Do you find your employees (or yourself) working more than eight hours every day yet still falling behind? Have you ever caught yourself saying, "I know I did that already," while auditing your current rental management portfolio?
If you answer "yes" to either of these questions, it may be time for a change. Analyzing the processes in place for your property management business can help you determine if you're ready for growth--or if your current set-up isn't "set up" for more doors. Follow these tips from a property management valuation expert to review your processes and optimize your company for growth!
What Factors Inhibit Property Management Business Growth?
When you're ready to grow (but your company isn't), it's time to take a close look at your team, your technology, and your processes. Several factors can inhibit business growth and can be signs that even though a property manager is eager to add more doors, your current operations won't be able to sustain them.
You (and Your Employees) Are Spread Too Thin
Whether you or your employees are doing more than one job to keep owners and tenants happy, or you simply don't have enough team members to handle the daily tasks needed for the rental properties under your management, being spread too thin won't help you grow.
While there is some financial benefit to maximizing your resources before adding more overhead costs with new employees, burning out your existing team won't help them do more work, serve clients better, or take on more doors.
Working with a consultant for the property management industry is one of the best ways to take an objective look at workload, talent, training, and your team's output. With an experienced third-party eye on things, it's easier to recognize holes in your processes or areas where your team needs more training to perform better. A consultant can also help you determine if you need to add more team members and the right roles to serve your property management company and clients best.
You Are Disorganized
Disorganization stems from systems and software that have not been appropriately implemented to serve your team and clients well. The stress of chaos takes a toll on your employees, as well as your clients!
When a property management company goes without the right systems and software, it deals with duplicate tasks for team members and wasted time when employees have to track down information that should be easily accessible within a database or application. Disorganization can also lead to clients receiving conflicting information from two different people in the company and overall dissatisfaction.
Not having an established workflow with defined roles also leads to miscommunication—so an unknown task falls through the cracks because no one is responsible for it. If your processes are not systematized well enough for efficiency, then your property management business will not be able to support more doors!
You Are Losing Clients
Before you consider adding more doors, it's essential to make sure you serve existing clients well. If you're losing clients now, you're not set up for growth.
While that might seem obvious, many property managers don't realize that losing property owners and tenants inhibit future growth. Take time to analyze what's going wrong now, then make improvements to stop the bleeding and set yourself up for growth possibilities.
What Are The Benefits of Reviewing Your Processes?
The first step is being aware of what's working—and what isn't—for your property management company. Through an objective lens, you can see where your team is struggling and where processes need tweaking to serve customers better.
Now that you've identified the problem areas by analyzing what's not working for your property management business, it's time to fix them. Then you're ready to map out a plan of action to take on more doors--and communicate with everyone involved about what needs to be done, who does it, and when they should do it.
This step-by-step approach helps build buy-in through transparency for property management firms, so a team understands why certain tasks are being handled in specific ways. That also makes it easier for new employees to get up to speed quickly because everyone has one version of the "truth" rather than multiple approaches depending on who's doing the work.
More Knowledge Helps!
If you're not sure how (or where) to stop the bleeding and shift your company toward growth, a property management consultant can help! The right property management training helps employees understand their roles better. Experienced coaching also helps property management businesses learn better marketing practices and set up their businesses with a better foundation for long-term success.
Get Help From a Property Management Valuation Expert
Evaluating your rental management company is easier with a property management valuation expert! Real-Time Consulting Services is in the business of helping your business succeed! If you're not sure if your property management processes are keeping you from adding more doors, reach out soon to learn more about how we can help you get past what's slowing you down!
Learn more about adding doors to your property management business! Download our free workbook, "How Many Doors Can I Manage Per Employee."
We will review your business plan and make sure you are on track.