How Does the Right PMS Improve Employee Retention?

Employee retention is vital to maintaining a stable, efficient, and profitable operation in today's competitive property management industry. However, Tenant Experience face a complex, high-stress environment that can lead to high employee turnover. The right property management software (PMS) can be a game-changer, simplifying day-to-day tasks and boosting employee satisfaction and retention.

ExactEstate is a pioneering property management software company that understands the intricate challenges of the property management industry. From multifamily and single-family residences to senior housing, student housing, affordable housing, and HOAs, we'll help you understand how property management software improves employee retention.

Property management software (PMS) is a comprehensive digital solution designed to streamline and automate the various tasks involved in managing properties. It includes the following and more:

• Rent Collection: This feature simplifies the process of rent invoicing and collection.
• Maintenance Management: A robust PMS includes a maintenance management tool that allows tenants to lodge their maintenance requests electronically.
• Property Marketing: PMS often includes a property marketing tool that enables property managers to advertise vacancies across multiple platforms.
• Tenant Communication: A good PMS offers property managers a powerful communication tool to send and receive messages with tenants and vendors.

The real estate market's worth is expected to escalate to an impressive USD 113.60 trillion by 2023. The residential real estate sector is anticipated to hold the lion's share of this market value, projected to amass a staggering market volume of USD 88.91 trillion in the same year. The industry is growing and needs employees to keep up with the demand.

Unfortunately, in 2022, an unprecedented 50.6 million employees in the US chose to leave their jobs, representing a staggering 70% of all job separations that year. These figures marked the highest number of job quits since the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) inception in 2001. In 2021, the yearly turnover rate in the multifamily sector reached 33%, significantly exceeding the national average rate of 22%.

One may think these numbers aren’t alarming, but the cost of employee turnover can be staggering. Let's begin by understanding that the expense of employee turnover typically equates to around 1.5 to two times the salary of the departing staff member. Add the hidden costs, including the financial resources spent on job advertising, training the newly recruited employee, and compensating for lost productivity.

Why Employees in Property Management Quit

There are several reasons employees in property management decide to leave their positions, including the following:

• Excessive Workload: Employees can often become overwhelmed by the numerous responsibilities of managing properties, leading to burnout and eventual resignation.
• Lack of Automation: Manual processes such as rent collection, maintenance requests, and tenant communication can be time-consuming and inefficient, frustrating employees.
• Insufficient Training: When employees don't have adequate training on effectively managing properties, they're more likely to leave.
• Poor Communication: Without a unified PMS, communication between team members and tenants can be challenging, leading to frustration and decreased job satisfaction.
• Lack of Career Advancement Opportunities: Employees with no room for growth or advancement within their property management company often look for opportunities elsewhere.

Often, these departures are due to factors you can mitigate or avoid altogether by implementing the right PMS.

A PMS like ExactEstate, a feature-rich suite of integrated tools, helps property management teams streamline their daily tasks and optimize processes. Here's a deeper look at how you can improve employee retention in property management with the right PMS:

Streamlined Application Process for Multifamily Housing

The multifamily housing market presents unique challenges, including managing multiple tenants within one property, handling diverse tenant needs, and juggling numerous lease agreements. Simultaneously, property managers must oversee maintenance issues spanning various units, which becomes nearly untenable without a standardized system.

Furthermore, tenant turnover rates in multifamily housing can also be higher, making filling vacancies continuous. This revolving door of tenants often results in a constant stream of applications requiring rigorous credit, background, and rental history screening. Without a robust PMS, these processes can become overwhelmingly complex and time-consuming, increasing the risk of employee burnout and turnover.

With ExactEstate's property management software, the online application process becomes a breeze. The system automatically stores the applications' progress, allowing applicants to pause and resume their submissions as needed. This feature ensures prospective tenants never feel rushed, increasing the likelihood of accurate and complete applications. Moreover, applicants can receive their in-progress applications via email, eliminating the need for multiple visits to leasing offices.

The streamlined application process not only saves time for property managers but also enhances the overall tenant experience, contributing to improved employee retention.

Efficient Maintenance Management for Single-Family Housing

Each property has unique maintenance challenges in the single-family housing market. The list is extensive and diverse, from plumbing issues to electrical repairs, yard work, and seasonal upkeep. These tasks can pile up if not efficiently managed, leading to dissatisfied tenants and stressed property management professionals.

Maintenance requests can't follow a one-size-fits-all approach with no two properties being identical. Each home's distinct design and age add a layer of complexity to the task. Additionally, coordinating with different service providers, scheduling timely repairs, and ensuring quality work can be a logistical nightmare.

ExactEstate's PMS offers a robust maintenance management module that simplifies the process. Tenants can submit maintenance requests online, and property managers can easily prioritize and assign tasks to maintenance teams. The software also allows for automated reminders and notifications, ensuring no request is left unattended.

Property management professionals can focus on more strategic tasks by optimizing maintenance workflows and experiencing reduced stress levels. A happier and less overwhelmed workforce is likelier to stay loyal to the company, leading to improved employee retention!

Enhanced Communication With Residents for Senior Housing

The senior housing market often faces specific communication challenges. The demographics of residents mean that traditional communication methods may not always be effective. Moreover, families and caregivers must stay in the loop about the resident's well-being, making it vital to facilitate efficient information exchange.

ExactEstate's PMS provides innovative solutions to break down these communication barriers. Its user-friendly interface enables personalized communication methods based on each resident's needs - text, email, or voice notifications. The system also allows secure sharing of updates with authorized family members and caregivers, ensuring constant engagement and transparency.

The resident portal lets residents access important information, such as community announcements, event calendars, and billing statements. Additionally, property management professionals can communicate directly with residents, responding to inquiries and addressing concerns promptly.

By empowering property management professionals with the tools to communicate clearly and effectively, ExactEstate's PMS enhances resident satisfaction and fosters a positive working environment. It can significantly improve employee retention within property management for the senior housing market.

Simplified Lease Management for Student Housing

Student housing markets often experience high turnover rates due to the transient nature of student populations. Property management professionals face the challenge of managing numerous leases and processing new tenants regularly.

Lease management for student housing can be complex due to various factors. For instance, many students prefer leases that align with their academic calendars, leading to non-standard lease terms. Scheduling move-in and move-out dates to coincide with semester timelines adds another layer of complexity. Moreover, leases often involve multiple parties, including students, their parents, or guarantors, and even roommates.

Coordinating all these individual elements while ensuring legal compliance can be cumbersome for property management professionals. There's also the challenge of managing security deposits, maintenance requests, and other tenant issues. Handling these diverse aspects manually can be time-consuming and error-prone, potentially leading to tenant dissatisfaction and high staff turnover.

ExactEstate's software offers a user-friendly lease management system that streamlines lease creation, renewal, and termination processes. The software also provides automated reminders for upcoming lease expirations, helping property managers stay on top of lease renewals and reduce the risk of vacancies.

With an efficient lease management system, property management professionals can better focus on providing excellent service to students, contributing to higher employee retention rates.

Streamlined Income Certification for Affordable Housing

Income certification for affordable housing can be daunting for property management professionals due to the multitude of challenges. Residents must satisfy strict income limits and eligibility criteria for affordable housing. Therefore, property managers need to meticulously verify and document each applicant's income sources, family size, and other relevant factors, which can be demanding. Furthermore, the eligibility criteria can vary across housing programs and jurisdictions, increasing the complexity.

Property managers can face recertification even after a resident is accepted into an affordable housing program. Moreover, there are serious penalties for non-compliance, including financial fines and the potential loss of tax credits. Thus, property managers must be vigilant in ensuring compliance, adding to their list of responsibilities and stress.

ExactEstate's PMS simplifies this process with its income certification generation functionality. With just a few clicks, property management professionals can generate state-required documents, reducing the time spent on manual paperwork. Additionally, the software's automated processing of voucher payments to resident ledgers through TRACS or CSV upload ensures accuracy and efficiency.

By eliminating tedious administrative tasks, ExactEstate's software empowers property management professionals to concentrate on tenant satisfaction, improving employee retention in the affordable housing market.

Efficient Community Management for HOA

HOA community management faces several challenges: navigating complex bylaws, fostering positive, communicative relationships with residents, and managing large-scale community improvements. The responsibility to ensure the community's smooth functioning often falls on the property managers, necessitating them to manage and resolve conflicts, enforce rules, and balance the demands of numerous residents.

ExactEstate's PMS is innovative, providing comprehensive solutions to these challenges. Its intuitive design facilitates accessible communication between the management and residents, ensuring everyone stays informed of the latest community updates. Furthermore, it streamlines operations like maintenance requests, financial management, and enforcement of community rules, thus lessening administrative burdens.

From managing homeowner information and collecting dues to communicating with residents and tracking violations, the software streamlines HOA processes. By providing an all-in-one solution, property management professionals can efficiently manage multiple properties within an HOA, increasing job satisfaction and, consequently, better employee retention.

Employee turnover in property management can be a significant bottleneck, often driven by high stress, workload, and the lack of efficient tools to manage day-to-day operations. Dealing with disgruntled tenants, navigating complex housing laws, and balancing myriad administrative tasks can lead to burnout, ultimately causing professionals to seek opportunities elsewhere.

Implementing the right PMS, however, can be a pivotal moment in tackling these challenges head-on. A comprehensive system like ExactEstate's PMS simplifies mundane tasks and equips employees with the tools to manage properties efficiently.

Streamlining maintenance requests, financial management, rule enforcement, and tenant communication significantly alleviates stress and workload. This increased efficiency leads to higher job satisfaction, fostering a positive work environment that, in turn, substantially improves employee retention rates.