Tag Archives: Motivation

Some ways to make work more fun!

Posted on April 17, 2013 by James G. Lenhardt, CPC, CTS

Tired of the same old boring work day at the office? We have some great ideas for spicing up your office and helping your teams enjoy their work.

One great idea for your residents and staff to enjoy is to have a “decorate your workspace” contest. This is great because it will allow your staff to show their personalities and maybe some of their hobbies that they can use to get to know and interact with your residents.

Another fun idea is to change up your email signature from time to time. Use different and fun fonts to get people to notice and add some funny quotes just below your contact information. For example:

“A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.” ~ Steve Martin or “People who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do.” ~ Isaac Asimov

It’s important to remember to change them, and will also encourage  your teams to read your emails all the way through.

You can also have dress up theme days. Like crazy sock day or silly hats. What seems to be very popular right now are mustache days! You can find printable mustaches online and simply cut them out and use some take to attach them. With a huge variety of “styles” available, everyone can be different and really take on a whole new personality with their new facial hair! Are you a handle bar type or maybe you like a full goatee!

You can also create silly awards for your employees. Like “The Bermuda Triangle Award – for the desk where objects go never to be seen again” or “The Doodle Pad Award”. You can print off cute little award certificates and customize them for your silly awards.

Do you have a meeting coming up? Are you going to be brainstorming with your team? Or do you sometimes have a hard time getting the group to contribute to the conversations? If that’s the case, you can bring in treats to meetings and toss them out to employees who contribute to the conversation! This is a great way to get everyone involved!

Make sure you let your teams know that it’s ok to bring their personalities to work and enjoy yourselves sometimes. Always make sure it is appropriate and set the standard for fun at the leasing office!

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Five Ways to Motivate your Maintenance Supervisor

Posted on January 23, 2013 by James G. Lenhardt, CPC, CTS

If your maintenance supervisor doesn’t seem as motivated as they used to be, then there may be several underlying factors that contribute to their lack of motivation. Understanding how to motivate your maintenance supervisor also requires that you understand why they may be demotivated.

There are many reasons why employees become disheartened or unmotivated in their jobs but for maintenance, we can pinpoint some specifics that are often the cause. Take a look at your work environment, your supplies, and whether or not your residents and staff show proper appreciation, the answer to why a maintenance supervisor is not motivated often lies within one of those categories. So what are some things that a property manager can do in order to help re-motivate their maintenance supervisors? Here are a few examples:

  1. Sometimes the smallest things mean the most. When was the last time you stopped your Maintenance Supervisor to say “Thank you”? Do they know that you appreciate all that they do for you and your residents? Make sure you acknowledge their hard work. Your Maintenance supervisor and technicians are what keeps your apartment community running smoothly and what keeps your residents happy. Don’t forget to tell them how important they are and how much their work is valued.
  2. One of the most frustrating things in any job is to not have all of the necessary tools to complete the task. Imagine trying to keep up with emails from prospects, residents, and vendors without reliable internet service. That is how frustrating it can be for a maintenance professional who is tasked to do a job without the proper equipment. Talk to you maintenance supervisor about what tools, parts, and equipment they need to get the job done. Try to help make sure you have all of those things available and if they are not, then make sure to talk to your maintenance supervisor about when they will be available.
  3. Are you understaffed? Does your maintenance supervisor feel overwhelmed with requests and not enough staff to properly take care of customers? Make sure to keep communication open about labor needs. Sometimes, it will help re-motivate your maintenance supervisor if they know that you understand their frustrations and are working toward a solution together.
  4. Is there a work place issue that is bothering your maintenance supervisor? Talk to them to find out if there are safety concerns you need to address together and reassure them that they are an important part of your apartment community and you will address any safety concerns with them.
  5. Try to help reduce the stress associated with their position. Do they get bored taking care of the same types of maintenance requests just because that is what they specialize in? Allow some flexibility and new challenges for your maintenance supervisor so that they get to expand their knowledge and have some variety in their position.

Most of these motivational factors can be helped with solid communication between the property manager and the maintenance supervisor. If it is simply not in the budget to fix the staffing or equipment problems, then make sure they know that you empathize and are not simply ignoring their needs. Bring in breakfast or lunch once in a while just to let them know you appreciate their work. And as always, keep the lines of communication open and professional.

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