Peter: “The thing is Bob, it’s not that I’m lazy…it’s that I just don’t care!”

The Bobs: “Don’t care???”

Peter: “It’s a problem of motivation…”

From: “Office Space”

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If you’ve watched the movie Office Space you know that Peter is NOT happy at his job! He’s done dealing with a corporate environment filled with “TPS reports,” fax cover sheets and reporting to eight different bosses. Now, he’s so over it that he’s just doing enough “not to get fired!” Doesn’t sound like a culture designed for success, does it?

The sad part is this doesn’t just happen in a movie-it happens in the workplace, every single day. Gallup says that 70% of employees are disengaged-and that disengagement costs companies $2,000 per employee! YIKES!

For multifamily housing companies creating a high-performance/high-engagement culture is so important because this industry burns people out. I mean, how many times have you thought about quitting, or tried to quit the multifamily industry? I know I tried a few times in my career to leave the industry and I definitely thought about it many, many times, because there were so many times I felt it just wasn’t worth it. 

ManagInc just released it’s 2017 Benchmark Study on “Corporate Social Responsibility and the Multifamily Industry” and within the report are two statistics indicating that while the average national employee turnover rate is 19% (2016 SHRM Human Capital Report), within the multifamily housing industry the turnover rate is 32% (National Apartment Association.) 

Multifamily housing is NOT for the weak! And as leaders in this industry it’s crucial that you recognize this reality and adjust to it. In the past when someone complained about a company’s culture the dominant reaction to that was something like, “What a slacker!” or “You have NO work ethic!” or “You’re lucky you even have a job!” 

Well, if you said that to today’s employees the odds are good they’re going to walk out on you. While you may be thinking, “I don’t want those kinds of employees anyway!!” the truth is, whether you like it or not, the workforce is changing and if leaders do not adapt to the changing environment, you’ll lose good employees. 

There is a great post on the Multifamily Insiders blog by Judy Bellack entitled “Jared Miller on Culture as the Ultimate Business Fuel” that I recommend you read, because what I have noticed in the past year or so is that many of my clients have been asking specifically for training programs or speaking presentations specifically on the subject of creating a high-performance culture. I definitely agree with Judy’s (and Jared’s) thoughts that culture is the ultimate fuel and more and more companies are becoming more aware of it.

In this multi-part series I will share with you some secrets that will show YOU how to create a kick-butt, high-performance culture, whether you lead a team of five associates or 5,000! 

Principle One: It all starts with you! 

Creating a high-performance culture starts with you, the leader. This is not something you can delegate. This is not something that will take care of itself. You must be the driving force in creating the kind of culture that people want to come to day after day after day. 

And, if I can be honest with you, this principle is true whether you believe it or not. Whether you think this is how it should be. Whether you think this is a poor reflection on the generation of workers today!

If you want high-performance from your employees you can either keep firing the “bad ones,” hiring a new batch again and again, until you strike it rich and find some good folks, you can “make do” with associates who are okay, but not great, or you can create a culture that actually encourages the good ones to stay and work harder. 

The choice is yours!

Read: Part Two

Read: Part Three

Read: Part Four