Make Your Community a Stop on the Tour Route

“If you’re marketing to families, why not host field trips to your community from the local schools. This can be an educational opportunity for children to see how a community runs. Have your head service technician explain maintenance. Let the grounds people show off their work and explain their positions. Your office staff can talk about job skills and career opportunities …” Read More

A Tiny Apartment Transforms Into 24 Rooms

“Our good friend and top Brainstorming Facilitator, Tina Cavaco, sent us this AMAZING link! In Hong Kong, because of the space, apartments are small and expensive. Gary Chang, an architect, decided to design a 344 sq. ft. apartment to be able to change into 24 different designs, all by just sliding panels and walls. He calls this the ‘Domestic Transformer.” … Watch The Video Here

Social Media Success for Apartment Communities

“I have a few thoughts to share on the topic of social media today, and I should tell you up front that I intend this post to provoke conversation, and I hope you’ll participate! You all know how passionate I am about the need to begin using social media now, because I truly do believe it will play a major role in not only our relationship/retention efforts, but also our marketing strategies. I also happen to believe that its value…” Read More

The Power of Place

“If you’ve had doubts location-based social networking services were going to really catch on, you should know that Foursquare whizzed past the one-million member mark back in April and just passed 1.8 million; and raked in $20 million in venture funding just a couple of weeks ago. That buzzing sound you hear is the Power of Place, about to go mainstream.” Read More

Build the Model Organization of the Future

“Before you invest time and money in traditional strategic planning consider this – only 5-10% of strategic plans are ever implemented. The reason most organizations engage in strategic planning is to reduce anxiety. It’s like taking a couple of aspirin for a headache. In this case the headache is the future. The aspirin is a couple of days locked in a room putting checkmarks in the appropriate boxes.” … Read More

Partnerships That Work

“I created and facilitated a one-day workshop called ‘Partnerships That Work.’ This class was designed for Apartment Community Managers and their Assistants and focused on synergy, teamwork, and delegation. Our challenge and reason for needing such a workshop was that Assistants either felt as though they were not being trusted with enough to do while other felt as though the Manager was dumping …” Read More

Better Training Through Skill Gap Analysis

“One of the best things you can do to improve your team’s training plan is to add Skill Gap Analysis. This step helps the trainer to identify gaps in performance and areas for added training and development.The first step in conducting a thorough Skill Gap Analysis is to create a picture of what ideal performance looks like. This step-called Competency Profiling-takes a look at the attitudes …” Read More

Five Multifamily Training Ideas

“The Idea – As part of our new manager training we have implemented a Manager Mentor Program. After each new manager comes in for a day of training on company policy and procedures, we select a Resident Manager from the Property Manager’s portfolio to provide another eight hours of training at their community or at the new managers community. Both managers are provided with an Agenda ….” Read More

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Write and tell us your “Quick Tip” success story. If you have a clever and successful tip, we’d like to hear it. If we select your idea to use as a quick tip, we’ll print your idea online or in an upcoming Quick tips calendar or book Plus we will send you a special gift.

Benchmarking

The first step in conducting a thorough Skill Gap Analysis is to create a picture of what ideal performance looks like. This step—called Competency Profiling—takes a look at the attitudes, knowledge, behaviors, and specific skills needed for an individual to excel in a particular role. These competencies can be rated as critical or core, meaning that a high level of proficiency is needed in order to be successful in the role; or preferred, meaning that while not mandatory, a particular competency would help the employee to better excel.

Assessment

Once your benchmarking is done and core and preferred competencies are identified for the role; it’s time to measure the employee’s proficiency against the competencies you’ve identified. There are a number of ways that this can be accomplished, and while any one of the following strategies can be effective, it’s far preferable to use a combination of several so that you get a more well-rounded picture of how the employee is performing and what he or she might be missing that can be rectified with added training and development. Assessment techniques include:

• Performance Review – a standard performance review typically revolves around discussion between the employee and the supervisor of both the supervisor’s and employee’s assessment of the employee’s proficiency. The review includes development of a strategy to help the employee further improve his or her performance in the role.

• Interviews – interviewing employees and supervisors with open-ended questions (questions that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”) allows for gathering of qualitative data. Interviews can also identify misconceptions with regard to the role; resistant attitudes (including change-resistance and personality conflict); and other barriers to excellent performance that might not surface in a performance review.

• Surveys – surveying managers, employees, and coworkers (including other managers) can help gather even more qualitative information that can be used for statistical performance analysis. Today, such surveys can be designed and conducted very quickly, easily, and efficiently, online.

• Customer Feedback – if it’s possible to interview or survey customers or other stakeholders, they can be an outstanding source of feedback on the performance of either a group of employees or an individual.

• Performance Tests – many skills can be assessed using standardized tests to gather quantitative data (multiple choice, fill in the blank etc.) of employees’ understanding of particular competencies, necessary to their ability to perform them.

• Audits – this process simply creates a checklist of specific operational standards, and the employee’s ability to perform to those standards is checked against the list.

Analysis

Once the assessment has been completed using one (or preferably several) of the techniques listed above, the trainer can then begin the process of closing the gaps with strategies including training (if a lack of knowledge is identified), role reassignment (personnel transfer or organizational changes); allocating new resources; added rewards or other incentives; or improved goal-setting and measurement. As in any case where proficiency can’t be improved by other means, termination may have to be considered.

Adding Skill Gap Analysis to your training plan will help you to identify, improve, and prioritize your training and development projects by creating a sharper picture of your team’s abilities as compared to your vision for ultimate success; but creating a fully comprehensive plan requires far more than we could fit into one blog post! If you’re interested in putting this outstanding tool to work in your organization, be sure to make Your Team’s Got Talent: Better Training Through Skill Gap Analysis presented on Thursday, September 16th at the Multifamily Brainstorming Sessions by Kara Rice and Jana Muma of Grace Hill part of your Brainstorming 2010 training plan! We’ll see you there!

New Manager Orientation and Mentoring Program

This idea came to us from Karen Wilson

The Idea – As part of our new manager training we have implemented a Manager Mentor Program.  After each new manager comes in for a day of training on company policy and procedures, we select a Resident Manager from the Property Manager’s portfolio to provide another eight hours of training at their community or at the new managers community.  Both managers are provided with an Agenda of topics to cover.

How It Works – The Manager Mentor contacts the new manager and sets
up a date and time within the first week of employment.  The goal is to spend at least eight hours.  Many managers choose to break this up into two four hour trainings or several two hour trainings as time and attention spans allow.  Upon completion both the mentors and the new managers sign the agenda and return it to the corporate office.  We compensate the Manager Mentors with $50 for going above and beyond the call of duty.

The benefits – This program establishes communications with one of our current managers who is doing the same job as we are asking the new manager to do successfully. They are able to share helpful hints and new managers are more comfortable asking questions of other managers.  The program provides an ongoing relationship with a manager the new manager can contact if they forget how to do something or are unsure about the process.  The Manager Mentors have reported that mentoring was a great review and refreshed and enervated their own performances.

Date

New Manager Name
Apartment Community
Address

RE:  A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A RESIDENT MANAGER TRAINING

Dear New Manager:

__________________________(name(s) of Manager Mentors) of the __________________________ Apartments have agreed to provide your Day in the Life of a Resident Manager Training.  Attached is an agenda of the topics for you will cover with them.

Please arrange a date and time that will work best for both of you.  We suggest that you complete this within the next week as it will help you immensely as you take on your new job responsibilities.

Once you have completed this portion of your training please sign off on the form they have to indicate completion. We are glad you are part of our management team!

Sincerely,

Karen L. Wilson
Director, Multi Family Management

ON SITE TRAINING

A Day In the Life of a Resident Manager

With ___________________________    (Manager Mentor)
________________________________    (Community)
(     )                           (Phone number)

Discussion Topics

¨ Setting up the office
¨ Maintaining Resident Files
¨ Renting Apartments
¨ Preparation of Turnovers
¨ Signs/Advertising/Curb Appeal
¨ Traffic Log
¨ Showing the apartment
¨ How to Complete a Lease/Rental Agreement
¨ Addendums
¨ Security Deposits
¨ Move In Reports
¨ Maintenance
¨ What to Watch For
¨ Minor Repairs – Change a lock, replacing/ordering light bulbs, etc.
¨ Vendors
¨ Market Surveys – How to Complete a Market Survey
¨ New Manager Assignment: Visit five apartments within 5 miles of your new property as a renter.  Complete a market survey

New Manager:
Apartment Community Name:
Address:
Phone Number:

Eight Hours of Manager Mentoring was completed on this (these)  date(s) ___________________________________________________________
By ___________________,  Manager of __________________________
Apartments.
___________________________        __________________
New Manager                    Date
___________________________        __________________
Manager Mentor                    Date

Training Tips

When I am holding a training class we discuss overcoming objections, I ask the participants to give me a certain number of objections that come up at their site.  I write them on a flip chart and assign a number to each objection.  Using a target that I’ve drawn the numbers one, participants form teams, and one member of each team shoots at the target with a Nerf dart gun.  When someone from the team hits a number, they have 45 seconds to come up with a response to the corresponding objection.  If they get it right, the team receives one point.

Another technique that I use in start-of-session introductions is to ask each participant to tell one thing that they do better than anyone else in the room.  This lets us get to know something about someone that we may never have known and  it also helps break the ice!

This next idea comes from :  Amy Aguiar

Strapped for time, I began looking for other ways to get my teams the training they needed.  I contacted the local HUD office to inquire as to what programs were offered for Fair Housing Training.  I found many different organizations that will do the training for me at my location and, amazingly, at no cost to me!  I then contacted local community colleges and universities to see what classes were offered in the area of “workplace” or “career” development.  This has worked well.  I have found that I can use these classes to help develop employees’ skills in areas where they are lacking, such as written or oral communication, financial reports, etc.  It makes for a more “well rounded” employee.  Not to mention the employee is happier in their position as they can be more helpful in the office.  My most recent expense was only $99 to $159 per
class.

Fair Housing Bingo, from Debra Markham, Director of Training at BRE Properties.

Instructions:

At the beginning of the workshop, give each participant a “Fair Housing Bingo Card(sheet)”.

Explain that during the workshop, everyone should pay close attention to all the information that is being discussed, as they will easily be able to answer all the questions on their “Bingo Card”.

At the beginning of the workshop, have the group choose which type of bingo they want to play first (Ex. Diagonal, straight, 4 corners, Double diagonal, etc.).  Of course, finish the workshop with a complete blackout.

Make sure to have some sort of prizes – lifesavers, candy bars, McDonald’s coupons ($1 each), Starbucks coupons ($3 each), etc. – to give out when someone screams BINGO!

Purpose:

This will help to ensure your participants are getting a complete understanding of the Fair Housing Laws, while at the same time making it fun, a little competitive and enjoyable.

Supplies:

·    The attached bingo card.  (you can change the questions every once in a while to mix things up a bit)
·    Prizes of your choice.

LEASING IDEAS!
Resident Of The Month

When you have vacant apartments that your trying to move simply buy the neighbor next to the vacant apartment something that they keep in front of their front door that says “Resident Of The Month”.  And when you’re on your tour, you simply add that their neighbors are the Residents of the Month.   Use a beautiful outdoor plant as the gift with a sign to stick in the plant that reads “Resident of the month”.  The apartment will lease every time!  The idea costs only around $75, and we have leased every long-standing vacant this way!

Contributed by:  Joyce Rinck

SERVICE IDEAS!

Working Towards One Goal

Front line services increases retention!  Create a 3×5 postcard (you may include a picture of a service person).  The title of the program is:  Working towards one goal – Quality and extraordinary service. Part I should include property name, date apt.# and resident’s name(optional) Part II will be a rating of service: Excellent, Good, Poor and several lines for comments. Part III, Response time satisfactory, suggestion for future improvement. They can drop it at the Leasing office or mail to your corporate office.  All Maintenance personnel are part of a bonus incentive in an effort to create retention a team effort.  Extra points will be added for employee(s) who receives good cards, increasing their bonus compensation, rewarding them for their contribution, and motivating them to continue providing excellent service.  Cards should be given to each residen upon move-in, and with ever workorder receipt.

Our original goal was to measure how we were servicing our residents but we needed to motivate the staff to see the program as a positive tool for improvement and training.  As a result of this program employees have been recognized company wide and promoted. Residents that were not sure if they would stay because the survey card sends out a clear message.  We want to make it right, because we care.

Cost: $30

Contributed by Angie Herrera, Gannon International

HUMAN RESOURCES IDEAS!

This is one idea that we would love to see everyone implement!  It comes from Deb Bronson, and it’s called the Commitment to Excellence Agreement:

Company Letterhead

Dear (Insert team member’s name)

As a valued member of our team, we wanted to share with you what you can expect from us, (your company) and to outline our commitment of creating a culture and environment that fosters excellence:

·    We have established an internal training program that delivers timely, on-target information available 24/7 via our intranet.
·    We will keep you informed of company wins and company concerns in a brief included with every paycheck.
·    We will measure and inspect what we expect and share honest feedback in a timely fashion.
·    We will promote from within whenever possible and work hard in our partnership with you to develop and expand your skills and capabilities.
·    We support a learning environment, where mistakes can be learned from and we can all breathe easier by focusing on resolution, rather than blame.
·    We will conduct an “If I ran the company” survey annually and include the areas requiring improvement, (based on our entire team’s feedback) into strategic planning and implementation.
·    We support our nation, community and team through supporting _____________ and giving back in spirit, time, and funds.
·    We provide time and stress management tools and training.
·    We encourage the participation of your significant others at company events.
·    We want to encourage you, inspire you and support you and have been very “on-purpose” in the way that we thread rewards, surprises and recognition into our daily work.  In the last month, we have done the following:  Foot massages, Car wash and sponsored our local Little Leagues baseball uniforms (go Lil’ Lions!).

__________________                  ____/____/____
Company Ambassador                Date
Commitment to Excellence Agreement

What can we expect from you?

You have already received your welcome kit, career description and a sample of a growth agreement, so you have a pretty good idea of what your new position requires.

But, what about your personal commitments?  How can we count on you?  Please create your commitment to your team by outlining your thoughts below.  Tomorrow, your team leader and a couple of company ambassadors will sit down with you and go over your commitment to excellence.  We are looking forward to our new partnership and we are very glad that you have joined us!

__________________            ___/___/___
Your Signature                         Date

__________________            ___/___/___
Team Leader                    Date

__________________         ___________________        ___/___/___
Company Ambassador        Company Ambassador        Date

In Hong Kong, because of the space, apartments are small and expensive. Gary Chang, an architect, decided to design a 344 sq. ft. apartment to be able to change into 24 different designs, all by just sliding panels and walls. He calls this the ‘Domestic Transformer.’

You all know how passionate I am about the need to begin using social media now, because I truly do believe that it will play a major role in not only our relationship/retention efforts, but also our marketing strategies.  I also happen to believe that its value on both of those fronts is already beginning to take hold.

I don’t need to tell you that idea isn’t universally held.  We’ve all seen our share of debate on the merits of social media right here online; and even among the detractors, there are varying degrees of buy-in… some will concede that while social media has a place in resident retention, it’s not a valuable or proven marketing tool; and if not now, *maybe* one day in the far-flung future.  I disagree that it isn’t yet a viable as a marketing tool based on my own experience— I believe it’s possible for any business, apartment communities absolutely included in that count.

Success is, admittedly, still a very subjective term when it comes to new media.  We’ve all experienced its benefits when it comes to connecting with others; and we know as marketers that connection breeds commitment—a key ingredient to the success of your brand.  It stands to reason that anything that facilitates a better connection with your customers is going to benefit your relationship/retention efforts.  But just as we’ve always had to work a little harder to gain a customer in the first place than we’ve had to work to keep one who’s already experienced the value of our product; it also stands to reason that marketing via social media is going to take more work than just being there.  Now, don’t read me wrong here … I am absolutely not implying that anybody who isn’t seeing the sales benefits of social media just isn’t working hard enough.  I am saying, however, that we’re all still learning the ropes; and perhaps if you’re not seeing the benefits yet, you just haven’t hit upon the right combination of tools or strategy for your brand.  Social media isn’t, after all, any one thing.  It’s a diverse and growing set of opportunities.  Imagine trying to crack a safe when there are a few more numbers on the dial each time you turn it, and you’ll get a good idea of what it can be like.  That’s just one reason why I’m so committed to educating our industry on what’s out there, what’s coming next, and the potential all those opportunities represent.

When I hear the arguments now that social media is important to keep an eye on, but isn’t yet a proven marketing tool and therefore not yet worth implementing or even getting educated on, I frequently laugh; and I’ve been asked more than once how I can be so amused at something I’m so passionate about.  Mostly, I’m remembering when—way back in 1994—we started writing about how important it was for property management companies and apartment communities to have internet access, get to know the “lay of the land,” and begin to build an online presence; because if their customers weren’t on the internet yet, they soon would be.  I can’t tell you how many times we heard “why should I do that when the internet isn’t even proven as a marketing tool?”  Then we watched as the early-adopters began to reap the immediate benefits of great online positioning while other companies and apartment communities struggled to catch up—and heard time and time again that “it’s taking us more time, effort, and expense to adapt than it would have taken us to prepare.”

Yes, great marketing is a science.  It’s important to carefully measure the hard reality of what you put into it against what you get out.  But it’s also an art, requiring at least equal attention to softer ingredients that include creativity, intuition, the ability to spot a trend, and the occasional leap of faith … but I’m not going to ask you to set the science aside.  So here’s what I want to know:  is social media working for you as a marketing tool?  Is it worth the time it takes?  Are you getting rentals that you can track back to your social media efforts?
Let me know your thoughts.

Tami

Reduce Vacancy Loss: Step Up Your Move-In Dates
“You have 24  Notice to vacates for the month ending. How do you rent the apartments quickly and get the new resident to move in as soon as possible? I was faced with this situation several years ago when I had just begun as the new Manager of a community and knew that something must be done to get occupancy back up to the level that the community had enjoyed in the past.” Read More

Keep It Real, Keep The Faith, Keep The Resident
“Ours is a business of cycles; and believe it or not, the time is going to come again to raise the rent. In case you’ve forgotten what that’s like, let me remind you that just like every great relationship, the one between you and your residents requires a carefully maintained balance of give and take. When they signed the lease…” Read More

Growing Tomatoes Increases Traffic
“Grow your own tomatoes! We used this as a tag line on all our ads, then showed prospects the two community gardens we had prepared for our residents to grow their own tomatoes. It was a big hit! People called to have a look at the community and several said: any landlord that would care enough to have a garden for their residents would care enough about me as a resident.” Read More

Going Mobile
“Let’s face it, the world runs on lattes and 5-hour energy these days. People constantly en route from one destination to another, and during these transits they are going … mobile. What once was a sedentary task, web browsing has evolved: users are accessing the internet via phones and mobile devices from the convenience of wherever they happen to be.” Read More

Green Is Lean
“Global warming, oil spills and other environment disasters seem to be on everyone’s mind. Business magazines write about “green” businesses. Movie stars drive hybrid cars to look “green”. But most companies overlook the single biggest opportunity they have to go green by simplifying, streamlining and optimizing their internal operations.” Read More

Go For The Dogs
“This simple idea becomes a habit when you have a pet friendly community. Take a small Ziploc bag full of treats in your pocket when you make community inspections. I keep a large container with dog biscuits in my office. I walk around the grounds and stop to visit with the residents and their dog(s) get a treat!” Read More

Six Truths About Marketing With Social Media
“Yeah, I know you’ve heard it all … that Social Media Marketing slices and dices, is the answer to world peace, and will make your teeth up to three shades whiter with only one use. But from the sea of hype that we’ve been sailing-filled with assertions about what social media is and isn’t and what it can and can’t do-are beginning to arise some proven truths.” Read More

Brainstorming Keynote: People Are the Killer App with Geno Church
Even with all the new focus on social media tools, many organizations struggle with how to incorporate these tactics into a results-driven strategy that truly connects a community of brand ambassadors. Don’t miss this dynamic storytelling session centered around the theme of stories as the ultimate connector between company and customer. Register for Brainstorming Now!

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