Week 31: The Basics of Management – How We Do It

This is a great time for residential property owners who have the business partnerships and/or infrastructure in place to ensure their assets are performing. Antiquated property management styles are giving way to efficient and effective systems and processes. The market is rife with opportunities to professionalize property management , and that is why I am in this business.

However, all property managers—my team included—must continue to raise the bar on performance and the services we provide. We take our job as the intermediary between the tenant client and the investor client very seriously.

Why We Do It

Property management has never been easy. Demand is rising and the challenge is to meet the needs of tenants while ensuring our owners are earning the required return on their investment. Adding property management to the traditional brokerage model is a huge opportunity. Many of our tenants buy homes with us, and our owners send great referrals, while purchasing new properties for their portfolios.

How We Split Tasks

One secret of our success is the detailed job descriptions we have developed over the years. Detailed job descriptions keep us on task and communicate what is expected of our team members. 

We fill job openings to the job description. We use the job descriptions when we advertise an opening, and as the basis for assessing performance. Every job description is shared, so we all know how we must work together to take care of our owners and tenants.

The best way I’ve found to get the job done effectively and efficiently is to split the property management department into three categories. The team members in each category all have distinct and unique abilities that form a ‘Unique Ability Team’. These categories are:

• Landlord Support
• Tenant Relations
• Accounting

The more team members focus solely on their areas of responsibility, the more smoothly it runs. When things change and people leave, or volume ramps up unexpectedly, everyone is cross-trained, and pitches in to help, temporarily ‘blurring’ the lines, but  the quicker everyone gets back to their unique abilities, the happier we all are.

Another tool we use is the Kolbe B Index, which measures conative abilities and creates a profile for each employee. It does not measure IQ or motivation, but details how a person goes about their work. We have a great history with our team’s Kolbe profiles, which allows us to conduct job-description-guided interviews, and select applicants to take the online Kolbe B assessment. Based on their Kolbe results, we know if they will be a good fit. 

We also created in-house tests for breaking down a tenant application, running credit and criminal background checks, and calling references. Another asks the applicant to break down last week’s maintenance payroll and assign it to the various owners for reimbursement. These processes allow us to predict if an applicant will be successful in their role.