Part of having a stellar customer service team that keeps your renters happy is making sure your customer service representatives are happy, too. With all the hubbub about social media and a recession it’s easy for managers to forget to take care of their own people, but that’s exactly where managers should start. The blog Work Awesome had a recent feature on how to have happy employees that asserted that, contrary to popular perception, monetary awards aren’t what will keep your employees happy. The answer? Giving your employees a reason to take pride in his or her work. Here are some other pointers from Work Awesome managers can use.
1) Provide clear career path
Let your employees that if they do well in responding to renter issues and anticipating renter needs, they have a place in the company’s future. Show your employees this by supporting them to develop career skills that will serve them (and your company) in the future, encouraging them to attend conferences or webinars on what they are most interested in about their job, be it mastering social media or writing successful descriptions of properties.
2) Recognize the importance of work-life balance
Be sensitive to, and supportive of, your employees’ life outside work. Remember what they tell you about their personal life and ask them about it later on. Going to work is more fun when you care about the people you’re working around, and one way to find common ground is through conversation about the loved ones you spend time with when you’re not in the office.
3) Give credit where credit is due
Did your employee do an especially spectacular job responding to an irate renter, successfully salvaging the relationship? Or perhaps her new plan for advertising properties on a new social media outlet has resulted in a doubling of prospective renter interest. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a small-scale victory; as a manager, your vocal support for and recognition of your outstanding employees makes your employee realize you’re actually paying attention to his or her work, even if you appear to be super busy.
4) Listen
Your customer service employees are your ears on the ground. They’re the people who interact with renters and as such, are in the best position to observe any trends in renter interests, complaints, or feedback. Information on these trends, of course, is incredibly helpful to help you make business decisions. Work together with your team to encourage them to share ideas and feedback with you about their daily activities, and let them know they can come to you with questions or concerns. Open lines of communication can help you build a strong team and a workplace that’s pleasant to be a part of.
5) Stay organized
Make sure your management system is organized. Nothing is more stressful to employees, new or old, than to have to wade through a bevy of disjointed paperwork or an inefficient reporting mechanism to find what they need. There are many types of property management software available to help make day-to-day operations more efficient.
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After the recent announcement for the discontinuance of the production of the Volt because of lack of sales, I still anticipate the smell of burning rubber. Woops, I think the EPA has jurisdiction over air quality. OK, maybe battery exhaust will be exempt if it doesn’t burn rubber.