Talent Retention

4 Tips for Affordable Housing

By Erica Rascón on Apr 9, 2019 in News

It’s no secret that high turnover rates are an industry-wide problem for property management. The revolving door leads to repetitive training and service inconsistencies. Retaining talent minimizes both problems and paves the way for success.

Below are four tips for talent retention to help your affordable housing property operate smoothly.

Reimagine Training

When employees feel overwhelmed and under-educated, you’ve got a recipe for turnover. Minimize the risk with thorough training and easily accessible review courses.

“Any organization without savvy and competent employees will face high turnover,” said Jeff Ratchford, Technical Recruiter, SHRM-CP. “Empowered engagement and buy-in starts as early in the on-boarding process as possible. Ensure that employees thoroughly understand their roles and the technology that they’re expected to use.”

Online learning software enables staff to learn at their own pace. They can also review materials anytime and anywhere with internet access. Administrators gain insights from course data, which can be used to plan group reviews or acknowledge staff members that excel.

Supplement online training with in-house demonstrations and hands-on opportunities. “Each new hire is different. Leadership will benefit from employee training that offers multi-faceted learning techniques,” added Ratchford.

Empower Staff

Empower staff to play an active role in the development of protocols. Acknowledging, addressing, and correcting current shortcoming creates a more efficient workplace. Additionally, employees remain loyal to companies that value their creativity and insights.

If you don’t already have a process in place, create a space for staff to share their challenges. (It may be as simple as a custom email address.) Encourage staff to offer suggestions on how those challenges may be overcome.

Review the submissions regularly. Channel the most promising proposals to the applicable leadership. Of equal importance, acknowledge each response even if it is to let the employee know that the suggestion will not be honored.

“I advised [my clients] that not answering a request is worse than telling a person no,” said Maura Schreier-Fleming, sales coach and strategist with AllBusiness.com.

When prime talent feel their voices are not being heard, they’ll seek opportunities elsewhere. They are also unlikely to tolerate a company stuck in old, ineffective habits.

Give Them the Tools for Success

It’s rudimentary but worth repeating: if you want your team to succeed, make sure that they have the proper tools.

“We regularly jump to accountability of the individual when the system is broken. This simply cannot work. Social psychology tells us that the situation, not individual characteristics, determine the outcome,” wrote John Neufeld, MSW, NBA of Achieve Centre leadership performance firm in a recent blog post. “Without equipping your team, all the work in engagement and empowerment will be for naught.”

With the right tools, your team can excel. Property management and accounting software uses automation to release employees from repetitive, administrative tasks. The software also streamlines processes to promote efficiency and accuracy. Success follows more easily when quality talent is equipped with powerful resources.

Introducing new technology often comes with challenges. Overcome those challenges early to reap the full benefits of new tools. “Leadership should make a concerted effort to show real-life examples of the benefits of automation. Align and evaluate the technology’s contributions to improve employee engagement and retention,” suggested Ratchford.

Explore Employees’ Personal Aspirations

“Achieving fulfillment and overall happiness in the workplace is crucial to your employees’ productivity,” said Zeynep Ilgaz, leadership expert with Entrepreneur.com. “Economists at the University of Warwick carried out a number of experiments to test the idea that happy employees work harder. They found that happiness makes people about 12 percent more productive in the workplace.”

Expressing an attentiveness in your employees unique interests can boost workplace happiness. Set aside time to learn about employees’ personal goals. Explore ways to help your staff achieve those goals. Ilgaz mentions an account where multiple employees expressed the desire to get fit. As a result, the company included gym memberships and health allowances into employee benefits.

While you may not have the resources for such sweeping changes, you won’t know what changes are possible until you ask.