How to Boost Employee Satisfaction and Retention, According to the Data
As the initial wave of uncertainty around COVID-19 subsided, AppFolio sponsored the inaugural NAA Property Management Industry Pulse, a survey of over 1,000 property management leaders gauging their most pressing challenges at the time. When recalling that the era of pandemic lockdowns ushered in a phenomenon known as the Great Resignation, it’s not surprising that over 50% of respondents reported HR, staffing, and recruitment as their top challenge, with 74% citing it as one of their top three challenges. As a follow-up, the 2022 AppFolio Property Manager Hiring and Retention report revealed what you can do to satisfy and retain your top talent. Here are some key opportunities that were identified.
Double Down on Company Culture
On the surface, it might not be obvious how the culture of your company affects the performance of the properties you manage. Properties above a certain unit count often require on-site management. A company with a large portfolio of these types of properties can often find the majority of their employees working solely on-site and not in a central office. As a result, company culture can take a backseat in terms of priority.
This is unfortunate, because the biggest gap between employees at risk of leaving their current role and not those not at risk is around company culture: Just 43% of at-risk employees agree that they enjoy their company culture, compared to 76% of employees not at risk.
In terms of defining “company culture” and its importance, acclaimed talent strategist and best-selling author Steve Cadigan says: “Why does someone want to work in your organization? What is unique and differentiates you from other environments in other places in terms of how things get done, how people communicate, the language that we use? If you can answer that, you’re going to arrive at your culture.” He adds: “I really believe culture is the most valuable competitive advantage you have in a world of massive choice for employees today, in a world where they’re telling us they’re thinking about leaving, in a world where we’re seeing more resignations than at any time since we’ve been measuring it.”
Show Team Members How to Grow Their Careers
Only 59% of survey participants reported being satisfied with “opportunities for career growth,” which according to Steve Cadigan is detrimental to employee retention: “If you want people to stay longer, show them the pathways of opportunity. What are the stepping stones?” 2022 IREM (Institute of Real Estate Management) President Barry Blanton puts these words in a property management context: “We don't do a terrific job of explaining what other options there are. … there are multiple disciplines within our industry and profession. And sometimes, people either aren't made aware of what some of those things might be, and where their passions might be better suited.”
As a leader, take it upon yourself to find out where a team member’s passions and ambitions lie, and see if you can connect them with a more senior member of your organization as a mentor.
The AppFolio survey also identified one of the main causes of employee attrition in the property management industry: lack of fulfillment.
Make Work Less Manual and More Meaningful
The data found that over 40% of employees’ time is spent on what they believe is busywork. When asked “In a typical week, approximately how many hours do you spend on tasks that you believe could be optimized or streamlined through the use of technology?” respondents answered with an average of 14 hours. That’s nearly 2 days, or 35% of a 40-hour work week.
Eliminating, or reducing as much as possible, the repetitive, time-consuming, unfulfilling aspects of property management can give your employees space to focus on bigger picture, more rewarding tasks that bestow a greater sense of meaning to the job. Indeed, when asked “What changes has your employer made in the last 12 months that have improved your overall job satisfaction?” 25% of respondents answered “Improved processes and workflows.”
These findings are just a taste of what you can expect from the 2022 AppFolio Property Manager Hiring and Retention Report. Additionally, stay tuned for the release of this year’s NAA Property Management Industry Pulse in August.