No One Tells Maintenance Anything

Recently I had the privilege of presenting a workshop to a group of property management professionals from many different organizations. The topic was a timely one: how to reduce employee turnover. We talked about the various drivers of workplace frustration, and what’s leading to sky-high quit rates across the apartment industry. There was one particular topic that really hit a nerve with the group: how frustrated on-site associates are with how their company leaders share information (or should I say, fail to share information.)

Communication is a major pain point for a lot of multifamily team members. I’ve blogged about this here before, but it’s worth revisiting because clearly, the problem isn’t getting better. Here are some of the gripes I heard:

• “Management doesn’t tell maintenance anything.”
• “The corporate office team has no idea what’s going on on-site.”
• “Region A’s communities never speak to the communities in Region B. It’s like we are two totally different companies.”
• “I can’t get anyone at the home office to reply to my emails or calls.”

This is very bad news because the data shows that poor communication has an enormous impact on employee satisfaction. In the surveys we conduct with multifamily team members at Swift Bunny, communication issues rank among the top employee retention risks. Here are the (scary) stats:

• About 1/3 of on-site employees say they are not satisfied with the amount of company communication, with managers being the least satisfied
• About 1/3 of on-site employees say issues they raise to coworkers or supervisors are not responded to promptly. Again, managers are the most frustrated by this, with 39% saying they have a hard time getting a response

If you lead or support on-site teams, here are three ideas for improving communication at your workplace:

• Team meetings work. Consider increasing their frequency so you have more opportunities to share information. I know, I know, who has time for that? But remember, meetings don’t have to be long. A daily staff meeting can be tackled in 10 minutes or less.
• Mix up your delivery methods. Just because you sent an email, for example, doesn’t mean your message was received. Use redundant techniques—send a text, post a blurb in the next newsletter, print off the email and tape it up beside the time clock—to ensure important info reaches your audience.
• Treat employees like customers. Do you return resident emails and phone calls promptly? I bet so. Give your employees and coworkers the same courtesy. Failing to respond not only makes them feel disrespected, but if they’re waiting on important input from you, it may also mean they can’t complete their work.

I know your workday is incredibly busy and it’s hard to make time for changing your communication habits. However, the last thing your busy schedule needs is more vacant positions to fill. Please, step up your communication game before more team members head for the exit.