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Oct 18
2009
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Improve Your Resident Retention by Changing the Way You Speak and Think
Posted by: Lisa Trosien on Oct 18, 2009 01:00 Tagged in: Residents , Resident Satisfaction , Resident Retention , Multifamily , Lease Renewal , Customer Service
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As a property manager, I had some 'rules' that I made everyone follow. Perhaps some of my staff thought they were silly; hopefully, they realized the value in them. Here's a sampling:
1. Never use the word 'problem'. Substitute the word 'opportunity' in its place.
Let's face it. If you view every potential 'problem' as an 'opportunity', you've placed a much more optimistic spin on whatever issue you have, right? I found that it helped my team tackle the problems from a different point of view. I'd ask myself and my teammate what kind of opportunity we had been presented with- whether it was an occasion to promote our brand, deliver outstanding customer service, or create a new advocate of our community (or all the aforementioned and more), it really gave us a chance to think things through on a much more positive note.
2. Turn your least favorite resident/customer into your favorite. Here's how this one worked. Almost everyone of us who works or has worked on site has had a resident who just seems to rub us the wrong way. And our tendency is to head in the opposite direction when that person comes in, or to hand off the phone call or email to someone else when we receive it. It's human nature.
This 'foe into friend' technique required each person on staff to welcome opportunities to work with their least favorite resident. Our job was to work with the resident on every possible occasion and in so doing, find their really good qualities. Yes, sometimes it was difficult, but I never had an occasion where this approach failed to create a better relationship with a customer.
These ideas may be small, but they were very successful at my properties. What have you done to make positive differences at your building or community? I'd love to hear!
Lisa Trosien is a multifamily educator, strategic marketer and consultant. Email her at Lisa@ApartmentExpert.com.
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WHen I was a PM, my strongest rule on the property was that I carried an open door policy - with my staff, residents, and vendors. Social visits were welcomed as they helped to reinforce positive relationships. Staff dropping in gave me an opportunity to gain and give feedback in a more relaxed manner. As vendor visits increased in frequency, so did the drop in wait time for shipments and the amount of freebiew for my staff.
Who can say no to freebies?
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@Tara Really, Tara, it wasn't hard to initiate at all. I just sort of gave the team the guidelines and away we went. If anyone came into the office and used the word 'problem', I'd say, "What?" until they changed the word. Annoying? Probably. But very effective.
And we all pretty much knew which resident pushed each others' buttons. So that wasn't all that hard either.
Thanks for the input!
LT
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LT
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LT
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Thanks for commenting and hey, it was GREAT to meet you in Minneapolis!
LT
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I've been an employee supervisor for many years and although it sounds bad to say it, I have always tried to find each person's best qualities and exploit them. It makes them look good, and makes me look good. Win/win!
I've followed this same policy with my residents in my few years in property management. Find what they are passionate about and show them you care.
I really like the idea of improving relationships, but imagine how boring the world would be if everyone was exactly the same and thus was best friends with everyone else? This is why I don't fault any staff member who has a particular resident who 'rubs them the wrong way.' We all have people like that in our lives. If a certain resident dislikes me, my assistant works with them and vice versa. If they just have a general dislike for management professionals, my maintenance staff makes sure to follow up with them and make sure they are satisfied.
Although it may not be the ideal landlord/tenant relationship, this enables residents who are angry with one of us to still feel they have someone to vent to that cares.
For example: Rent increases are not at all pleasing to residents in this economy. I facilitate rent increases, thus the residents get angry with me. So my maintenance supervisor, (he cares for the parking lot and sees everyone as they go off to work) will make sure to say hello when they leave in the morning and give them a chance to vent if they want.
It works both ways. We recently had a large sewer replacement project. Residents were very unhappy with maintenance because the water was shut off. During those times, I get to be the friendly neighbor while they are angry with him.
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