
If you supervise or support on-site associates, now is the time to extend some extra TLC to this hard-working group. Let’s face it; new renters are hard to come by right now. This makes retention particularly important. In order to hang on to the residents you’ve got, your front line associates must deliver outstanding service experiences. This is hard for them to do when they are getting beat up at every turn!
To ensure that your Leasing, Management and Maintenance staffs are capable of resolving conflict with demanding residents, negotiating reasonable renewal leases, and retaining as many residents as they possibly can, you must not take your front-line teams for granted. It is critically important that you provide them with education so they are trained to meet the changing challenges in their workplaces. And, you must support them through appropriate compensation, rewards systems, and recognition.
Industry educator Jackie Ramstedt shared this bit of wisdom: “You cannot expect your employees to treat your customers any better than they feel their company is treating them.” In times of steep budget cuts, it may seem necessary to slash expenses such as training, staff meetings, and bonus programs. Please think of the long-term effects such cuts will have on your communities’ performance, and slash sensibly. Exceptional customer service can’t happen without exceptional on-site teams to deliver it.
Kara Rice, CAM, CAS, is co-founder and Chief Information Officer of Grace Hill, Inc., the multifamily industry’s leading provider of online education. She may be reached at www.gracehill.com or krice@gracehill.com.
