New Processes - Old Principles

The property management industry has changed in so many ways over the years, yet some things have not.  Rent optimizer systems now tell us what we should be charging for rent and renewals, marketing algorithms direct what is happening with our advertising and how productive they are, computers have replaced ledger cards, maintenance techs get new service requests in the field versus coming in the office to see what their next task is, residents no longer use a key to access their community or their home, print publications have all but gone the way of the dinosaur, and communication with residents and prospects is now only a tweet or mouse click away and takes seconds for updates to reach millions.  

What we think of as processes making our business easier, has in fact made it substantially more complicated and in some aspects scary. Here are a few examples:

• In days gone by we printed newsletters and delivered them in nice plastic bags on every apartment door.  This process was time consuming in developing the medium, folding it, placing it in the bags, and of course taking the time and manpower to deliver.  Today we can use a template with populated information and post the information on our web site or deliver electronically in a matter of hours and not days.  So you ask, what has made it more complex.  Today we are inundated with hundreds of pieces of communication in our social sites or emails. We get so many pieces of communication we now filter what we are reading and if the last issue was not deemed important, relevant, or beneficial, the next one is simply deleted by operand or instrumental conditioning. The new process has made it easy for us to develop these communication mediums; however, also complicated matters in the ease of not even glancing at the information to see if the next issue is something they should consider to read.  Before if the print version sat in the apartment home long enough the resident might at least give it a cursory view, where now, it's just another communication in hundreds we receive and is deleted without consideration. 
• Electronic advertising is here to stay and we will never go back to print. We now can reach thousands every day who might be interested in a new apartment home with photo's, bullet points, and data to create interest.  What a fantastic age we live in, except! Prospects can search hundreds of communities on multiple web sites in search of an apartment home making our business much more competitive and complicated.  But isn't this much easier you ask?  With so many more options including multiple web sites which our prospects do look on, so much data can become overwhelming and complicated.  Before, a prospect would pick up a guide of some type, dog ear pages they found interest in, and plan their attack looking for a new home. Today a prospect looks, closes the browser to do something else, only to come back to it again days later and basically begin the search all over again because it is so easy to find what they are looking for. The other side of this is, if one site is not easier to navigate than another site they have looked on, they simply don't go on that site which may be the location your advertising is on.  It also is more challenging because there are so many sites, unless you have a very large budget you can't be in all of them.  Before you had a choice of two or three publications and now you have dozens including one in NY called Nakedapartments.com.  Have to admit, it's a catchy name. 
• Twenty to thirty years ago if a resident was unhappy they may have told a handful of people and it disappeared quickly in an uncomplicated world.  Today, current or former residents who are "unhappy campers," as I call them can now tell millions with a mouse click. Complicating matters, they can make you seem like the worst landlord in the world when in fact they just didn't pay their rent and were being evicted and you have little recourse.  You can respond to the situation, but your rating will not change nor the fact someone looking for a new home will seek out the bad information and for some reason not read the good reviews of hundreds who are happy living with you.  Welcome to the computer age.

There are so many more examples and one could probably write a book on the changes in this industry over the years.  What has not changed is the human factor.  In 2002 I wrote my best selling book, Complex - A Guide to Apartment Management with over 11,000 copies sold worldwide.  In it I mentioned handling a new prospect with a video call and making it a more personable experience through technology.  Today, that vision has come true and companies are reviewing Skype and other means to use as a leasing tool.  For some reason was have added technology but taken the human and personable side out of what we do.  We have replaced talking with someone for tweeting or emailing and have been conditioned to believe this is the easier and better way.  We have replaced dealing with challenges in a direct and personable way, to indirect and non-personable methods.  

We are teaching our leasing and community teams how to deal with software and technology; however, neglected to teach them how to deal with people.  We have taught how to develop our people to be managers, but neglected to teach them how to be effective leaders.  We have emphasized the importance of closing, but neglected to teach them how to be open with our prospects and residents.  We are so tied up with the feelings of people, we have forgotten how to feel. 

Larry is an award winning regional manager and President of Wizardry Enterprises, LLC, a company which provides training and education in the multifamily industry to apartment associations and management companies all over the country. He is an accomplished author with four publications in print, and has successfully led hundreds of teams with a passion for leadership.  Contact us at lawrenceberry@verizon.net about how we can help in your education and training needs and provide excellence to exceed..