Whether you’re starting a property management company or already have one, building a cohesive property management team is one of the most important things you need to do. A team can make or break a property management company. This means that you should aim to have a strong team to help you run and direct your residential property management business.
A lot of any team’s efforts are a reflection of the team leader, which in this case – is you. Building the team and maintaining its synergy boils down to you and to your leadership style. No pressure though. Just start by learning how to build a property management team using the following tips!
1. Hire the right property management team members
Every team needs focus-skilled members. When hiring property management team members, focus on choosing driven and motivated professionals. You want nothing short of the best on your property management team. Generally, for a property management business, you would need:
- A property manager and an assistant property manager – who are generally responsible for managing rental properties, which includes setting rent, finding and screening tenants, collecting rent, and managing budgets (in cooperation with accounting and finance).
- A leasing agent – whose job is to present properties to prospective tenants, and to act like a landlord or rental property owner in handling leases. The leasing agent plays an important role in the communication with tenants.
- An accountant, finance officer – who takes care of accounting, taxes, and finances, of separate rental properties and the business as a whole, and is responsible for all relevant records.
- Maintenance officer – who’d be responsible for any maintenance issues that may arise in the real estate investment property. Sometimes a property manager takes on the maintenance task, depending on the size of the team.
- And a marketing officer – a property management marketing officer is responsible for all promotion, advertising, and marketing for the property management company and rental properties.
If the above seems like a lot, you can start with a smaller property management team, and grow it as you scale your work. At first, team members can have a more generalized job description, and as your business grows, you can hire more members and specialize tasks for each member.
Related: 10 Property Management Skills You Need to Succeed
2. Set goals and objectives
In this case, the goal of your team is quite straight forward – you need a team to help you run and manage your property management business. Once you’ve set the general goal, it’s time to get organized. Do this by setting specific objectives for your property management company and for individual team members. Outline them in your property management business plan. This will help you evaluate your performance and the performance of your property management team. Say your goal was to acquire five property management clients in December through marketing efforts. If that goal was dedicated to your marketing officer, and it wasn’t met, you know where and how to address the issue.
3. Dedicate tasks and define responsibilities
After setting goals and objectives, it’s time to execute. A successful property management team dedicates tasks to the right team members and makes sure to communicate them well. Moreover, it’s vital that everyone on the team knows what other team members’ tasks and property management responsibilities are. Even when working in small teams, things may become unclear, especially when managing different rental properties. Setting clear cut tasks and communicating them well will allow the team to work more efficiently. It will help them see where team members can support each other and complement each other’s work.
4. Establish relationships and a positive team spirit
It’s imperative to establish positive relationships between team members. And while you can’t expect members of your rental property management team to be good friends, it’s nice to foster amicable relations. You can do this by incorporating team-building activities wherever and whenever you see fit and by meeting regularly. Try to organize a weekly or bi-monthly meeting in which team members can discuss their latest updates to keep everyone in the loop about everything. This meeting space will also allow the team to seek support and advice from other team members.
A bonus tip that will help you with positive relationships is having the physical space that can foster a collaborative and positive work environment for the team members. Invest in an office space that has both collaborative as well as private working spaces.
5. Set professional work rules
While it’s very important for everyone to get along, you should still maintain a sense of professionalism in the workplace. Set some rules and policies for the work, the environment, and expectations. It can sometimes be difficult to achieve the fun-professional balance with teams, but it is something important to focus on.
Related: How to Run a Successful Property Management Company: 9 Tips
6. Highlight the importance of teamwork and collaboration
You can put together a team of the best professionals, and they could still come short of achieving team goals. Good communication and teamwork are vital when it comes to running a successful property management company. Essentially, the work of different team members in property management companies is intertwined, and tasks can sometimes overlap. For example, the property manager and the accountant may both be working on crunching numbers for an investment property, so it’s essential to work together and communicate well and update one another throughout the process. Consider streamlining communication through chat software and project management apps.
7. Go on a team retreat
Even the best of teams can malfunction. Issues can arise, and efficiency and morale could decrease after a period of operations. Retreats can help your team members improve morale, relationships, and can revitalize team members’ energy. Take your property management team on a fun retreat to refresh and help you reestablish team bonds. But make sure to not fall for the typical “corporate retreat” activities that most employees mock or don’t take seriously.
To Sum Up…
Learning how to build a property management team isn’t the easiest task. But once you have the right team, things can work in the right direction. Remember, as the leader of the team, you should always be providing constructive feedback, support, as well as positive reinforcement to your team members. Finally, encourage a sense of openness and honesty in your company, and listen to suggestions and ideas from team members. After all, leading a team to achieve a company’s goals is an essential role.
Related: How to Quickly Become the Best Rental Property Management Company in Your City