This past week, SiteCompli CEO Seth Dotterer sat on the Multifamily Property Operations & Technology panel at the 2022 NY Multifamily Summit. Joining him were Helena Durst (Principal, Durst Organization), Robert Morgenstern (Managing Principal, Canvas Property Group), Jason Fudin (CEO & Co-Founder, Placemakr), and panel moderator Jude Chiy (Founder & CEO, Flamingo).
While the panel touched on a number of tech-centric topics, all conversations kept circling back to one big idea: how do I choose what property ops tech is right for my team, and how can I maximize value from that technology?
To that end, here are some takeaways we got from the panelists:
Be Specific About The Problem You’re Trying To Solve (And Why)
Whether you’re trying to surface high-level leasing metrics or perform more efficient inspections, it’s important to know what your end goal is. What are you trying to achieve with the help of a new tech solution? Answering this question specifically helps you do two important things: identify the best solution for your needs, and communicate why this specific solution (and any operational change that comes with it) is beneficial to your staff.
Will It Help Us Meet Our Goals?
Let’s say you’re looking to move off of pen and paper inspections for a few reasons – you want to identify issues and patterns more quickly, empower your team to perform more specific & flexible walkthroughs, and access inspection reports from anywhere. All good things! Now that you have an idea of what you need (a tool to perform inspections, centralized records, and dynamic templates), you’ll be able to more quickly identify which solutions have that feature set, and can help you achieve the outcomes you want.
What’s In It For My Team?
Defining specific goals will also help you explain the importance of this operational change to your team – the why behind your decision to implement new tech, and how they’ll benefit from it. Anything that makes someone’s day easier and better (like not having to trek back to the main office for information, or not having to play phone tag all day) is a win. If your solution can help your team have a better workday, it’ll be much easier to get everyone onboard. If you want more details on how to do this, check out our post on tips for implementing new tech at your organization.
The Right Tech Should Help You “Bridge The Gaps”
Oftentimes, there can be a disconnect between what’s happening at the home office, and what’s actually happening on the ground. Per the panel, the right tech can help you “bridge the gap between people at the office, and folks on the ground doing onsite work.”
The best solutions make it easy and straightforward for your staff do do what they’re best at. Whether that’s maintenance and repairs or interfacing with residents, you want to ensure your team spends less time searching for details and more time getting stuff done. The more information folks have access to (from wherever they are), the more they can focus on doing the work.
It’s not just property ops tech, either – any solution you work with should ensure your team is on the same page, operating from the same playbook, and moving your business forward together.
Start Now, So You’re Not Playing Catch-Up
While there was light debate over whether or not teams should build their own tech in-house (the short answer is “no”), the general consensus is that most teams are rapidly building their tech stack with no sign of slowing down. Property management organizations are looking to leverage data and automation to improve efficiency and their bottom lines, and using tech to do it.
If you haven’t explored tech solutions for your organization yet, there’s no better time than now. There’s a lot out there, but defining your priorities, getting your team onboard, and bridging operational gaps can help you narrow down the search and find the right fit for your team.
And if you have questions or need help, we’re happy to share what’s working for fellow property ops teams, and how they’re using tech to get ahead.
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