Building & Facilities Operations

The possibility of a new trend has surfaced in the housing market: the management of college dorms by private companies. Until recently, the job of on-campus housing maintenance fell directly on the university. This could all change.

According to the Wall Street Journal, The University of Kentucky has been discussing the possibility of turning over all on-campus management and maintenance responsibilities to realty group, EDR. Currently, the university wants to increase the size within the next ten years, and would turn all responsibility of this task to EDR. Their responsibilities would include replacing most of the 6,000 beds now a part of Kentucky’s housing program, as well as adding another 3,000 beds over the next ten years. This marks the first time a university would completely turn over housing management and expansion to the private sector.

In order to update the number of beds on campus, EDR would be required to construct new buildings. Normally this would involve erecting new buildings on campus, but EDR has different plans. They intend to tear down existing buildings and replace them with upgraded, larger dormitories. In doing so, the total number of beds on campus would actually  increase each year.

This plays an important role in this new market. Losing beds poses a threat to universities as many schools struggle to house everyone already enrolled. Upgrades would be necessary, and there so would spending money. EDR has already stated that they may spend as much as $500 million on the total renovation project.

Managing all on-campus housing comes with its downsides as well. Universities are in session nine months out of the year. Having students living on campus poses issues to a company attempting to renovate a large number of buildings. This means that management companies would need to find a place to house students while they renovate certain dorms. Considering their plans to start construction on a 600-bed facility sometime in April of this year, EDR seems to have found a way around this dilemma, assuming they win Kentucky’s housing contract.

It’s four days into the new year. Maybe you’ve already made  your resolutions, maybe you’ve already broken them, maybe the only resolution you care about is measured in pixels. Regardless, here’s one for business-sakes it would pay to heed: Improving responsiveness to tenant requests.

Here’s why:

Tenant Service is Elastic.

Service response time plays a key role in determining the involvement tenants have with a building manager. Longer waits and slower responses lead to an overall negative experience and vice versa. Being the most controllable aspect of any building, the speed of service with which a building manager can successfully complete required tasks, could make or break a tenant relationship.

This stems directly from two things. First, the rate at which an owner must charge a tenant more or less cannot be changed. Second, the location of the building will not change no matter how much you may want it to. This leaves one major, elastic characteristic tenants consider when looking for space to rent: the service provided.

Why do Tenants Choose to Stay?

Here’s How:

Be Effective, B-E- Effective (Automate)

Service must be provided efficiently and effectively. One of the major issues today with responsiveness falls back to the owner. Whether the tenant cannot get in touch with the building manager, or the building manager has not made available an effective means of solving issues, the tenant rarely is the one at fault. See if your company is putting its best face forward with effective customer service.

Allowing tenants the ability to submit work orders easily only quickens the response time. Automation, therefore, becomes crucial. Implementing a system where tenants have the ability to electronically submit service requests allows them to save time, which subsequently leads to a better experience.

Don’t Just Have a System, Use It!

Many things can be fixed quickly, and consequently should. Requiring someone to call the maintenance office every time a light bulb goes out never proves to be an efficient way of handling a situation. Automation is great, but it does not work if no one knows about it. Tenants need to be informed about the utilities they have access to in order to make the most of them. Simply having an online system is not enough if no one uses it. In order to effectively and efficiently vanquish service requests, the tools available to tenants must be used.

Find Out How Your Service Stacks Up

Know where your service level stands compared to that of your peers and industry top performers. What are other property owners and managers offering that you could adopt? What response times and service performance are standard? Take Building Engines Service Responsiveness Benchmark Survey for a compilation report identifying Best Practices you may want to consider.

Want more? Read about How to Rock Occupancy with Technology!

There are always property managers who are more concerned with attracting tenants than retaining them. The only good thing that comes out of that is some fodder for real estate jokes. We found this one from Kensington Realty Advisors devilishly funny:

HEAVEN AND HELL

A property manager dies and soon finds himself standing in front of St. Peter. St. Peter tells him “You have a choice of going to heaven or to hell and I suggest you check them both out before deciding.” So he chooses to check out hell first.

He goes down to hell and finds himself in the middle of the biggest party he has ever seen. People are dancing and drinking and doing the limbo (and nobody’s doing the Macarena!). Everyone is laughing and having a great time.

Next St. Peter takes him up to heaven to look around. Everything is white and pristine. People are speaking softly about philosophy and mathematical formulas. Others are simply contemplative and serene. He’s bored in about five minutes.

St. Peter then says to the property manager, “I want you to sleep on it and meet me back here in the morning to let me know your decision.” The next morning he comes back and says to St. Peter, “Heaven is very nice and all, but hell looks great, so I’ve decided that I want to go to hell”. So St. Peter puts him on the escalator down to hell.

When he gets there he sees Satan whipping people and there’s fire everywhere and everyone is screaming in pain. So he goes over to Satan and says “Hey, what gives here? Yesterday I came here to check the place out and everyone had me partying and it looked like a great time. What happened?”

Satan looks at him and says “You used to be a property manager so you ought to know the answer to your own question. Yesterday you were a prospect. Today you’re just another resident!”

Read more of Kensington Realty Advisors’ Real Estate Humor.

You have the right idea, but you’re missing a key component to achieving your desired business outcome. The key stone to top-notch property and tenant management is not the system. It’s the service.

Buy a Vendor, Not a System

I talk to operations people on a daily basis. I continue to hear from people that they want to buy a work order system or a preventative maintenance system. They have a problem getting “system” out of their system.

When our customers first start working with us, they too are often motivated to address a specific, tactical requirement, typically work order management. Often this is a reaction to an external prompt such as a tenant problem or a competitive challenge. But, they quickly realize how an integrated platform and support services help them address almost all areas of daily property operations.

Buying a “system” only guarantees incremental improvement over where you are today. Evaluating and buying a vendor relationship assures that you will achieve your goals.

Years of experience working with successful owners and managers has solidified my perspective that the following best practices for selecting and working with a partner deliver the results that make a difference.

Best Practices for a Successful Client-Vendor Relationship

Identify a vendor who:

Makes a habit of learning about your business

Focuses on what drives you and your company

Knows your strategic goals, and takes an active role in helping you achieve those goals

Is open and available for assistance in helping you achieve your goals

If you find a vendor who can align with you on all these points, the “system” will deliver results far and above your expectations. Your investment will be justified based on your strategic objectives, not a need to satisfy a tactical gap in your operations. So go on a vendor bender. Without this key stone, your building may crumble.