How to achieve success in property management

In property management, running a tight ship is what will determine whether your operation is considered successful or not. It requires a good understanding of the building, its residents, the neighborhood, and the local laws, as well as being composed of a team of committed professionals with great people skills: patience, resilience, and friendliness. In logistical terms, having a good game plan will be paramount to effective teamwork, whereby each of the managers and administrative personnel has a clear grasp of the common goal, as well as their individual tasks and deliverables. Here are some of the key components of successful property management:

ORGANIZATION

Planning and coordination are central to the administration of properties. Forming robust organizational structures that allow the division of duties and implementation of a master plan is central to the management team’s effectiveness, giving each stakeholder a coherent vision of their endeavors. Not only will this guarantee that there isn’t overlap in tasks (which usually results in other important responsibilities being left undone), but it will also give residents a comprehensive understanding of who to contact for specific queries or requirements. Beyond the human part of this point, a detailed organization of paperwork is crucial to achieving the company’s objectives: ONR offers a filing system that keeps all the documentation in one place, giving its users visibility of all common actions, such as e-voting results and meeting minutes. 

DIRECT COMMUNICATION

Property managers are more than just administrators; they’re hospitality professionals who are highly empathetic and approachable. Similar to the job of tribal elders, they’re experts at providing well-being by addressing the resident’s concerns and connecting the community. Not only will this result in better customer service, but also in the development of closer relationships between the team, the inhabitants, and between neighbors. Anyone can feel when the energy is off when entering a building, and it’s usually because the staff are ill-natured or difficult to communicate with. Answering the resident’s calls swiftly and helpfully begins to form stronger links with the residents, and showing support towards their needs will incentivize a better two-way interaction that will emphasize the feeling of community, making everyone a loyal stakeholder through emotional bonds.

MULTI-TASKING

Although we explored the importance of technification and specification of everyone’s role, it’s just as important that every member of the property management group has enough versatility and knowledge of how their building works, giving each of the departments sufficient capabilities to run other sections. Not just during corporate emergencies (i.e. someone not showing up or a system breakdown), but in the quotidian questions that may arise: instead of sending people across departments, bouncing from manager to manager, the company should be able to streamline all queries. The only restriction in that sense would be the physical presence of the staff (as much as we’d like them to be omnipresent, they’re still constricted by the laws of physics). And that’s where ONR comes in. The community management’s toolkit helps centralize every request, giving the team full transparency of what’s going on and what’s pending—which they’ll address through a shared core competency that every member of the crew should have. An ideal staff member is one ready to answer common questions, including HOA fees, Rules & Regulations, or the way amenities are run. 

FLEXIBILITY

By now, most businesses have embraced some sort of work from home/remote office system that allows their employees to perform their tasks without having to be present. A well-prepared property manager knows the importance of having all data in one place, accessible 24/7 at the touch of a button. ONR allows them to oversee the different activities taking place in the building without having to be there; from package tracking to maintenance requests, management companies can supervise the different departments or even their many building portfolios under a single user-friendly console. So even if one of your high-level employees is out of town for meetings (or holiday, if they’re workaholics like us) they’ll be able to keep an eye on everything going on back in the office. 

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TECHNOLOGY

As a modern property manager, you should have Property Management Software that allows you to automate most administrative tasks, saving you time and money. ONR Leverages cutting-edge technology and the power of your community to eliminate time-consuming processes, preventing management members from spending hours on end entering data and allowing them to do what they do best: Manage.