The Gershen Group

Keeping Business Personal

By Joel Nelson on Sep 22, 2016 in Giving, People

Princeton, N.J.-based property management firm The Gershen Group LLC opened in 1959 as a small family based firm.  It concentrated on planning and consulting before branching out to housing management in 1972.  Its principal focus today is affordable and senior housing, although the company’s commercial holdings have consistently increased over the years.

Long after The Gershen Group moved past the mom-and pop-phase, a family-based orientation remains the core of its operating philosophy.

Extended Family

“We tend to keep employees a very long time, which is not the norm in today’s business world,” according to Jonathan Gershen, vice president and general counsel of the company his parents founded.

“Only a few employees are actually family members, although they almost could be—one person has been with us 35 years, another for 25 years.  We think of our staff as family, and this mentality has served us very well.”

This attitude extends to the company’s business partners.  “With our clients—whether they’re our fee-managed properties or our residents—the relationship goes beyond ‘Just pay your rent and that’s it.’  We know who they are, and they know the building manager who’s been there for 10 or 20 years.  We want to keep that connection,” adds Deborah Gershen, vice president and director of property management.

She adds, “It would be very easy to manage everything that comes in the door.   We’ve given up projects, or not taken them on, when people say ‘the building’s broke, we don’t have to spend any more money.’  My answer is, ‘We’re not the right manager for you.’  We’ve been very selective that way, and that won’t change.”

Technology as an Ally

When it comes to adopting property management software, The Gershen Group makes another subtle yet firm distinction between personal and business considerations.

“Our motto has always been to keep ourselves connected to our residents.  Some companies use technology to bridge that gap, and they don’t know the customers anymore—they’re interacting with the computer, not with them.  We think technology should support people, not vice versa.  We don’t want to lose the individual connection to a client because to us that connection is the most important thing,” Jonathan Gershen says.

But the company found that technology, in its own way, helps breed a sense of community.

“Yardi Voyager has helped show our affordable housing managers the importance of the general ledger and rent collection.  They have a deeper understanding of how rent collection, paying bills, reporting to state agencies and earning certifications are connected.

“Before Voyager, the staff didn’t see the budget cycle in real time.  Now when they put a purchase order in, they know immediately if it’s over or under budget.  Everybody, from maintenance to site managers to compliance staff, understands the whole picture of the property, rather than ‘This is my job, I just focus on compliance,’” Gershen says.

Other technology investments support The Gershen Group’s staff and clients.  The company standardized its affordable housing screening criteria with Yardi Resident Screening and is undertaking a gradual rollout of RentCafe Affordable Housing, which will take application and compliance procedures online.  Yardi Payment Processing enables credit card payments to homeowners associations.