Biggest Training Need in 2009

What do you think the biggest training need for our leasing staffs out there on the front line might be? With all the technology, are we losing the relationship? Are you incorporating that need into your training effectively?

With all the advanced tech options we have right now, I shocked at how often I hear that companies are still having a hard time getting their leasing consultants to consistently check email!! At least in the short run, keeping up with technology options is going to have to require a bit of standard procedure to make sure all areas of communication are taken care of (i.e., MySpace, Facebook, Craigslist, email, instant messaging, etc)

I shop properties on line before visiting them. The grammar in the responses is, more often than not, horrible! And if it is a ‘canned’ response, it is not personalized to answer the specific questions that are asked. We have become desensitized to poor grammar, I think, partly because of the shortcuts we use for texting. We need to train our staff to use the technology and that training must include professional grammar and courteousness.
Ending a response to an email inquiry with ‘cus’ is not appropriate. We have to remember to maintain professionalism while building business relationships.

I think that social media management will find its way to the front and center. While we struggle at the basics, as each of you have mentioned, I think we have to some how fit SM into the training mix.

Customers will demand that communication be tailored to their liking, not the other way around. No longer can we afford to push our message out there and expect the phone to ring and the door to be pushed down. We have to train everyone to get out and participate on the Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin and Twitter sites of the world. Consumers want to be engaged in public mediums, they want to be heard and more importantly they want responses.

I agree with all of you and I recently saw first hand how owners are giving their employees the tools, i.e. major advertising budgeting dollars, and none of the tools are being used by on-site teams. I shopped 10 properties over a period of 2 weeks. Of these, only One consutant followed up with an email. It amazed me. They all had digital brochures, 4 of them advertised to "Text Them to Receive Info," yet I, the client, received nothing. Not even a mailed thank you card!

I see the solution coming back to the initial question - our front line people need Training, Training, and more training. This also goes back to their leadership. Leasing personnel focus where their managers instruct them to focus. And Managers must be continuously reminded of where their focus must be...everywhere that affects the bottom line!

I agree that with all the social media out there, it is quickly becoming an important topic. However, when you ask what is the biggest training need I have to say it is using the technology we already have.

As Brent mentioned, there's still a challenge with getting staff to respond to emails. The trainig therefore needs to begin with company expectations, i.e. appropriate response time, responding to existing residents before following up with prospects, gathering and confirming resident contact information at each and every interaction, understanding resident communication preferences. (Note: Our research shows email has become the #1 preference for resident communication with their leasing office.)

We're throwing so much technology and so many communication tools at our teams that training will need to be increased in these areas mainly. Whether it's basic email, your management software, or social media, it all needs backup with training. It's not just about answering the phone and demonstrating an apartment anymore.

Great questions - I think today we need to teach effectiveness. Onsite teams need leadership, time management and resource management. They need ways to maximize every tool, every technique and show value in every amenity to both future and current residents. I love Super Nanny - I think everyone in property management should watch this amazing show. Each week she goes into the jaws of hell and completely turns a family around. I have watched her carefully and I believe she used accountability and respect as her two greatest management tools. I love it when she says "that is not acceptable". She changes the rules for accountability and makes sure people respect leadership. She shows leaders how to be leaders and how to take charge. We need to stop accepting such low standards of performance. It is time for bad habits to go away and accountability and "best" practices to be reminded, reenforced, reviewed, refreshed and restored! It's time to raise the bar, increase efforts and step it up!! ARE YOU FEELING ME?!!!!! The survivors are the ones who take care of the little things and are 100% committed to a high standard of excellence. They plan to survive and to excel in 2009!!!

I love this idea! I agree with Toni that many valuable lessons can be learned from Super Nanny. Spot on!

I am going to step back and say that the biggest training need is really teaching hiring authorities how to hire and retain good salespeople. Sales is a talent driven occupation, that is, individuals with the talent inherently and intuitively know how to connect with people. Then it becomes just a question of sharing the tools they can utilize to maximize sales. Unfortunately, many in this industry won't even refer to their salespeople as salespeople. They prefer the softer "leasing consultant". The result is people being drawn to the job because in their view, it's not like outside sales where you are accountable for procuring clients and it is nowhere near as pushy. And then we wonder why so many have a difficult time asking for a commitment. In addition, the position is expected to be this well rounded office manager type that is organized, meticulous, a smart negotiator, a customer service specialist, and oh, yeah, can sell things.
Until we as an industry change our view that this position is an entry level office worker position, it doesn't matter how much technology or how many tools are available. People buy from people they like and that understand how to communicate at their level. We have to get better at finding and recognizing the talent, be willing to pay for it, and better define the role. Then, we can incorporate all this wonderful technology.
This recession will result in performance analysis and people that aren't delivering will go. Now is the time to find and develop the talent.

I would say that the biggest training need in 2009 is tracking, tracking, tracking.

As economic challenges continue and marketing dollars are selectively allocated, our leasing associates need to make sure that they are accurately accounting for all of their traffic sources. Onsite teams need to understand that inaccurate information could result in cancellation of effective advertising sources. For example, if all of a community's traffic is being generated by drive-by or signage, why would they continue to advertise in one of the rental publications?

Not only do our associates need to ask prospective residents how they heard about the community but they need to make sure that the source is as accurate as possible. Meaning,internet, drive-by, magazine, etc. should not be the answer. Our leasing professionals need to ask further questions to find the true source. Where on the internet? What publication? Do you work in the area? The answers to these questions will give you the true source of your traffic.

With all of the advertising sources available to apartment communities today, we need to make sure that we are spending our dollars and devoting our resources to the most successful. Only when our onsite teams start consistently tracking the traffic generated will we be able to measure the effectiveness of our advertising.

When your leasing office has trouble checking email, responding to text messages or using decent grammar, don't blame the leasing agent - blame the person who hired him/her. If a person who is unqualified to be using computers and other technology is hired into a position where it is required, then obviously job performance will suffer.

In lieu of blaming, what if we recognized it as an opportunity to change someones life. I agree performance will suffer in the short run but the long term return on a little time investment could yield a huge payback.

I believe that the organization as we know it is in place to serve the people that serve it. And, it is incumbent upon each of us to recognize training opportunities, embrace them for the reality that they present and to take action on improvement.

Blaming does nothing but breed discord and discontent. Recognizing and taking action breeds loyalty and engagement.

In the example above I see opportunity for three people - 1. The hiring party in terms of improving hiring skills. 2. The front line employee in terms of improving grammar skills. 3. The leader of both in terms of creating the learning environment. And, by default a fourth entity [the organization], gets better.

Have a compelling day. M

Pthththt... all this positivity is making me sick.

How are properties tracking that their employees are using and complying with the training programs they have implemented?

Great question Jonathan, I will be interested to see the feedback. We track our employees education using a combination of Grace Hill and an in-house development team member.

I always track my folks to make sure they are following their training through mystery shoppers, follow up calls with both the new managers and the candidate. Constant mentoring is needed for some and others are good to go after a small pep talk. It's about remembering that training comes down to not only how the message is given, but also how it's received

And me? Well I say the most important thing you can train on right now is EXCEPTIONAL customer service, because right now, your residents won't accept anything less.

We track our employee's compliance with the training techniques through a variance of methods - review of corp. documents that they send to us weekly, their overall leasing success, mystery phone and site shoppers for both/all staff, etc. However, what seems to yeild the most accurate (AND POSITIVE) results is our sheer visibility on the properties. There is a strong correlation between our presence and their compliance. I think it goes back to the old adage re: how one behaves when they know someone is looking (and cares).