Forget trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Recruiting the best property manager for your team should be a carefully planned process that enables you to select the very best person for the job – and keep them! Simon Cox advises to keep five things in mind when interviewing potential employees.
Our industry demands have increased significantly in recent times and many business owners are making tough decisions – recruit or retrench? But when looking at your rent roll and property management teams’ performance, it is vital to recruit the right people for the right reasons. Here are some key strategies to consider when recruiting property managers in your office.
Skills Test! – Never just ask the question of your candidates, “Do you know the law well?”. Of course they are going to say yes! What you need to do is test them. Have your current staff and yourself create a series of legislative based questions on general property management processes such as Notice Periods, Appointment to Acts, Discrimination Guidelines for Rental Properties etc. This is good risk management for your agency. As a trainer I am always amazed just how little “experienced” property managers know about our laws. If you don’t ask the questions, you will be the one sitting there having to defend your reasons for hiring this person.
Reference check – never just assume the person in front of you is always the right person for the job just because you are desperate. You should always ask for current references and check them out. Our industry is renowned for a revolving door with people moving between offices, and everyone has a past, so find out why they left their last employer. You will kick yourself later if you have not done it and selected a bad apple so commit yourself to this task and make sure you are satisfied with what you receive.
Recruit for the big picture – We often recruit staff to fit in with our team and the office, but do you really consider the big picture? Your recruitment should be for these reasons but also your clients as well. After all, the relationship developed within your office with your landlords and tenants might last longer than the relationship with your staff. So make sure their communication styles, language used and willingness to help fit what your customers need.
Test before you buy – Adding a new staff member to your team is an expensive exercise and one that can be very rewarding. But like a car purchase, we should take the staff member for a test drive to see how they will fit in with your team and customer base. If they are serious about working for your office, then they will invest a few hours of their time to come and see how you work and meet the team. After all, they will be testing you too! So make sure you have polished your shoes, got your best customers to come in and show them just how well they would fit into your team. There is nothing like a test drive, because if we don’t like what we see, we just say NO!
Given you have applied some of these simple strategies in recruiting your property manager, never forget the most important issue out of this process – [BOLD]monitoring! When they start, many staff get the red carpet from the principal and then the principal becomes a mirage – you can see it, but you just can’t get to it! Don’t be that type of person, work with them and make sure they are growing internally and externally to your business and who knows, they might even become the best investment you have ever made.
Simon Cox, Trainer and consultant with Real Estate Dynamics, has a successful Property Management and Management background loaded with ‘hands-on’ practical and technical industry knowledge and experience. Simon’s expertise will help your agency to manage the daily challenges
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