More and more rental leaders are choosing to centralize their operations. Doing so can save money, introduce efficiencies and help employees lean into their specializations. But centralization isn’t without its challenges. Here’s where owners and operators are finding success—and how they’re doing it.
Admin
Administrative tasks are the obvious ones to centralize. That’s because workers don’t need to be onsite to process rental payments, order supplies and equipment, or keep the books. Digital payment tools and online shopping have boosted leaders’ abilities to pool administrative personnel between properties, often having a single national headquarters for these positions.
There are few downsides to centralizing administrative operations. There have been stigmas about it in the past, but residents are coming around. They see the benefit of digital rental payments over handing your staff a check, for example.
Resident experience
Residents benefit from centralization in other ways too. Customers have long preferred self-service options. Luckily, technologies like Answer Automation can help. They ensure residents get an immediate response to their questions and concerns, day or night.
Answer Automation uncovers the nature of the concern and routes the information accordingly. Centralized dispatch staff can begin resolving urgent concerns, like burst pipes or HVAC repairs, right away. For other concerns, Answer Automation can provide answers on its own—or let residents know when staff will be available to help.
Leasing
Many owners and operators hesitate when it comes to centralizing leasing because leasing requires a human touch. But with new technologies, communities can provide that human touch with less on-site staff. That technology is Self-Guided Tours, and it works best when combined with a solid digital approach to leasing.
Picture this: residents see your listing online, take a quick virtual tour, then book an in-person tour. When they arrive on site, they gain access to your community, tour its amenities and visit a few vacant units—all on their own using only their phones. When they have questions, they consult your website or contact agents from a centralized office. After the tour, your agents receive an alert and follow up with personalized touch points.
Will you still need on-site staff for some prospects and for some parts of the journey? Of course. But this system allows a few staff members to share leasing duties across several nearby communities so you don’t have to dedicate anyone to a single community.
Maintenance
In truth, no rental company can completely centralize maintenance. But you can pool resources between multiple nearby properties by creating maintenance pods—teams that tackle the needs of several communities together.
Technologies like Work Management give technicians mobile access to work orders and automatically assign jobs based on proximity and expertise. When paired with the Resident App, Work Management helps technicians communicate directly with residents to ensure they get the information they need to complete a job—and keep residents in the loop about their homes.
The key to centralization is smarter technology
Centralizing more of your operations is easier than ever, thanks to more capable proptech solutions like SmartRent. But it takes more than technology to successfully consolidate your operations.
Take a look at which operations would benefit most from centralization and focus on those first. Don’t assume that only large corporations and real estate investment trust companies will see the benefits. Even a relatively small company with a few thousand units can pool resources to save on costs and introduce efficiencies.
When creating pods, get to know your staff and their skill sets. Ensure each pod has access to the specializations they need to handle most or all of their communities’ needs. Finally, invest in technology designed specifically for the rental industry. Start by checking out SmartRent’s solutions.