Hello, I'm your new hire. Now What? What is the first impression your new employees are getting? 

We're taught in property management that first impressions matter. ALOT. Why?? Because they do. In apartment leasing, we get 3 seconds to make a positive first impression. We stand, smile, shake hands, often in million dollar clubhouses that are set up and staged to impress. Because first impressions are that important.

In these times of the 'great resignation' we have seen the talent and workforce dwindle. Multifamily has been hit hard on getting and keeping good employees. We've seen turnover escalate event more rapidly in the last 2-3 years for a variety of reasons. 

Uber & Lyft specifically design their new employees first 2 weeks to be amazing. Easy to sign on, routes available immediately, quick easy pay process. Happy employees = retained employees. So how is your property handling new hires? Are property management companies designing good first impressions for new employees? Or are we tossing keys & a map & wishing them all the best. I've seen new team members be greeted with "There's a lot to do since the office has been short staffed, so let's get this pile of back logged work caught up. We know you can do it! Lunch is at 1:00"  Ugh…what? 

Getting a new hire acclimated is not handing someone a map, keys and a phone number in case of an emergency. Training is not a 3 hour event that happens once or twice a year. Good employee onboarding and retention is on going with daily habits supported, support readily available, questions answered and a confidence building endeavor. Guiding and supporting them in their new role should be a daily event. I strongly recommend temp to hire options for new hires. Not just because that's what my company does, but the numbers prove it's a better way to hire a long term, happy employee. 

A temp to hire employee will stay longer than a direct hire. You have a chance to get to know them beyond a couple of 15 minute meetings and an assessment test. They get to interact with your on site team first hand and also your residents. These steps help to ensure they're the right fit for you, and vise versa. Hiring the right employee in todays market is a challenge. Keeping them can be even harder. Make sure once you find that great new team member, you set them up for success, each and every step of the way. It make a take a bit more time and attention, but will result in less turnover and a happier employee in the long run.