Building & Facilities Operations

L’Oréal’s “because I’m worth it” is pretty unlikely to impress management, building owners and tenants. Owners and investors are becoming more data-driven, tenants and brokers are raising their expectations. As a result, property managers need to get on their numbers game – quantifying their performance and measuring productivity.

The traditional, old-school sense of property management is all about running around, putting out fires, reacting to problems.  Proactivity and visibility are just as critical – and characteristic of today’s successful property manager. If property managers can illustrate that they are providing great service, they themselves are of more value to the building. If they can differentiate themselves from other property managers and from their peers, then they can also differentiate themselves from outside of the company.

So how do you not only run an efficient building and reduce expenses but also prove that you are doing both successfully?

Three not-so-little words: Operations Performance Management. Get it going with four steps:

1. Ready, Set Priorities & Targets

Set goals and benchmarks to establish and measure true links between activities and results. Look within and outside the industry for KPIs that measure how well you are doing on achieving your organizational objectives. Learn the steps to establishing KPIs and the basic property measurement metrics that you should be tracking.

If you’re not benchmarking, you’re not improving. Watch this bonus clip from our recent webinar “Managing Property Performance” for tips on approaching benchmarking.

2. New Game: Capture The Data

Use a centralized system to track data from all daily property management activities, including service responsiveness, tenant satisfaction, asset maintenance, risk management and employee productivity. Measure this data against your set goals (see #1). Web-based systems are preferred as they allow you to access information and tasks on-the-go, integrate with other systems easily, and share information quickly through an online, centralized database.

Whatever system you choose, it must be able to produce appropriate reports and analytics that not only show performance but also measure performance against your targets.

3. “What Gets Measured, Get’s Managed.”

Raw operations data doesn’t mean much in vast quantities on its own. Use rich reporting and Key Performance Indicators to inform decision making. The top of the food chain cares about the numbers.  This means that “Proof of Value” should ultimately be quantifiable in all cases.

4. Act – Proof Is in the Performance Numbers

Use the insight into operational activities and performance results gained from steps 1-3 to inform your decision making and attack that NOI. Use Operations Performance Management to influence performance daily, make adept decisions quickly and respond to events in the market. KPIs should be used not only to reflect performance at the operational level but also to connect the dots and form a big picture at the organizational level.

Finally, with numbers and initiatives in hand, if you’ve got it, flaunt it! Establish a formal review process or meeting with your manager/owner/client to demonstrate the targets and expectations you’ve met and/or exceeded.

Read more in our article Proving Your Value- to Your Manager, Owner, Clients… and Yourself!

The Top 5 Resources to Improve Operations Performance

1. Video (1:43)

Approaching Benchmarking

Aurel Brudan, CEO of smartKPIs.com, discusses how to bridge the gap to improve operations by setting process standards and performance metrics.

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2. Microsite

Operational Insight to Outperform the Competition

View the complete Managing Property Performance webinar presentation, bonus videos, a case study “Monitoring Tenant Service with Data,” resource links, and more on performance management for CRE!

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3. Video (2:01)

Root Cause Analysis: The Five Why

You’ve collected some data and you’re asking (or should be), “What does this information tell me and how do we draw initiatives from it?” Watch smartKPIs.com’s Aurel Brudan show you how to gain insight into your operations and business processes from the numbers.

4. Blog Post

A Property Managers Guide to Setting the Right KPIs

So, you’re dedicated to tracking and quantifying your team’s performance. Congrats! You’ve made it to level 2! Next challenge: deciding what that means, aka what you need to measure. Here are the four places you need to look (and the people you need to involve) for data before setting your KPIs.

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5. On-Demand Webinar (32:50):

Managing Property Performance

In this complimentary webinar, Aurel Brudan, CEO of smartKPIs.com, shares how Operations Performance Management will clarify your business objectives, focus your employees on the activities that matter, and have tenants singing your praises!

What’s the next frontier for innovations in property management visibility and service delivery? Take a look at Building Engines Operations Performance Management.

Guest Speaker: Aurel Brudan, CEO of smartKPIs.com

Market: Commercial Real Estate

Role: Owner, Executive, Property Manager

Managing Property Performance

Using Operational Insight to Outperform the Competition

85% of organizational problems can be attributed to processes and management, while workers are responsible for only 15%.

In this complimentary webinar, learn how Operations Performance Management will clarify your business objectives, focus your employees on the activities that matter, and have tenants singing your praises. Watch now!

Operations Performance Management is a strategy that provides real estate organizations with real time visibility into performance in service responsiveness, asset maintenance, risk management and employee productivity as measured against set goals. Ultimately, empowering them to prove service delivery and make performance adjustments when they will have the most impact.

Learn:

• How an industry peer improved tenant service delivery by more than 73% and captured the data to prove it.
• How to implement an Operations Performance Management program.
• About the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that will improve the bottom line, customer satisfaction, employee engagement and quality of processes.
• How to trade in static reports for real time metrics dashboards and actionable alerts.
• and more!

Performance is not just about establishing a desired state and about measuring performance but also about making informed decisions and taking action to achieve objectives. – Aurel Brudan

New Yorker Cartoon

So, you’re dedicated to tracking and quantifying your team’s performance. Congratulations, you’ve made it to level 2! Next challenge: deciding what that means, aka what you need to measure. This is a bit more complicated as the KPIs need to be reflective of your company, insightful and also realistic.

Who’s to say what the magic number is? Certainly not just one person. Here are the four places you need to look (and people you need to involve) for data before setting your KPIs.

Get the Property Manager’s Number.

Not scribbled on a bar napkin. What does the property manager believe your targets should be? I want a snapshot of that number in your mind.  As an example, let’s say we’re talking about arrival time.  How fast does the property manager think an engineer should be arriving at the tenant space after they report a problem?  That’s the first data point.

Look from a leasing perspective.

The next data point to get is the leasing perspective. When the leasing manager is leasing the space, is (s)he communicating anything to the tenants about the set expectations?  Is the tenant asking for anything specifically?  Is there any particular language in their lease or any promises we’ve made to them?  If that’s the case, you have your answer right there for that particular tenant, because you’re possibly contractually obligated to provide that.

Talk to the engineer.

This is where you get the reality check.  What’s reasonable?  Imagine you’re going to do this job, an engineer’s typical day, working aggressively with all the other distractions that are going on. What’s reasonable to complete this?

Check what the industry is doing.

The cherry on top of your KPI setting sundae: what’s the rest of the industry doing?  What are you seeing as standard for your type of properties?  Working with customers at Building Engines, we look at our other clients who have fit that similar profile. We use that in-house knowledge of what we’re seeing as a standard for that market or style of property, and then we can layer that in as a data point as well.

When working with a customer, I find that getting these four data points before making a decision is essential to helping them arrive where they want to be. In the end, determining the optimal KPIs for your company is much like an onion – full of layers and making sure they don’t stink.

Learn more about Operations Performance Management, including the top KPIs for property management, in our upcoming webinar: Managing Property Performance- Using Operational Insight to Outperform the Competition.

What do CEOs, hedge fund managers, coaches, college students, parents and presidents all have in common? They all have a statistical tendency to overestimate their performance. They make up the residents of the fictional town Lake Wobegon, where everyone claims to be above average.

Property managers, before you find your name added to that list, consider this a lesson already learned from other industries. The tendency to believe that one’s performance is better than it actually is, is not only a professional handicap but also an organizational one. Whether it’s the Lake Wobegon Effect or insufficient data, this general misconception of inflated performance is often at the root of poor customer service, overconfidence, mismanaged risk, and inefficient processes.

When I went out to visit a client a couple weeks ago, I asked him, ‘How quickly do you think you’re completing your priority one issues in the building?’ He answered, ‘We complete them all within eight hours.’

When I asked him, ‘How do you know that?’ he replied, ’because my chief engineer tells me that it’s true.’

And I said, “Well, in fact, you’re completing them in 125 hours on average.” And jaw dropped.

-Kyle Makaith, Vice President Client Service & Support

Illusory superiority may be a confidence builder, but it has little place outside the Psych classroom, let alone in your real estate organization. Before you strut, make sure you have a firm ground to stand on! The one simple way to prevent the Lake Wobegon Effect is to answer: “How do you know?”

Put yourself to the test:

Can you answer these questions? With hard numbers?

What is your level of tenant satisfaction in the building? Today? ____________

What are your arrival times or response times for priority 1 issues? ____________

How quickly are you completing work orders in your building? ____________

How do you evaluate the performance of your engineering staff, and how do you compare them against each other? ____________

Which of your engineers are performing at a higher level than others? ____________

Which tenants are being under-serviced or over-serviced or properly serviced? ____________

Which tenants are you servicing less frequently or less adequately than other tenants? ____________

How do you know that the tenants in your building are getting the level of service that they require? ____________

Which buildings are performing better than others? If you are somebody who oversees an entire region, are there problematic buildings within that region? ____________

How do you maximize the efficiency of your workforce? ____________

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Effective managers routinely question and analyze their own and their team’s performance, as well as their processes and workflows. Don’t be afraid to ask “How am I really doing?”, “How do I know?” and “Can I show it?” – and seek better solutions. Only then can the woebegone effects of Lake Wobegon truly be gone.

Learn more about Operations Performance Management in an on-demand webinar, Managing Property Performance- Using Operational Insight to Outperform the Competition.

According to a recent BUILDINGS article, the vast majority of American companies (90%) plan to invest more in productivity-enabling technologies by 2015.

Leading-edge technologies are a common strategy for companies to reduce expenses, increase productivity, and even attract talent. But what do they mean for the average worker?

Here’s 3 ways technology has changed the work environment in property management:

Accountability

If a senior executive asked you out of the blue who was responsible for fixing the leak in the roof four years ago, how long do you think it would take to provide an answer? Now let’s assume you are new to the organization, and you know there has been some turnover with engineers in the last year. Unless the previous PM kept great documentation and filed everything in a logical place, such a request would probably take more time than you really have.

Companies have a growing focus on accountability, documentation, and tracking in their processes – enabled by the incorporation of new technologies into the workforce. Tools such as mobile apps allow you to quickly find out not only who did the work but also the time frame, costs and details surrounding it – in real-time.

Transparency

It wasn’t long ago when a property manager would need to spend hours collecting and analyzing their operations data. Frequently, this was a monthly exercise that could consume many hours, depending on the size of the portfolio. New technologies are giving property managers, as well as senior executives, immediate access to real-time data of their day-to-day operations. Not only do they have immediate access to the data, they also have the ability to easily sift through it. Which brings me to my third point:

Sorting through the Clutter

If you were fortunate enough to take over a property with an extremely organized person prior to joining your management team, congratulations, you are one of the fortunate ones. Most new employees walk into someone else’s mess and are expected to have it sorted out in a relatively short amount of time. In the past, this may have taken days, if it was even possible to round up all the data, which often looks like this:

Fortunately, these new tools are giving employees almost instant knowledge of property trends, problem locations, and insight into performance breakdowns.

With the constant influx of new technology and strategies surrounding it, climate change is indisputable – corporate climate at least.

It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.

-Epictetus

It’s rarely easy to initiate a new order of things. As someone who often deploys BEI to new customers with no prior system or technology in place, I am familiar with the challenge of showing users the value of a new process. The software and methods associated with using it can help them in their day to day operations, but first they need to understand how and not view it as a Big Brother system. A new software or technology isn’t just a new license or tool – it’s a change in how your team does something, if you want it to be effective.

How do you take your staff (who potentially never had to even use a computer in their job before) from viewing the technology as an added responsibility to regularly employing it as a helpful tool?

A few things have to happen first:

1. Prove the system is easy to use.

I’ve come across many new BEI users who use computers very little, even in their personal lives. The thought of having to type a request into a machine can be overwhelming to them. Through trainings I am able to show them not only how simple it is to enter a work order but also the benefits of using the web-based system. Such a feature that is initially found overwhelming by some, is often highly touted once they are comfortable using it.

Show them how easy it is to use, and how easy it will be to do their job. For us, that often means explaining how users can now track the progress of their work orders in real time, right from a work station – without tracking down the maintenance man who was doing the work for a status update.

2. Demonstrate the superiority of the new process.

This is a little harder. Staff members may have worked at a facility for 30 years and are used to the processes in place – aka resistant to change. Maybe a process was considered effective in the past – but how does it now allow for things to fall between the cracks, eat up precious time, or keep an employee from realizing their full potential?

Give relatable examples where a paper-based or previous system has hold-ups and set-backs that the new process circumvents. For Building Engines users, I make it clear how the new process allows for visibility on both sides of the application (Maintenance and Work Requestors), immediate notification and faster response to requests, clear guidelines for staff, etc. Usage always improves once all parties can see the mutual benefit.

3. Debunk the Big Brother fear.

When a new system like BEI is deployed to a facility that never used a system before, the consensus among the day-to-day users is sometimes, “Well this is just a way that they can track every move we make and justify firing us if we don’t put everything we do into the computer.” The challenge here is convincing users this tool is monitoring activity to help, not hurt them.

It’s not uncommon for staff members to complain they are overworked and this new system is just going to be another burden in their already busy schedule. In my experience, explaining that the tool can analyze work hours and justify if the facility needs to hire more staff members is a huge selling point in the adoption process. I find that showing an engineer they can run a report that shows they have logged 60 hours in a 40 hour work week can be a very convincing way to get them to start using the system.

Show members involved the usage perks, reports and end results – where they can be if they use what’s there. Greater visibility creates the ability for a user to prove to their boss that they are extremely valuable to the team – and could possibly use an extra set of hands!

In the end, investing in technology is worthless if it’s not effectively adopted. With training and a lot of hand holding in the beginning, users can successfully adopt a new system and integrate it into their daily routines.

With Mashable announcing Pinterest as the #3 social media website on Monday, many businesses have  come to see the network in a new light – one that shines on 104 million visitors. The visually fueled platform acts like a cross between an interactive Facebook album and a fantasy Flickr- it’s a collection of photos people show they like by “pinning” to one of their virtual “boards,” which are organized by themes.

Property Managers can get on board by starting some of their own boards – and promoting their business by adding appealing pictures and videos of their products, properties and services. Here are the hows and whys of Pinterest for property managers.

Why Make a Profile?

1. According to Shareaholic, Pinterest isn’t just for learning DIY tricks, collecting cat pictures, and ogling food porn. It’s a growing source of referral traffic to other sites- more so than Google Plus, LinkedIn and YouTube combined as of January.
2. An interesting “pin” you add will gain likes and repins, further exposing your brand- all while maintaining the original link back to you.
3. The demographics are changing. While the majority of users are women between the ages of 20-50, Pinterest is rapidly expanding to involve more men and is fast attracting the corporate world. See an infographic of the current demographics by Modea.
4. Many companies have found a place for CRE and Property Management on Pinterest, ganering interest and traffic to web properties.
5. Pinterest is a natural venue for photography of buildings and properties – if it’s good photography. The co-founder of Pinterest is a former architect and one of the most followed Pinterest users. Pin beautiful/interesting/cool pictures of the architecture or interiors of properties you manage. Or create pinboards related to the clients you serve or tips, ideas and places they’d find interesting.

How Do I Make it Pinteresting?

1. Share images (and videos now!) that are aesthetic, inspirational, note-worthy, helpful or fun.
2. Pin generously. People are more likely to follow a few full pinboards than many empty or sparse ones.
3. Easily connect your account to Facebook and Twitter to maximize sharing.
4. For original pins, always be sure to include a link back to your website or blog, creating backlinks.
5. Pin pictures that link to helpful tips related to property management and living or office spaces.
6. Use the description under the pin to further promote (tastefully) your company and build SEO with keywords.
7. Build community – comment on pins and tag other users Twitter style by prefacing their name with the @ symbol.
8. Install the “Pin It” button in Chrome to easily grab an image from a website to add to one of your pinboards. It automatically includes the source link to credit the owner – good news if you’re the owner!
9. Get creative with what you pin. Does your company have a good mantra? Want to share an interesting quote? Use Pin a Quote to convert highlighted text into an attractive quote to pin.

Pinterest is a largely untapped marketing and lead generation tool for property managers. Above all, it’s an exercise in branding. Last word of advice – be careful: it’s addictive!

How Does It Work?

An example of a user: CPE CityPages

An example of a pinboard by CPE CityPages: Sustainable Developments

An example of a pin:

Show us the love and we’ll show you how to assess and improve your level of tenant service. We’re sending our Twitter followers the Building Engines Tenant Retention Kit, including:

1. Checklist: General Items to Include in Your Tenant Retention Plan

2. Article: Happy Tenant, Healthy Building

3. Video: Tenant Retention Begins with Service

Follow Us for your Free Kit!

What we’re finding in a marketplace as we’re experiencing these days, people just pass on the properties that don’t have everything neat and tidy in a single location.

Tim Donahoe, Senior Real Estate Investor, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

Multiple locations is a luxury – when it comes to houses. When it comes to property and tenant management, it’s inefficient and unattractive to owners, insurers and tenants. Here are three reasons to manage building operations information in a single source:

Bringing all the Investors to the Yard

For anyone looking to finance a property or bring in investors with someone that’s conducting due diligence on the property, having everything stored in a single location is critical. Time is of the essence for everyone – lenders included. They want easy, centralized access to information whether it be a tenant log, life safety issues, or zoning and regulation notes.

Lenders and equity investors need information on how a property is maintained. They want to see that it is not only operating as it’s needed on a daily basis but also that it is proactively managed with tabs on the long-term capital needs.

Now That’s What I Call Service

Ultimately, you want to ensure that your properties are full to the maximum and the way to  ensure that is through tenant satisfaction. If there is a question about a particular tenant, you want to be able to easily see the full history of that tenant, any complaints or queries, who addressed them, when, and in what fashion… all in once place. When someone asks you, “How are the tenants?” you shouldn’t be reaching for a dust-covered ledger.

There’s been a dramatic change in the quality of addressing tenant requests and demands. Tenants are going properties that are being professionally managed and have access to tools that enable immediate and organized feedback. Easy access to operational information gives you the ability to get into a property’s details and take action earlier – before the quarterly review reporting.

Not So Risky Business

The old days of paper files are gone. Donate those stacks to an origami class. Properly managing operational risk today requires a system containing everything attendant to a property in a single location. That means one place to look for evidences, compliance with life safety issues, codes, health inspections, planning and zoning, and all relevant documentation for running a property. You need ready access to certificates of insurance not only for the building itself but also for all the tenants and service providers.

In this all too litigious world, easy access to information that supports claims and courts is no small fry. Typically, a better managed property reaps the benefits of a better insurance rate. This single source for operational risk that is critical to insurance companies, is then critical to lenders, owners and investors.

In sum, since the market’s dramatic decline since 2007, everyone in the investment community is asking for greater transparency and greater information. So when it comes to your property’s information and operational data, keep it neat it and tidy.