Focus on Retaining Experienced Associates
Maintaining a skilled and competent staff is principal to occupant fulfillment and completion of everyday tasks. Finding and holding talented staff will stay a test in 2021 for a few reasons. Multifamily is a competitive and quickly developing industry with plenty of opportunities. Right now there’s a high demand for qualified personnel, but qualified candidates are hard to come by in the market; and it doesn’t seem that this trend will stop in 2021. Offering education, training, competitive salary, and prioritizing employee satisfaction will be the best strategies for companies that wish to retain talent. Having a capable, happy, and qualified team will directly translate into happier residents.
Creative Resident Relations
Finding ways to create harmony between safety and resident communication will be a challenge for multifamily groups in 2021, just as it was the year before. Although residents and staffs alike are eager to resume “normal” community activities, we still have to adapt to maintain a safe, socially distanced environment. Despite the fact that we’ve seen a ton of virtual upbeat hours, drive-by festivities, and Zoom classes, the groups influence inventive programming to unite individuals online that will have the most achievement in 2021. So get ready for more virtual cooking classes, workshops, food truck visits, and other safe activities in the next year.
Learn Your Resident’s Needs, and Adapt to Them.
With huge companies such as Target, Google, Microsoft, and Twitter setting the standard of continued, and sometimes permanent, work from home statuses, there’s no way to tell when the trend will “end” or when we’ll all go “back to normal”. Many of us have changed the way we use our living spaces, and apartment residents are no exception. Many apartments are now home, office, gym, and classrooms all in one. Management companies will need to keep up with the changing needs of residents as they come. Whether that includes high speed internet, socially distant community spaces, or expanding wellness focused amenities such as walking trails or gardens, companies will need to adapt to meet these needs and maintain resident retention and satisfaction.
The Industry is Foggy with Uncertain Economy
Even though 2020 brought unprecedented changes with economic uncertainty, income loss, unemployment, and so many more financial struggles for people, multifamily rent delinquency has not been as significant as expected. According to the National Multifamily Housing Council, there was only an increase of 1.15% in late-rent payments in September 2020 when compared to September 2019. Here at UL Coleman Companies, our numbers reflect that study; rent delinquency was surprisingly low even in the thick of the pandemic. 2021 will be almost as unpredictable as 2020 when it comes to delinquency.
Customer Service will be More Important Than Ever.
In 2021, improved client support will turn into the most basic part for creating esteem and expanding occupant fulfillment across multifamily communities. While proficiency and convenient correspondence stay two fundamental techniques for strong client assistance, assumptions are on the ascent as more inhabitants telecommute. Resident’s homes are more important than ever- and property staff are a part of their homes. The modern, home based resident will have higher expectations of staff and communities as they spend exponentially more time there. Moving toward digital communication such as emails, texts, and social media, will be the best way to expand customer communication safely right now. Easier, more frequent communication will benefit the multifamily industry.
This implies quickening reaction times and focusing on support demands since numerous inhabitants are still home based. A couple of years ago an AC issue may have been a small inconvenience. But for the apartment-dweller working from home, especially in climates like Louisiana, it’s a detrimental problem that would make working conditions unbearable. Moving forward through 2021, on-site staff must make it a priority to take care of maintenance calls in a timely manner.
Go Digital.
Thanks to the pandemic, face-to-face interaction will still be sidelined for the foreseeable future. The demand for communication is as high as ever, though. Maintaining contact with residents is still essential, and as mentioned before, digital tools will be key to the mission. Emails, texts, social media, even phone calls or print materials are a mainstay of the modern multifamily community. Online payments, leases, maintenance orders, and tours are a few ways in which digital can, and should be, incorporated into the multifamily management system.
