So I know you are wondering where I have been?  Well HELLO; I have a one year old, I have a job, am in a committed relationship with 2 dogs.. I've been CRAZY busy people!! (I digress)

There are several schools of thought on this but many believe that effective scheduling is the key to effective parenting.  Others think that 'free parenting' is the only way to ensure your child is brought up with a free spirit and bonded with their parents.  I think I'm somewhere in between which brings us to our property management lesson for this episode.

It is imperative that you maintain a consistent schedule of daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual duties to ensure effective management.  Of course as mentioned in previous episodes flexibility in PM is also important but maintaining a consistent schedule is the ONLY way to ensure that your property, your team, your residents, your owners and your asset in general are all fully benefiting from your expertise!

Why is consistent scheduling and 'to do' lists so important in PM?  Here are a few reasons to help explain to your teams why you want those boxes checked off on to ensure things are done.

WHY:

• Consistency:  This will ensure a level of quality every day!  Consistency in what we do ensures that we are delivering what is expected of us day after day.  Why do we love McDonald's so much?  Because you know what to expect!  You will consistently get the same hamburger in every country - every day!  We should be delivering this level of consistency to our residents
• Clear Expectations: Each team member will have a clear understanding of what is expected of them daily, monthly and annually if the list of expectations if spelled out and reviewed frequently
• Cross Training:  If someone is out sick or leaves your team someone else can easily pick up the slack and make sure the operations of the property do not suffer
• Friendly Reminders:  When you do something only periodically you may tend to forget the details of what needs to be done.  This is especially the case when a task is only done quarterly or annually.  If you have a list that can be referred back to it ensures nothing is forgotten in those periodic inspections.

TIPS:

• Develop daily, monthly, quarterly and monthly task lists laminate them and post them in the office or in a task binder
• Review them periodically for updates and ask the team members for their input
• Switch it up and make sure all members of your team are cross trained!