Your leasing team is an integral part of your company. They’re the public face of the property. They are the key liaison between the management team, the current resident and the prospective resident. Managing incoming packages used to be a minor part of leasing offices duties. But today, maneuvering the influx of package deliveries eats up significant time in the day of a leasing associate.

Some leasing offices are quite literally drowning in resident packages as ecommerce continues its skyward surge. Our data shows that an average 250-unit apartment community receives over 50 packages a day. This number increases three-fold during the holiday season with some communities seeing close to 150 packages come through the doors.

Deliveries can be so time demanding that onsite leasing teams have no choice but to neglect tasks that are more integral to community success. Often companies are limited on the number of staff per property. And adding more personnel is an additional expense.  Sure, leasing teams have time to handle packages, but wouldn’t you rather have your leasing teams performing more valuable tasks?

Giving tours to prospective residents

The community tours are critical to closing with your prospects. Highlighting the key features and amenities that set you apart from your competition is vital to any property tour. Apartment shoppers want to be able to get a good feel of their community, see their next home, and they want to love it. If your leasing associates are tied up with organizing packages in the office, the prospect will move on to the next property that has the time to give them tour of their property.

Addressing resident concerns

One of the most crucial duties of the onsite job is making sure residents are happy and satisfied with their living experience. Addressing resident concerns and servicing the community is of upmost importance and can make or break the community’s reputation – especially online. A majority of happy residents will renew their leases which help retain the high occupancy rate.

Freedom from package duties means spending more time engaging with residents to make sure everything is operating smoothly for them. It’s also a great opportunity to discover upgrades and improvements that can be made to community operations and amenities.

Respond to online reviews

Online reputation management is a necessity of today’s apartment industry. So, having a good ORA rating is a must have. Many prospective renters review the ratings and reviews of every item they purchase, including renting their next apartment and positive ratings and reviews of current residents are key to gaining the new residents. Leasing associates and community managers should be responding to online reviews and maintaining digital content.

Following up on prospect leads

A lot of money is spent on the marketing to attract the new leads for your property. So, how are you going to gain new prospects if you don’t follow up on all your qualified leads? Answer: you’re probably not. Chasing down leads and following up with potential customers are high priorities in the multifamily industry. It’s key to a solid NOI.

These are just a few things the leasing team should be doing instead of grinding away organizing packages. These items make all the difference. And the time adds up quickly when it comes to gaining and attracting and retaining residents.