Tag Archives: Property Management

How To Avoid Employee Turnover in the Apartment Industry in 5 Easy Steps

Employee retention is without a doubt one of the most intense challenges facing most hiring managers in apartment communities across the board. There is nothing more frustrating than taking the time to find that perfect candidate, train them, then lose them and have to start from scratch.

While it is impossible to wipe completely out this part of doing business, aside from creating leasing consultant robots, there are ways to take preventative measures to ensure your employee turnover is as low as possible.

1. Keep Your Employees Busy

Many managers are satisfied when employees complete their tasks efficiently and on time and do not ask more of their staff when things are running smoothly. While this may seem like a benefit to the employees, this can actually backfire.

People need to feel productive in their work. If the job itself does not occupy all their time on the clock, the downtime can leave employees feeling useless and not challenged.

Make it a point to have side projects going on and involve your staff so they always have something to contribute to. You can reward activities such as working in a resident garden, writing articles for a resident newsletter, and logging time in the property gym. All of these on-the-clock activities can contribute to your staff’s mental and physical well-being. A happy employee does not usually leave their job!

2. Prepare Your Employees for the Rhythms of the Year

Any seasoned apartment industry professional knows that there are certain times of the year that are busier than others. When bringing on a new team member, it is important to prepare them for that upfront.

People can get through most anything if they have a deadline to look forward to. Deadlines will prevent new-hires from getting overwhelmed and feeling like they are not doing a good job, which is a major motivator to quit.

This also applies to your current employees. Make sure they are taken care of during the busiest of times by checking in with them often and offering praise. Let them know that you know this is a stressful time and that they are doing a great job.

On the flip-side, make sure there are things to occupy their time during the slow season, such as the things mentioned above. Don’t let boredom cause your employees sights to start straying to new opportunities.

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Fire Employees That Are a Bad Fit

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Many managers put off firing employees that they know are not a good fit for the company. There are many reasons for this, including trying to control turnover.

This can be very harmful to your property’s culture and make good employees decide they don’t want to put up with an incompetent co-worker. By not letting one bad apple go, you risk losing the whole tree. Make sure the environment your staff works in is free of stress from bad hires.

4. Offer Flexibility

Flexibility is high priority with Millennials, which comprise the largest sector of today’s workforce. In some cases, employees would sacrifice a pay raise to have the opportunity to work remotely for a couple days of the week. Think about what jobs can be done from home within your apartment community. Maybe you can offer longer shifts if the employee would like only to work four days a week. You can find many ways to get creative with scheduling and save yourself time and money when it comes to employee happiness and reducing employee turnover.

5. Get Hiring Help

apartment job

In rare circumstances, an apartment community has a dedicated HR manager who’s only job is to hire and maintain an apartment community’s staff.

In most cases, however, the hiring manager is wearing multiple hats and can find it overwhelming to do their core job and while sifting through hundreds of job applicants. By the time they get to interviews, they are desperate to fill the open position and can look over red flags they might not have if they had more time to focus on hiring that perfect employee.

In these cases, it is hugely beneficial to work with a staffing company that specializes in the apartment industry. It’s their business to place their candidates in a position that they are going to thrive. They want your return business after all!

If the new hire does not work out, the staffing company will work to replace them and make it right. The investment can be well worth it to not only find your perfect new team member but have the insurance that you won’t be starting from scratch if they don’t work out.

Reducing employee turnover does not have to be rocket science, it’s an achievable goal that will result in both your’s and your staff’s happiness in the workplace.

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What Do Millennials Look For In Their Leasing Consultant Job?

It is no secret that millennials, adults between the ages of 18 and 33, are now the top generation in the workforce. It is also common knowledge that their desires are different from previous generations, which can be frustrating for companies looking for top talent.

Cities, like Austin, Texas, are becoming hot-spots for millennials, which leaves one to ask: What are millennials looking for in a leasing consultant job in places like Austin, Texas and elsewhere?

Research companies, such as The Intelligence Group, have dedicated themselves to answering that question.

According to The Intelligence Group, a full 86 million millennials will be in the workplace by 2020—representing a full 40% of the total working population.

That is a staggering statistic. The group also discovered the following:

64% of them say it’s a priority for them to make the world a better place:

Millennials are invested in the “bigger picture”. No longer is a successful career enough to make an employee of their generation feel fulfilled. This is a fantastic opportunity for a management company to shine when hiring for a leasing consultant job.

A job description could include the company’s commitment to finding new and improved ways of providing eco-friendly housing and services that support and enhance lifestyles while embracing “going green.” Additional benefit could be gained by explaining the organization’s goal to find the creative talent needed to make the world a better place.

88% prefer a collaborative work-culture rather than a competitive one:

Leasing Consultant Job

Image Credit: Ikon Images/Corbis

In generations past, the corporate ladder and competitive culture is what motivated employees to work harder. That is no longer true with the new working generation. Millennials want to break down the corporate caste system and feel like every job matters.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average young adult has held an average of 6.2 jobs by age 26. Why not enable them to shift careers within your company? Give all employees access to the training and learning they need to move both vertically and horizontally.

In interviews for leasing positions, be transparent about how personal goals are aligned to the goals of the organization so that even a new leasing consultant understands how their daily labors are aligned to what the company is doing as a whole.

88% want “work-life integration”:

Millennials are not often willing to “take work home” with them, but they want work to reflect the culture and environment of the rest of their lives. A company can achieve this by sponsoring activities for employees to participate in such as movie nights, birthday parties, and guest speakers. Another fantastic way to encourage this culture is to offer paid volunteer time for employees to get involved in their cities while representing their company. All of these things can be used in job postings and interviews to attract potential employees of the millennial generation.

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4 Ways to Make to Most of Online Recruiting

4 Ways to Make The Most of Online Recruiting

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The days of recruiting in newspapers and print ads have largely passed—today, if you aren’t recruiting online you aren’t getting the best candidates. Recruiting online successfully takes a careful strategy: you have to know where to post and what to post in order to attract talent.

1. Use Your Website

Most employers have job listings on their websites, but usually they are buried and difficult to navigate. Your website is one of the first places a job seeker will look, so maintaining up-to-date job openings and an easy way to apply is crucial.

What’s more, if a job seeker is coming to your website to apply for a position then it means that they are interested in working with you specifically—if  not, they wouldn’t have taken the time to seek you out—and having specific apartment job openings on your website is the best way to connect with candidates who are going out of their way to find you.

 2. Check Candidates out Online

Most candidates are online in one form or another, and checking out their profiles can give you some insight if you are wondering whether to call someone for an interview or make them a hiring offer. LinkedIn is probably the best place to start checking out a candidate’s credential’s– this is where they should list all of their work experience in one place.

 3. Use Social Media

The use of social media as a recruiting tool is growing, and if there are any social profiles associated with your apartment properties you should post openings there (and if you don’t have any social profiles perhaps it’s time to join!) The people who follow you online are a great recruiting resource because they are already interested in you and can be a way to spread the word about an available apartment job.

 4. Get Creative

Good recruiters know that it’s not just candidates who compete in the job search process—employers should also seek to stand out in order to attract the best talent. One way to do this is to get creative with the way you promote your open jobs: try making videos, sharing a testimonial of someone who has a similar job, etc. Don’t just list an open job—make the best candidates want to work for you.

Candidates today are looking online for jobs, which means that in order to attract applicants, recruiters have to post online; and what’s more you should make promoting jobs online stand out in order to attract the best of the best candidates.

 

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What is Grace Hill and how can it benefit you?

Grace Hill was founded by three members from the Apartment Management Industry. All of the founding members have extensive training and experience in the apartment industry from leasing, to managing, to training and marketing. Over the last 15 years, Grace Hill has grown tremendously as an educational and training tool for multifamily professionals.

So what exactly does Grace Hill provide? Grace Hill provides the latest in multifamily training by providing training document, webinars, and the best state-of-the-art online educations. Grace Hill provides webinars and online learning with industry specific materials ranging from workbooks to pre- and post-texting. All of their courses are centered around the specifics of each job title in the multifamily industry and stem from the vast experience brought to Grace Hill by their highly qualified teams.

In addition to their courses and training, Grace Hill provides built in tracking of student’s coursework and completions certificates. They also provide you with custom training schedule that fits your company’s and employee’s training needs. They offer a variety of courses ranging from Introductory Leasing courses to Social Media Management. Most importantly, they offer the latest of Fair Housing and training that fits your specific needs.

If you have hired new employees or just need to need to keep your current employees up to date with the latest training in the multifamily industry, you should be using Grace Hill. The incorporate a multitude of learning options to make learning fun as well as to make sure your teams are up-to-date with all of the current topics that are important to our industry!

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MY STORY: Lyric Daniel

Lyric used to work as an Account Executive before coming to the apartment industry. She was looking for an apartment and the property manager took her on the tour. Lyric and the manager talked and she was offered a position as a leasing consultant. When Lyric later needed work, she came to Hire Priority in the Houston office and met with Jency.

Lyric currently works as a temp with Hire Priority. She describes how helpful Jency is with finding her work and working with her schedule. Lyric says the Hire Priority staff is very understanding and helpful. She is very appreciative of the help that Jency has been and knows that she can rely on Jency to find places that are suitable to Lyric’s needs and own passions.

Lyric is now looking for a permanent placement position and is confident that the Houston Hire Priority staff with consider her needs and the types of work environment where she can succeed. Lyric and Jency are working together to find her a permanent placement position as an Assistant Manager where Lyric can put her seven years of experience in the apartment industry to work.

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