In an age where the property management industry values and embraces the concept of “customer care” so strongly, isn’t it time we put the same focus on “employee care”? When you think about it, how can we deliver quality customer service and maximize resident retention…if the people who our residents come in contact with on a regular basis are not satisfied, focused, motivated, well trained, properly supported and happy?
The starting point to developing a game-plan for improving employee retention is to first identify the issues, their causes and – what impact they are having. When the issues are known, you have a much better idea of where attention must be directed and how to best utilize your firm’s resources. A client I recently met with shared that they just spent $100,000 on a new benefits program…only to find out that it had little value to their employees! Ouch! Starting to develop a plan without researching symptoms and their causes is no different than if your doctor was to prescribe medicine for you without first finding out what was wrong with you. You must go beyond symptoms and determine their causes. And where better else to start than right at the source!
While there are a variety of programs one can implement to attempt to improve employee retention, one of the most valuable ways to get going in the right direction is simple. Rather than “shooting in the dark”, start by asking your employees for their input on both the issues and possible answers.
But surveying employees, asking them to evaluate the company and their satisfaction can be sensitive ground, as quite often they are afraid to share their candid feelings out of fear for their job. One solution is to use a third party to provide this service. There is so much common sense here. But, when you’re stuck in the trenches, sometimes it’s hard to see the forest from the trees. That’s where an outside survey comes into play.
Harry Beckwith, author of "Selling The Invisible...A Field Guide To Modern Marketing", provides some very noteworthy input on the subject of surveying. While he refers to clients, everything easily applies to employees as well. On the subject of how to identify issues, Beckwith writes “People won’t tell you what you’re doing wrong. Your prospects won’t tell you. Clients won’t tell you. Sometimes, even your spouse won’t tell you. So what do you do to improve your service? Ask.” On how to best “ask”, he states “A basic principle in life applies to surveying clients: Even your best friends won’t tell you. But they will talk behind your back. Make it so you clients can talk behind your back, and that you can learn what they’re saying. Your clients will give far more candid answers. Have a third party do your
surveys.”
When employees are given the opportunity to complete an anonymous survey – and ideally one that is sent to an outside firm (rather than their employer) – you’d be surprised how many will submit their responses and how candid the comments are. For example, 40% of a client’s employees surveyed responded to a project we just completed. And the results were quite eye-opening, in terms of identifying areas which required management attention, and issues which impacted property performance as well as their satisfaction. Given how tight the job market is, and how difficult it is to attract and retain good employees, finding out how to keep them there has become a significant issue industry-wide.
On the subject of “why” survey Beckwith shares the following, all of which also applies to employee retention, “It keeps contact with your clients. It lets you learn from your mistakes. It helps you flag possible problem areas and clients. It keeps you from coasting. Survey, survey, survey.”
Reviewing the findings from several SatisFacts Research employee satisfaction surveys reveals some very interesting insights into what is important to field staff members. Typically over 80 questions are used by SatisFacts to study attitudes and feelings about the following topic areas, plus to identify “strengths” and “red flags”: Community Manager; Property Manager; Policies and Procedures; Education and Training; Office Technology; Employee Benefits; Hiring and Career Development; Main Office Staff Support; Job Related Issues; Current Job Satisfaction.
So, what have we found to be issues impacting employee satisfaction and property performance? What kinds of things have clients learned about what employees expect in terms of the work environment, their relationship with management, and programs that should be offered?
According to our findings, field staff members are looking for a surprising and interesting variety of things – and they are not all about money. In one study, some of the top reasons for dissatisfaction were apartment turnover quality, lack of resident retention programs, lack of opportunities for advancement, excessive paperwork and reporting requirements, a lack of attention given to their input by off-site Property Managers as well as an apparent lack of concern about their satisfaction. Clearly job related issues impact their desire to remain employed with the firm.
In one SatisFacts study a clear issue was that employees felt their supervisor did not understand how to motivate them. When then asked, the following were cited as the top rated ways to motivate employees: provide positive motivation; offer a quality work environment; offer incentives/bonuses; show an interest in the employees concerns/satisfaction and their input; flexible management; provide “resident friendly” policies; adequate salary/hourly rate; pay attention to employees’ input; offer the opportunity for advancement. How can you expect to retain staff members if you do not know what motivates them (individually and collectively) and makes them feel appreciated and satisfied?
Overall, there have been an interesting and wide variety of issues identified when asking client employees about what is most important to them. A summary of the significant comments made in our employee satisfaction surveys follows.
Management: A quality work environment; show interest in concerns and satisfaction; understand what motivates each employee; provide positive motivation; show interest and give attention to input; have field personnel as members of operations related committees; establish brainstorming meetings; start asking and listening before acting, and give the field’s input credence; give authority to make decisions; show faith in staff’s judgement; don’t bring main office politics and disputes into the field; establish an anonymous employee suggestion system.
Budgeting: Budgets must be realistic, based on needs, look long term; field should be more involved with developing budgets, priorities; permit freedom to use their judgement to make spending decisions; budget/spend funds needed to maintain asset; establish inventory and re-order guidelines, then stock shops per these.
Policies and Procedures: A clear job description; established policies and procedures manual; test significant SOP changes first.
Operations: “Resident friendly” policies and procedures; a customer service orientation; develop overall retention and renewal program; survey residents regularly to identify problem areas; provide quality turnovers and curb
appeal.
Education and Training: Provide job related and computer/software training; offer a new employee orientation and training program; educate office staff on priority service calls, the turnover process, prioritizing.
Office Technology: Utilize e-mail, software, network to reduce paperwork, reports and duplicate work; utilize property management software to manage work, accounting, reporting, etc.; provide other up-to-date equipment such as fax and copy machines; use on-line credit approval service to speed up process, streamline effort; add Internet access to all computers so that staff can easily follow up with e-mail leads.
Employee Benefits: Offer a comprehensive employee handbook; offer fair compensation; have a sound incentives program; have an objective annual review program.
Hiring and Career Development: Offer advancement opportunities and a Career Development program.
Main Office Staff Support: Prompt payment policy for contractors, suppliers; adequate corporate office staff support.
When reviewing this, imagine what the impact of these kinds of findings would be on your internal discussions about how to improve employee retention. What is the bottom line with employee retention? If you want to know how to retain your employees, the starting point is communication. Ask them questions like what their issues are, where do they think there’s room for improvement, what obstacles do they have that keep them from getting their job done as effectively and efficiently as possible, and what motivates them. Ask these questions in a non-threatening manner. Make a commitment to listen and carefully consider their suggestions. Request their participation in the process to make the company the best it can be. Then be ready to make sensible short and long-term changes. Making your employees part of the solution is the key! The end result of the process is
more satisfied employees, reduced turnover…which all lead to a significant side benefit of improved performance.
