How recruitment and retention impact your multifamily brand
Here at Après, we talk often about the importance of multifamily branding and marketing from a resident attraction standpoint, but have you considered how your team impacts your multifamily brand? As industries nationwide face staffing shortages, multifamily property managers need to stand out from the crowd in order to find and keep the best people.
A recent Multihousing News poll shows that a strong majority of multifamily brands have struggled to find qualified people in the past year:
If your property has struggled to recruit and retain great talent, you likely know first-hand the impact it has on your day-to-day operations.
Multifamily teams and the resident experience
Think about the following scenarios:
- A potential resident calls your front office and the phone rings without an answer
- A new renter finds your website and likes what she sees, but the virtual tour feature is not working and she can’t reach anyone to book a live tour
- A new resident has signed a lease, but lack of communication tarnishes his move-in experience
- An existing resident calls for maintenance on a broken air conditioner in July, and they have to wait a month for a repair or replacement
Your people play an important role in every aspect of your residents’ experience with your brand.
From pre-lease through resident life, a well-trained and responsive team can help residents feel valued and respected. A happy resident can result in renewed leases and many referrals to friends.
On the flip side, inadequate staffing or poorly trained people can turn off your residents. An unhappy resident will almost certainly result in a lost resident at the end of the lease term. At worst, that person could tank your brand by posting negative reviews and telling friends to stay away.
Using multifamily brand and culture to attract great people
Almost every company has experienced bad apples within their team, but you can create an environment that helps attract better candidates. In addition, investing in the development and training of your people once hired will help ensure more consistent resident care.
Here are a few steps to help you:
1. Develop a strong brand message.
When a job candidate views your website or job listings, what message do you want them to receive?
Your brand message should clearly demonstrate professionalism, but also consider the unique culture qualities that will help attract great people. Do you have a fun working environment? Do you support individuals in their volunteer work? Do you offer flexible or remote work schedules? What about perks like bringing pets to work or paying for spa days?
Today’s workers want to align with brands that fit their personal values and priorities. As you create your branding strategy, make sure to consider how it lands with potential employees as well as potential residents.
2. Aim for consistency.
When you have a clear brand position, you can better train your people to represent it. Each new team member should receive clear and complete training on what your brand stands for and how that translates to resident experience.
Lay out clearly how each person’s role fits into the higher mission of resident service and your brand promise.
That consistency can show up everywhere from employee wardrobe guidelines through email communication standards.
3. Consider staff experience alongside resident experience.
Your employees and your residents are human beings with human needs. Each time you create a program or process, consider how it impacts people on a personal level.
For your team, creating a supportive environment that sets them up for success will lead to happier employees. Happier team members will work harder to ensure that you have happy residents as well. If things aren’t working well, draw your people into brainstorming solutions. Help them feel like a valued part of the team where their contributions matter.
Finally, don’t forget the FUN! It’s been a hard couple of years for everyone. Nobody wants to show up at work dreading backlash or drudgery.
Multihousing News offers some examples:
“While some of these strategies do take time to implement, smaller things can also contribute to a company’s culture. These can include gestures such as getting better coffee for the office, creating a weekly newsletter for each team, hosting wellness events and game days. For example, Diaz mentions Time Equities’ plant-based lunches, mental health seminars and yoga classes. Over at Birchstone, employees have access to quarterly events like spa days, baseball games and even indoor go-karting.”
Allow your people to let down their hair and be themselves a bit.
When others hear about your company culture that strikes a balance between professionalism and human-centered culture, the word will get out. People want to work for a company that allows them to shine and succeed while expressing their own personalities and strengths.
Multifamily branding helps both your residents and team understand what your company stands for. It supports marketing as well as staff recruitment and retention. If you think it’s time for a rebrand, reach out. We specialize in helping multifamily properties shine through strategic branding and marketing.
