In an age of high employee turnover, "quiet quitting", onsite overwhelm, and a host of other team member challenges, maintaining a high level of employee satisfaction seems like an impossible task at times.  Therefore, Multifamily Insiders and Grace Hill joined forces to research what drives employee satisfaction for multifamily professionals.

To access the entire Employee Satisfaction Research Report, download it here: https://www.multifamilyinsiders.com/apartment-forms/file/467-2024-employee-satisfaction-research-report

The Impact of Financial Security and Opportunity

They say that "money doesn't buy happiness", but according to the 2024 research report, responders definitely felt it must help, as "Getting a Raise" was rated the most important factor to job satisfaction across all job types, and "Getting a Bigger Bonus" ranked 4^th, out of a total 9 options.

One of the biggest stories of 2023 beyond multifamily has been inflation, with cost of living growing dramatically year over year.  This effective wage decrease hits less affluent people more than affluent, as noted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas:

Prior research suggests that inflation hits low-income households hardest for several reasons. They spend more of their income on necessities such as food, gas and rent—categories with greater-than-average inflation rates—leaving few ways to reduce spending. When prices rise, middle-income households may react by consuming cheaper goods and buying more generic brands. Low-income households do not have the same flexibility; in many cases, they are already consuming the cheapest products.

Our Employee Satisfaction Research Report suggested similar economic stresses, as the importance of getting a raise and bonus increased as we reviewed data from executive level positions to on-site leasing consultants and maintenance technicians, often some of the lowest paid positions in multifamily.  For example, for senior management, "Getting a Raise" was the 2^nd most important factor to job satisfaction with an average rating of 3.7, while for maintenance technicians, it was far and away the top factor with an average rating of 1.8, with "1" being the most important factor.

Non-Financial Drivers of Job Satisfaction

Although individual finances held the lead in terms of job satisfaction, many other non-financial factors made a significant impact.  The top non-financial element to job satisfaction among respondents was "Support from Your Immediate Manager", which was a strong response no matter the position in multifamily.

Actions that Support Team Members

Support can mean a lot of different things, of course, so we asked responders what actions their companies take to show support.  Here is a representative sampling of responses.

• Verbal support backed by flexibility in their conversations with me.
• Allow me to take continuing education and certifications to advance my career goals.
• Wholeheartedly entertain trying new things. In some cases, that means it's discovered the ideas are not practical to implement and in others, they are tried all the way to pilot and implementation.
• Backing my decisions
• Autonomy to lead and make decisions. Trust.
• Paid for certifications and classes. Really care about the growth and training of myself and peers
• Consistent guidance
• My immediate manager listens and acknowledges and lets me know she here for anything I need
• Backing me up when disgruntled tenant contacts corporate
• Annual wage & performance review, and they invested in my CCRM training. They also provide annual training regarding Sexual Harassment, Fair Housing, and other important policies and guidelines. They are also available to troubleshoot any gray areas that come up, or navigate challenging resident issues.
• My boss gives me the autonomy to explore what I think it would take to advance my career. Understanding that he does not have all the answers and never wants me to feel limited.
• Open door communication policy and forgiveness when mistakes are made

To view the entire list of ways companies support their team members, download the full report.

It should be noted that the most common non-financial response appeared to be training and support for advancement.  Notably, training appeared much more common for senior management, possibly indicating that companies are providing more training for upper executives than on-site teams.

Actions that do Not Support Team Members

We also asked respondents what actions their company does to show they do NOT support them.

• There is no training or continued training. There should be monthly training on different things.
• No company-wide career advancement program, leadership or professional development training.
• Micromanaging the little details, while the larger issues are left for me to handle
• Allowing bullies in the workplace
• They do not value my opinion or expertise.  I have to fight for what I know is right for our properties and our people.
• They do not take employee feedback seriously
• No fun, just work and work.

The report covered several other aspects that are not covered here, including:

1. The most gratifying parts of their job
2. What part of their job is the most frustrating
3. What job tasks would they remove if they could

The producers of the 2024 Employee Satisfaction Research Report have additional resources that assist companies provide employee development opportunities:

       Grace Hill's Multifamily Training & LMS

       Multifamily Insiders' Webinar Wednesday Training