Being in my seventh year of real estate, I have worked with a lot of Property Managers. Let me tell you that years of service do not equal a great staff member. Here are the top 5 things I look for when recruiting.
1. Attitude – I can teach skill; I cannot teach attitude so the right fit will always win with me. I recently chose a new team member with no experience over someone with two years industry experience because of the attitude of the new starter.
2. Process driven people – Property Management is largely about legislation, following procedures, ensuring work flows are followed as well as customer service. While it is nice to be creative and appreciate pretty marketing, if you cannot follow a process it will not work. I use a lot of checklists and task based work with my team to ensure we follow through on every step that we promise to take. Without processes, I can guarantee a failed promise.
3. Training – You must love training to succeed in our industry. While it is only a few days to get your registration, the training never stops. We complete on the job, legislation, customer service and new business training just to name a few. We continually improve and part of that is through our meetings and training. I also feel very strongly that conferences (industry related or not) are a great training tool. Sometimes they will be around motivation, which always gives staff a boost. Some conferences will be Property Management focused. I just attended a two-day conference on the Gold Coast and I will be returning with pages of ideas that we can discuss as a team.
4. Team work – Don’t we all work on our own portfolios? I Property Managers ask this question all the time. If you can’t work as a team, it is just not going to work! We must work with the sales team. We must support and be supported by administration. We must work with our Business Development Managers who bring in the new listings so that we can deliver what they promise. Most of all we must work and support others on our level. I have a task buddy for each team member. We can then help each other out with important tasks when someone is away or on holidays.
5. Loyalty and Culture – I know it sounds corny but if you do not live the brand, love your work and bring positive vibes to the team, you will not last. People who constantly bring down a team will just be making everyone’s days very difficult. If you don’t love your job, don’t do it.
I think overall, if you are thinking of becoming a career Property Manager, my best piece of advice is to ask to speak with the head of a few Property Management departments. Have a list of questions written down. Don’t be afraid to read from your list. While they may not have a position, they may know someone or keep you in mind when something when the team grows. You may learn this is not for you, which is perfectly fine, you won’t know unless you ask. Good luck on your journey.