Looking for a "Team Player?"

Another thread I started on this board gave rise to yet another question. Why would management want a "team player" in a maintenance roll? From my experience, maintenance folks spend 99% of their time alone. I've gone as high as a week without talking to anyone while turning a truly trashed apartment. Perhaps a better way to phrase the question would be, "What is the role of management in maintenance duties?" and we're not talking filing papers here.

Question: Why would management want a team player in a maintenance roll?

Answer: Because nothing that we do onsite is a vacuum, everything is interconnected. While you may spend the majority of your time alone, what you do still has a major impact on the day to day for management and the office staff. I have had the opportunity to work at sites where there was an us vs them mentality between the office and maintenance and where both sides have truly been a "team". Guess which property performed better? Your actions and attitude have a direct impact on the residents, on the leasing staff, on the management just as their actions and attitude have a direct impact on your ability to do your job. The better way to phrase the question is not "What is the role of management in maintenance duties" but is "What is the role of maintenance in management of a property?" Maintenance directly impacts occupancy/vacancy for a property, resident retention, supply and contractor expenditures, certain liability aspects, and indirectly impacts revenue, leasing ability and profitability just to name a few. Management looks for team players in a maintenance roll because maintenance technicians are a pivotal part of the team it takes to run a property.

Yes, I agree with all your statements. But, what can a maintenance person do other than to perform cleaning and repairs as quickly and efficiently as possible? It has been my experience that management and maintenance don't really interact. Yours is a very good question, "What is the role of maintenance in management of a property?" I'm trying to understand from a management perspective.

I look for a team player because I need someone that I can count on to understand the overall business goals of the community, not just someone who can do the work.

My maintenance tech (sole maintenance on the property) is integrated into the budgeting process so that he understands what we have coming up and what we're anticipating for next year. He can provide me with a "boots on the ground" idea of what he needs or will need for turns, repairs, etc, as well as provide a wish list of things he'd like to add to the property.

My maintenance tech needs to be a team player because it's just the two of us; this property doesn't move without teamwork. He needs to understand that I have goals for turn times, occupancy, retention, and rent growth. He can give me feedback as to how realistic those goals are (especially turn time), and that can help me better refine our process. Without that teamwork, I can shout at the wall until I'm blue in the face about turn times, but if it's not realistic then it still won't be turned (properly) in time.

He can also tell me what he sees inside the apartments, allowing me to enforce the lease when it comes to violations (a property I once lived at before joining the industry had the maintenance man discover a huge amount of unauthorized occupants due to a water leak; 11 people in sleeping bags in a two-bedroom apartment with two people on the lease!).

It's not a question of a management or office team and a maintenance team; it's a community team or property team. We all work together toward the same goals; we need a team player to make sure we reach them, otherwise we never will.

Jay:

I have never worked for an understanding manager such as yourself nor one that was willing to admit that they didn't know everything except those whose hands were tied by corporate mandated procedures. That makes you unique in my experience. So, let me specialize the question for your case, What would NOT be a team player? Maintenances guys are happy to answer any questions, but they're seldom asked. All except the dreaded "When will you be done in that apartment?" Really, a manager's guess is as good as ours. I suggest that the manager go and check on the progress. Make a guess and ask if your estimate is in the ballpark.

Perhaps try looking at this a different way. Consider a football team (NFL, college or even high school - it all works for this analogy).

How many teams are on the field? Two. The Home team and the Visitors.

How many Home teams are there? Just one. But the Home team can be "divided" into two parts - Offense and Defense. The job of Offense is to move the ball down the field against the Visitors. The job of Defense is to keep the ball from being moved down the field by the Visitors. Offense and Defense are never on the field at the same time while the game clock is running (you could say they never interact with one another). They are two groups of players operating independently and with different objectives.

But they are still one Team.

As a vendor, I have dealt with onsite staff where maintenance was given responsibility and freedom but was still expected to comply with rules and policies set in place by management - for instance, all orders must be placed with a Purchase Order Number. With some management teams this arrangement works quite well. But there have been others where maintenance feels that "paperwork" is an inconvenience that keeps them from doing their job in a timely manner. So they habitually place orders without PO's.

The problem is, when it comes time to pay the bill the property manager is taken by surprise because the money was never allocated out of the budget by means of the PO. If this happens too often bills don't get paid (or not paid in a timely manner) and then the property finds itself on credit hold and maintenance can no longer place orders.

The goal of the property management Team is to lease out units. "Management" seeks out qualified residents while "Maintenance" makes sure the units are available when needed (yes, both sides actually do a lot more than that). "Team players" are those individuals who recognize their role in the objective and do what is needed (including communication and adherence to policy) to accomplish that objective.

Greetings John:

Not meaning to seem rude but... Huh?

What purpose does a PO number serve? If it is necessary then procedure should make it impossible to place an order without one being assigned. The right software? The idea is to return the apartments to a rentable condition ASAP so parts need to be on-hand and then reordered.

I cannot agree with your football analogy. It's more like a wrestling team where each individual is expected to do their utmost and success is measured by the most wins. But, in this case it is unlikely that the coach knows anything about wrestling.

Budgetary concerns indicate poor planning or a bad business model. Maintenance cannot do anything about that in most cases. I would suggest a maintenance fund of at least $2000.00 per 100 units replenished as necessary. Maybe that is unrealistic but it would be nice to have when two water heaters go out in the same month.

Excellent response. Also, you do come into contact with the tenants. And office staff. A team player helps everything run a lot more smoothly than a loner.

Jessica McConnell wrote: Excellent response. Also, you do come into contact with the tenants. And office staff. A team player helps everything run a lot more smoothly than a loner.

Isn't keeping things running smoothly the responsibility of management? They manage, that's why they're called management. The role of maintenance is extremely limited if not negligible in the decision making process. Maintenance is the part of the team that knows what's wrong, and the part of the team that can fix it, and the part of the team that has no voice. By "Team Player" do you mean toady? When maintenance comes in contact with tenants and they ask us what in the world is wrong with those people in the office, all we can do is roll our eyes and say nothing. A team player will always be looking for instructions from the Management-clueless IMHO.

Example: Today I fixed a complaint that a bathroom door needed it's hinges replaced. Of course, that wasn't the problem. Some maintenance man in the past drilled out the hollow core door hinge insets and installed in the holes... drywall anchors. With use of course, that split the door. That means that the former maintenance man was an idiot, but probably a team player. Hiring a fool is the act of a fool, team player or not.

Perry Sanders wrote: The role of maintenance is extremely limited if not negligible in the decision making process. Maintenance is the part of the team that knows what's wrong, and the part of the team that can fix it, and the part of the team that has no voice.

Absolutely the wrong perception, in my mind. Maintenance is the team that makes things run smoothly. Management and maintenance work together to ensure the resident has a good residency at the property; the management handles the administrative side of things, the maintenance handles the physical asset. Both are equally important.

That's why maintenance and management HAVE to be on the same team. Not because one is better than the other, but because without each other, there cannot be success.

Perry Sanders wrote: By "Team Player" do you mean toady? When maintenance comes in contact with tenants and they ask us what in the world is wrong with those people in the office, all we can do is roll our eyes and say nothing. A team player will always be looking for instructions from the Management-clueless IMHO

A team player can work to solve problems on his or her own; a team player understands that the overall goals of the community (resident satisfaction, resident retention, and profit) are what matter. It's not about if you're in the office or the field, but if you're all working toward the same thing.

Perhaps I've just got my definitions wrong. Assuming that there are two maintenance guys and both were at some time professional plumbers, electricians, dry wallers, flooring persons, landscapers, chemists, physicists, etc., really good fix-it guys in other words. And they were diplomatic enough to deal with tenants in their homes when things break. Yet, with all of these skills could not figure out how to collect ten percent of the rent for themselves and give the rest to the owner(s) as the management folks do. One was a team player and one wasn't. What would be the difference between them? What is that "Team Player" mentality? Toady? Sycophant? Brown-noser? Someone who won't say "Hey, that's really stupid," no matter how stupid it is?

I do not know a Manager who does not consult with Maintenance when planning budgets and deciding how to align Owner's goals to meet the budget and needs of the property/residents. That, that takes teamwork. The only time this would not take place is if the maintenance tasks are all contracted out and there is no one dedicated to the site for maintenance. Usually, management and maintenance meet daily to discuss goals and plan the parts orders, acquisition of materials, etc. all the while discussing upcoming turns and leasing goals. Teamwork makes the Dream Work if everyone is honest and communicates.

Mindy Sharp wrote: I do not know a Manager who does not consult with Maintenance....

...and I've never met one who did. We've been traveling in vastly different circles.

If a person has no background in building and repair trades there is really no point in consulting about it. I'm currently working in a building that has a refrigerator, a microwave oven, and often times a hair dryer all on the same circuit and the manager has yet to consult me about the blowing breakers (or anything else.) And he won't... he assumes it's normal, he has faith that it's normal. There is no reasonable argument that will supersede faith. Once a week I go and hunt breakers... It's a job.

Perry, you cannot assume what another thinks without talking to that person. Talk to your manager.

Mindy Sharp wrote: Perry, you cannot assume what another thinks without talking to that person. Talk to your manager.

But I would know if I've been consulted or not... wouldn't I?

It very frustrating to work with someone or a group of someones that are so sure that their right about everything that they cannot change. The whole "consulting" thing has seldom happened to me. Sometimes a manager will ask me how long something will take or how much it will cost but that's not really consulting, that's asking for an estimate which I really can't give, and they don't want me on the net checking prices or suppliers.

Perry Sanders wrote:

Mindy Sharp wrote: Perry, you cannot assume what another thinks without talking to that person. Talk to your manager.

But I would know if I've been consulted or not... wouldn't I?

It very frustrating to work with someone or a group of someones that are so sure that their right about everything that they cannot change. The whole "consulting" thing has seldom happened to me. Sometimes a manager will ask me how long something will take or how much it will cost but that's not really consulting, that's asking for an estimate which I really can't give, and they don't want me on the net checking prices or suppliers.

I strongly suggest you have a professional conversation with them about their expectations versus the nature of the work needing to be done. Explain on a point by point basis why their expectations are unrealistic, and provide an opportunity for them to understand your perspective.

The recurring theme I read in your posts is a massive disconnect between the office and the maintenance teams. If the office isn't trying to fix it (or is unaware it exists), then it would only benefit the maintenance team to attempt to bridge that gap.

I strongly suggest you have a professional conversation with them about their expectations versus the nature of the work needing to be done. Explain on a point by point basis why their expectations are unrealistic, and provide an opportunity for them to understand your perspective.

The recurring theme I read in your posts is a massive disconnect between the office and the maintenance teams. If the office isn't trying to fix it (or is unaware it exists), then it would only benefit the maintenance team to attempt to bridge that gap.

Yes, you have understood my position perfectly, but, are you expecting REASON from these people? They don't know what they're doing, they can't know what they're doing because they have no background at all in what they're doing, but if they admit it they will get fired. Would you let your maintenance guy drop you out of the loop? Let me reason with you as you seem like a reasonable fellow. If you didn't know what size(s) sheetrock your buildings were hung with, if you didn't know what the distribution pipe is made of, and you didn't know what would happen if you reversed the black and white wires, should you really be dealing with that stuff? Should you be hiring a person who does deal with these things? Should you be managing procedures to administer these things? IF, I'm only saying IF.

Perry Sanders wrote: Would you let your maintenance guy drop you out of the loop? Let me reason with you as you seem like a reasonable fellow. If you didn't know what size(s) sheetrock your buildings were hung with, if you didn't know what the distribution pipe is made of, and you didn't know what would happen if you reversed the black and white wires, should you really be dealing with that stuff? Should you be hiring a person who does deal with these things? Should you be managing procedures to administer these things? IF, I'm only saying IF.

If I don't know these things, I make it a point to ask, to learn. I want to know these things so that I can make the best decisions possible in line with my owner's goals. If something comes up that I don't know, I ask: why is it that way? Can it be done another way? What are our options?

Most importantly, I ask: What do you think we should do?

Why? Because I don't know everything. I know enough to know that I don't, that I won't, and I'm confident enough in my ability at what I do know to admit that.

If you (or your managers) work for a company that doesn't understand that not everyone can know everything about everything, then I might suggest looking for new employers.

Thanks Jay, but their pretty much all the same. They're sales people. In my home state at least, they are legally required to be sales people. So, the only people allowed to do the job, can't do the job. Owners are paying more than they should, tenants are getting less than they should, and a group of well dressed folks talk about sales techniques but they're not selling anything except a maintenance plan. If (and I'm not asking you to admit it to anyone but yourself) if you didn't know the answers to the questions I posed earlier, who would you ask? The guy YOU hired? The internet? When the ceiling falls in, it's too late to ask.

If I don't know the answers? I go to those who do. Seasoned maintenance technicians, maintenance supervisors, or even our corporate maintenance director. If they are not available or don't know, I ask my contractors; the folks who have come out and worked for me and our company solving problems that we can't handle at site level.

Just because they're sales people doesn't mean they can't learn. If they're not willing to try to learn, that's a different story.

I'm also the guy that crosstrains my leasing and maintenance new hires. I have the leasing team shadow our maintenance team for a day or two so they understand what happens in the field. That way, they know what kinds of questions to ask on service calls, and they understand that the techs aren't just loafing around doing nothing. Likewise, I have the maintenance techs shadow the office team for a day or two so they see we're not just having a party and making their lives miserable with unrealistic promises, but trying to fill a need our customers have.

Teamwork!

But Jay... these people you're consulting were hired because they're team players, not because they know what they're doing. When you're called on for a decision, isn't it too late to consult?

That's why I also have contractors in my list. They're the ones who get paid when they do a GOOD job, not just an adequate job.

And, generally speaking, a "team player" will do a GOOD job as he/she understands that success for the team reciprocates back into personal success as well.

It is my experience that those with a bigger-picture view deliver better results than those who are simply "trading labor for dollars."