Becca Ramati's profile| Property Management | Resident Retention

Paul Rhodes Great thoughts here... Here's some more:
• Begin with move-in. Include a personal introduction to your maintenance team so the resident sees them as human instead of a robot or an underling.
• Schedule a time for a maintenance team member to teach/show the resident common misused or misunderstood equipment in the apartment. (example: blinds with no chords) This can occur after move-in day.
• Review a “this is a true emergency” list with the resident and provide examples of what is/isn’t considered urgent.
• Have a printed policy that all work orders received before a time (2:00 pm?) will be responded to the same day. The office will call the resident before the office closes and ensure the resident knows that the request is on the “to-do” list for ASAP. (Phone call instead of text or email is critical to de-escalate non-emergency requests)
• Institute a preventive and predictive maintenance plan that isn’t self-defeating due to bonus structures. (Example: not replacing a water heater in vacant...Great thoughts here... Here's some more:
• Begin with move-in. Include a personal introduction to your maintenance team so the resident sees them as human instead of a robot or an underling.
• Schedule a time for a maintenance team member to teach/show the resident common misused or misunderstood equipment in the apartment. (example: blinds with no chords) This can occur after move-in day.
• Review a “this is a true emergency” list with the resident and provide examples of what is/isn’t considered urgent.
• Have a printed policy that all work orders received before a time (2:00 pm?) will be responded to the same day. The office will call the resident before the office closes and ensure the resident knows that the request is on the “to-do” list for ASAP. (Phone call instead of text or email is critical to de-escalate non-emergency requests)
• Institute a preventive and predictive maintenance plan that isn’t self-defeating due to bonus structures. (Example: not replacing a water heater in vacant apartments because it’s not leaking even though it’s over 15 years old. When asked why we don’t do that, the manager said, “If it breaks, the damages and the replacement will be covered by capital funds that don’t come from our bonuses.” True story from more than one community)
• Twice a year, inspect every apartment in the same way make-ready maintenance is done. Initiate repairs instead of awaiting residents to report them.
• Have a “swing shift” make-ready technician. This way, make-ready maintenance is performed overnight, and someone is at the community to respond to emergencies. Rotate this position if the team is willing/available.
• Provide a flat rate stipend for being on call.
• If the tech responds after hours, honor that time. Example: Pay the 1.5 times hourly rate for after-hours response EVEN IF a total of 40 hours of normal time isn’t worked that week (vacation, holiday, sick). If the property has a no OT policy, then for every 1 hour worked, they go home 1.5 hours early instead of a straight swap which doesn’t honor the time (4 hours on-call means they go home 6 hours early).
• Create documentation standards for Why the tech Responded type information. Periodically review this data and problem-solve to reduce call-outs.

Awesome thread, Becca! Show more

Great thoughts here... Here's some more:
•	Begin with move-in. Include a personal introduction to your maintenance team so the resident sees them as human instead of a robot or an underling.
•	Schedule a time for a maintenance team member to teach/show the resident common misused or misunderstood equipment in the apartment. (example: blinds with no chords) This can occur after move-in day.
•	Review a “this is a true emergency” list with the resident and provide examples of what is/isn’t considered urgent.
•	Have a printed policy that all work orders received before a time (2:00 pm?) will be responded to the same day. The office will call the resident before the office closes and ensure the resident knows that the request is on the “to-do” list for ASAP. (Phone call instead of text or email is critical to de-escalate non-emergency requests)
•	Institute a preventive and predictive maintenance plan that isn’t self-defeating due to bonus structures. (Example: not replacing a water heater in vacant apartments because it’s not leaking even though it’s over 15 years old. When asked why we don’t do that, the manager said, “If it breaks, the damages and the replacement will be covered by capital funds that don’t come from our bonuses.” True story from more than one community)
•	Twice a year, inspect every apartment in the same way make-ready maintenance is done. Initiate repairs instead of awaiting residents to report them.
•	Have a “swing shift” make-ready technician. This way, make-ready maintenance is performed overnight, and someone is at the community to respond to emergencies. Rotate this position if the team is willing/available.
•	Provide a flat rate stipend for being on call.
•	If the tech responds after hours, honor that time. Example: Pay the 1.5 times hourly rate for after-hours response EVEN IF a total of 40 hours of normal time isn’t worked that week (vacation, holiday, sick). If the property has a  no OT  policy, then for every 1 hour worked, they go home 1.5 hours early instead of a straight swap which doesn’t honor the time (4 hours on-call means they go home 6 hours early).
•	Create documentation standards for  Why the tech Responded  type information. Periodically review this data and problem-solve to reduce call-outs.

Awesome thread, Becca!

Guest Insider I would love to chat with you Jennifer about how you may be able to help us.

Guest Insider The best thing to do is take better care of the community M-F and truly fix somethin that is broken, don't do temporary repairs. Then respond only true emergencies that can cause harm or damage to the property/person. We have approx. 5-8 calls a year needing to be responded to and we get about an additional 15 calls a year that can wait until the next business day. Our last emergency call was a bused pipe on Christmas, it was -10, haven't had a call this year yet.

We are looking to make on call changes though. Thinking to offer a bonus for volunteering to be on call weekly to see if someone wants to step up and take them all.

Becca Ramati

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