NAA Recap

Takeaways from Boston

By Jessica Fiur on Jul 2, 2012 in News

At last week’s National Apartment Association Conference and Exposition in Boston, there were tons of great vendors, networking opportunities with thousands of industry peers, interesting sessions and a few too many Red Sox jerseys, in this New Yorker’s opinion.

Here are some take-aways from the conference.

Accountability actually matters. In a session titled “Improving Performance Through Personal Accountability,” the speaker explained why accountability is crucial in the real estate industry. According to him, 49 percent of residents leave a community because of controllable property issues, such as maintenance problems. If property managers are accountable for their actions, and fix the problem, they will be able to reduce turnover. It costs six times more money to replace an existing resident then to keep him, so resident retention can end up saving thousands of dollars.

I’m on Facebook at work. And you can’t stop me! In “HR in 2012: Rumors, Regs and Rights,” the speaker explained a lot of changes for employers to take note of, an interesting one being that social media rules in the office have changed, and employees are now allowed to access their social media sites at work. There are also new traps for employers to be aware of, including rigidly following policies regarding leaves of absences, automatic time deductions for meals and rest periods and overlooking Title VII claims by third parties.

Real estate leaders no longer need to stuff real estate keywords into real estate titles on real estate websites. SEO is still important, but Google has changed its algorithm to check websites to see if they provide a good experience for your readers. Additionally, in the “Analyzing and Optimizing Your Online Marketing Tools” session, we learned the proper way to handle negative online reviews of a property: thank the reviewer, apologize, follow up regarding specific issues and keep the response as short as possible.

Unsurprisingly, the Hulk would make a really bad manager. In “Did I Just Say That Out Loud,” the speakers discussed why it is important for managers to have a high emotional intelligence, or EQ. People with high EQs are in touch with their emotions and are able to control them. As one of the speakers said, “I think every property has that resident that just knows what buttons to push. That’s when you have to say, ‘I need to demonstrate self control here.’”

“An email can never replace a first kiss.” That is a quote from Tom Brokaw during his general session keynote address. (Full quote: “No email will replace the first kiss. No Tweet will replace the whisper of ‘I love you’ in your ear.”) And it’s true—technology might be very important in today’s world, but it could never take the place of a real person-to-person connection, both for business and personal relationships.

Jessica Fiur is the News Editor of Multi-Housing News.