Staff

I need some advice! i have been a regional property manager for about a year now. i love my job but i am having problems getting my staff motivated! It really dissapoint me when i see my staff doing absolutely nothing ever. I have done everything in my power to get them up and motivated. Advice on how to make this work would be greatly appreciated

I prefer a "positive consequences" method. Call it rewarding, or even bribery if you want. If a member of my team does something that makes my job easier, I'll gladly refill the office candy dish & fridge with their favorites.

What works best though, is a listening ear, and undivided attention.

Today, I was running back from a very short break, while trying to juggle a move in, a tour, several urgent emails from my corporate office, and a vendor. My maint tech wanted to vent about the third laundry room flood in two days. How you prioritize these tasks can make a huge difference.

I closed my door, put down the move in paperwork, listened to my tech, and thanked him for cleaning the mess again. For two minutes of my undivided attention, support, and appreciation, he will be motivated to take care of all the dirty work again tomorrow.

My boss gives out awards at our monthly meetings. The certificates are free to make online, and she always finds something to give a reward for. So far this year I've been awarded with fancy looking certificates for 100% occupancy, pre-leasing, meeting NOI, etc. Giving something tangible, even if it has little monetary value, can still boost a spirit!

Dear Regional:

I would hope that the culture of your PM company promotes meaningful, purposeful communication. I've worked as a Leasing Consultant for the "Big Boys," and what I saw prior to a visit from the Regional was a PM who got busy making herself look better. Regionals rarely even acknowledged us, never mind asking us about roadblocks, operation difficulties or anything about our daily routine.
Nope. It was all about the "shops" and closing ratios.

My suggestion, looking back? At least act as if you care. Using the verbiage "doing nothing" speaks volumes about your perception of the staff. Change your attitude, and likely they'll change theirs.

I am SO glad to be a PM at a small community now. Very little drama and well appreciated and compensated.

It sounds like you are a great Regional Manager! You actually notice that your staff isn't doing anything and are trying to do something about it.

It's hard to motivate unmotivated people. Are they just "task" people who only do what is given to them?

What would you like them to do? Give us some details. Are there incentives with your company for performance?

Sandy

It is very hard for me to motivate someone that has no desire to do anything.

I have tried rewarding them for top leasing consultant every month. It just seems they do enough to get by.

As a Regional I communicate with my staff everyday. Just not by email I call them and go to the locations at least twice a week. I feel this helps them see that I am involved and that I do care.

It seems the moment I wallk away the work stops.

Emily, maybe what you need to start with is learning to effectively communicate your expectations to the property managers of your Region. Setting and communicating these goals for occupancy, goals for turn completion, financial goals may help set up accountability standards. Getting to know your property managers is where I would start. It should be up to the property managers to relay the RPM's expectations to their teams.

Next, you might ask yourself this: what motivates you in your job performance? Then ask your onsite teams how they feel about being recognized for meeting their property goals. Some people work hard because internally they want to know they did their best and that is almost enough. Others like having their name on a plaque or in the company newsletter. If you figure out what makes them tick a bit, that will help you decide in which direction to turn.

If you are spending time at the property, I think you need to ask yourself why you are going - are you trying to be friends with onsite team members? Are you finding the property performing poorly and can't figure out why - thus you feel no one is doing anything? Sometimes, the RPM thinks she needs to take everyone to lunch and shoot the breeze, but really maybe you need to walk the site without the Manager either alone or with the Maintenance Supervisor. See what is on his/her mind, find out if the team needs anything specific you can help with. Schedule some training time with the leasing team and you and the manager take phone duty and leasing duties, work orders, etc.

What exactly does "have no desire to do anything" mean to you? What are you seeing? Does the team not know how to answer the phone, perform outreach marketing, fix HVAC, understand curb appeal. I do feel strongly you hire for attitude and train for skill. After a year, if your team is still not doing anything, I would be looking for why and solving for x. Occasionally, new blood might be needed. This doesn't mean letting someone go, although that might be what is needed in your case, but it could be transferring people to other communities to see if they are a better fit there, or can learn another way of doing their jobs. New surroundings can be motivation to do better.

Emily,

You have received a lot of good feedback. Mine would be based upon what have you observed to cause you to think they are not motivated? What then did you do to try to create an atmosphere where they would be motivated?

I can say that when I went to properties, I went with a camera and I took plenty of photos. When I went into the area, I walked in like any customer as I tried to ensure I was not readily known as then I got a feel with how customers were treated, I got a look at first impression of property.

The above were not the only things that I did as I did not mention the visit to the maintenance area, talking to the maintenance personnel, the leasing staff, and visiting the tenants. I did not mention the briefing that the managers would give me as a first on board snap shot of what was going well, where they has issues, and what assistance they needed from me.

I also tried to ensure that I did not make these briefings happen during the busy times of the month at the beginning or the end, and never on a Monday. When each has a chance to brief, manager, leasing, and maintenance, there is a dynamic which comes out that will let one know if they are working as a team and each respects the duties of the other.