Every apartment community has a personality. In fact, if you were to divide up all of the apartment communities in your company portfolio, it is likely that each one would fall into one of the following three categories:   

1.       Hell on Wheels: A difficult, demanding, back-breaking, problematic community.

2.       Easy-Going: An average, occasional challenge, mostly pleasant community.  

3.       Push Button: A simple, no sweat, uncomplicated, “daily vacation” community.

While every on-site employee deserves the opportunity to experience all three types of communities during their career, too much time spent at any one has its shortcomings.

In this blog, I will focus on the “Push Button” community.

The following story is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.  

Molly Berry was a very successful leasing consultant. She had worked for Happy Resident Management for 10 years. She was referred to by management as the “leasing machine.” She could lease any apartment to anyone. Her office walls were draped with leasing awards. She was always #1 on the leasing list each month. Molly was sought after by every property manager. But…Molly was very content at her permanent home community. It was a “Push Button” community—it practically ran itself.   

One day Molly received a call from a supervisor at the corporate office. They asked her to temporarily relocate to a beautiful brand new “Hell on Wheels” community that was located in a very competitive market. The apartments were small, the rents were high. It was struggling. The residents were also extremely demanding and employee turnover was outrageous.

•           Every resident and customer was either in law school, or their parent was a lawyer who just so happened to work for the “most influential” firm on the PLANET!

•           Everyone owned a dog. Many of them were the size of a small horse. 

•           Most of the resident’s vehicles were valued in the $50,000+ range. Intentional door dinging was prevalent.

They needed Molly. They offered her FREE rent for 3 months and all expenses paid to get the job done. She accepted.

To make a long story short, Molly Berry crashed and burned. During her first week when her adrenaline was peaking she didn’t lease a single apartment. She was like a fish out of water. Communication with the residents was difficult for her. Her daily emotional breakdowns became prevalent. After thirty-days, Molly begged to return to her home community. Her ego was crushed. She was embarrassed.  

How could this be? What happened to this leasing superstar? It’s not so much about what happened to her, but instead, what didn’t happen to her. She was the result of her “Push Button” environment.   

1.       Performance Abilities Are Masked

When an employee spends too much time at a “Push Button” community their true performance abilities are often masked. When they are relocated to a more challenging community or work environment new traits are revealed. Their weaknesses become glaringly obvious OR they quickly rise to the top. This change/challenge can be a good indicator of their real ability and future potential, too.  

2.       Growth Potential Is Stifled

This is the biggie. I wonder how different this story would have ended had Molly been challenged early on in her career? Clearly she had potential, yet her growth was stifled as a result of her uncomplicated work environment. Setting high expectations and challenging employees is one of the primary responsibilities of leaders. We fail our employees when we don’t raise the bar after they jump the same hurdle over and over again. I know that no one likes relocating employees. It disrupts resident relations, the employee has to learn something new, a new person must be identified and trained, it upsets the owner, etc.  But, this is how we grow! When the job becomes too easy, it’s time to move on.

3.       Complacency Sets In

You know your employees are becoming complacent when they take shortcuts in their work. They are not as thorough or detailed oriented as they once were. They believe that their positive reputation will give them the permission to be lazy. They simply lose their desire to compete because they don’t have to. They are not only cheating themselves but they are also cheating the company. They become complacent. Sometimes they stay, and sometimes they go. Neither result is positive.     

This blog topic can easily be argued from both sides. However, in my experience, the most successful companies have employees who can work at any personality community and achieve immediate success. Certainly, some will fail. They might leave. That’s ok.

I am grateful to the leaders who didn’t allow me to become complacent. My abilities were rarely masked, and my growth potential was never stifled. When I thought I was not capable, someone believed in me. I learned and grew from every “Hell on Wheels” community that I worked on, and I wouldn’t wish away any experience—even the really bad ones.

Some of the most successful people I know in this industry have faced great adversity and have worked in extremely challenging environments. Too much time spent working at a “Push Button” community can impede employee potential.

Your turn!