Easy Yardi Training

With new eLearning product

By Joel Nelson on Dec 13, 2013 in News | 2 Comments

Multifamily real estate development and management firm Simpson Housing LLLP^® has streamlined its employee training by making Yardi eLearning™ the gateway to hundreds of company-sponsored online training classes.

Simpson Housing uses Yardi eLearning to deliver webinars, in-person classes and on-demand self-study courses on various aspects of property management directly to employees.

“We present about 400 classes at our property sites every year, and eLearning makes it very easy for the trainers to register attendees, track attendance and completion, and distribute course material beforehand,” said Cindy Sheahan, national trainer for Simpson Housing.  “We also use it to create specialized tracks that give management, maintenance employees, consultants and others the advanced knowledge they need to progress in their careers.”

Yardi eLearning, which is accessible from any Web browser and mobile device, includes assessment tools, certification, post-training follow-up, and retraining activities.  Its multimedia format allows for a variety of content including HTML, documents, images, videos and podcasts.

Yardi eLearning’s automated notification feature reduces manual labor for Simpson Housing’s training staff.  “Calling every person who’s attending every class would be too much for the staff, so it’s very helpful that every participant receives an Outlook calendar appointment for each class,” Sheahan said.  “There’s also a signup sheet function that helps the trainers determine how much material to bring when we visit the communities.

“In addition to our own courses, we used eLearning to present a number of Yardi-designed modules to the entire company after we selected Yardi Voyager^® as our property management and accounting platform in 2012.  Our employees become familiar with the dashboards, terms and everything else in Voyager, and this gave them a step up on the system even before the trainers arrived at the offices for advanced training.”

“Having an organization’s entire training program in the Yardi eLearning platform is convenient for property management employees to select and carry out their training, and it’s just as easy for trainers to maintain the training courses and monitor employee progress,” said Terri Dowen, senior vice president of sales for Yardi.

 Bringing New Hires Up to Speed

Residential housing owner and manager Summit Management Services Inc. has also measured significant returns on its investment in Yardi eLearning™, an online employee training solution, in the form of improved staff performance and closer team cohesion.

Summit Management Services believes that the sooner employees learn to use its Yardi property management products, the faster they add value to the company.  With workers spread across several U.S. states and multiple time zones, one-on-one training isn’t feasible—but Yardi eLearning, which delivers online courses directly to employees’ desktops or mobile devices, is a highly effective alternative.

“We wanted a new training solution because our platforms for property management and accounting, revenue management, resident screening and other operations aren’t beneficial if our employees don’t know how to use them,” said Catherine Harris, vice president for Summit Management Services.   “Since adopting Yardi eLearning we’ve seen new hires perform at a high level sooner.  The training platform helps them bond immediately with our company’s values and creates a positive relationship that supports our retention efforts.  Yardi eLearning also keeps our veteran employees up to speed on Yardi Voyager^® and our other products.  This is excellent ROI.”

Along with performing new-hire orientation quickly and efficiently, Summit Management Services also uses Yardi eLearning to present customized courses on company policies and such topics as Fair Housing across the employee population.  On-demand courses are accessible at any time of day, allowing employees to complete training obligations without interfering with their leasing or resident service responsibilities.  Reporting tools built into Yardi eLearning enable Summit Management Services to track course attendance, completion and results.

“Just as Yardi Voyager provides a single platform for multiple operations, eLearning represents an accessible, interactive learning environment that lets Summit Management Services fulfill multiple training priorities in one stop.  The solution helps the company acclimate employees to its culture and expectations and draw maximum value from its technology investments,” said Terri Dowen, senior vice president of sales for Yardi.