To better gauge business sentiment from a 鈥渂oots on the ground鈥� perspective, AppFolio reached out to several property management leaders to find out what they鈥檝e learned from the past year, and what they anticipate for the future. Here鈥檚 what they had to say:
Acknowledging people and teams who stepped up boldly
Shane Gillman, Vice President at , Fairfax, VA, says, 鈥淥ur 鈥榩eople鈥� are exceptional. Without their hard work, resilience, and dedication, none of our successes during the past year would have been possible. Take care of your people and everything else will fall into place.鈥�
Tony Sousa, Regional Manager at in San Antonio says, 鈥淪ome associates perform better in crisis, while others shrink back. You want the courageous ones on your teams. Our properties led in March/April of 2020, and we plan to lead again in reopening and making progress back to normal, ahead of the pack.鈥�
Maintaining strong relationships with residents, prospects, and staff
While technology maximizes the employee and resident experience, it鈥檚 important not to forget the nature of property management is 鈥渇ace-to-face.鈥� Technology is a supplemental 鈥� but very powerful 鈥� tool. Dana Pate, Senior Director at , Atlanta, says her teams have done all they could to maintain a 鈥渢rue, interpersonal connection鈥� with residents, prospects, and staff members.
鈥淲e continue to work to ensure that our prospects, residents, and even our team members continue to feel the human element, even during our drive to incorporate more technology,鈥� Pate says.
鈥淭he efficiencies of introducing tools like AI and self-guided tours into the leasing process cannot be ignored, but a true interpersonal connection can never be replaced. Instead of using these tools to lessen staff, we鈥檙e repurposing time they鈥檇 generally be using to complete basic tasks to more experiential services our RangeWater team delivers so well. Because of this, we鈥檝e seen an increase in ratings and reviews among our communities.鈥�
Embracing change and technology
Technology will likely make things easier this year. Companies are implementing artificial intelligence, process automation, marketing intelligence platforms, and prospective resident tour options such as self-guided tours so they can execute more efficiently.
Elaine De Lude, Vice President, , Washington, D.C., says, 鈥淜eeping your teams nimble is paramount. Partnering with supplier partner companies investing heavily in research and development enables easier adaptation to changing times, and the chance to adjust quickly and lead organizations with forward-thinkers. You need to make sure that your industry partners, and your companies, are ready for what comes next in tech. For us, we鈥檙e trying to determine the best way to keep our high-touch customer approach while leveraging self-guided tours.鈥�
Learning through experience
It鈥檚 been a very difficult year, but at the same time it鈥檚 been a highly illuminating and educational experience, on both a personal and professional level. The property management professionals we heard from had much more to share, and you can read the full article on AppFolio鈥檚 blog .
Paul Bergeron is a freelance writer who has covered the multi-family industry for nearly 20 years.