Getting the most out of your onsite team
Nick Regnier says: “If the on-site staff are NOT running the show, the show isn’t worth seeing”.
I am writing this as the year turns to 2022, in panto season, an appropriate time to review one of my October 2019 blogs.
Block management hasn’t become any easier in the last few years – I have never seen so many stressed property managers. But I would argue that many are making it more difficult than it could or should be.
Is that because they can’t see the wood for the trees? Or that directors of managing agents are similarly firefighting and don’t have the headspace to make vital changes for the better?
As a provider of site staff – from concierges, estate managers, cleaners to security personnel and caretakers – a major part of Cledor’s job is not just to source and engage on-site staff but to get the most out of them when they are working for you and working for the residents.
I would hazard a guess that many or even most of your on-site staff can do more for you – a lot more. And that’s what this blog is about.
Back in 2019 I posed the question “Can the on-site team run the show?” and categorically I concluded that the answer is a resounding YES. I would go further and hypothesise that if the on-site staff are NOT running the show, the show isn’t worth seeing.
I know from clients that I am particularly close to that managing agents are under pressure. They are under pressure from the requirements and aftermath of nearly two years of COVID. They are under pressure from fire safety requirements. Their margins are squeezed by too many agents competing in a race to the bottom and property managers commanding healthier salaries (that they are entitled to command). Worryingly, to yield the required level of income and profit, increasing numbers of agents are seeking a slice of their suppliers’ income when they wouldn’t have even considered such a thing a few years ago.
It’s a shame it has come to that although certainly not all agents are doing the same to make ends meet. Plenty of agents consolidate their supplier base – i.e. they use fewer suppliers and ask those suppliers to work harder for them: to go the extra mile and further. These agents tend to do the same when it comes to their on-site staff – get a lot more out of them, which is good for everyone.
Returning to the 2019 blog, some of our clients read the blog and have implemented the findings.
In doing so they have achieved the following:
Higher quality site staff
Better trained site staff
Improved customer service standards on site
More staffing costs going through the service charge
Less reliance on property managers in the office
Improved profit levels
Improved job satisfaction.
Let’s look at a specific example from a Cledor client before changes were made.
I am certain that you will find plenty of this very familiar:
Property manager not having the time to visit site
Low on-site staff morale
Busy RMC directors unable to make a difference
On-site staff ‘doing their own thing’
Online shopping deliveries overwhelming the staff
No-one knew which contractors were on site at any given time
Complaints received about uninterested on-site staff.
What did they do about it?
They engaged us to do a health-check on the staffing
We produced a report of our findings and recommendations, including feedback from the staff members themselves. All was openly discussed with the RMC
One member of staff – the estate manager – had their contract terminated
Two concierges left willingly
Remaining staff were put through e-learning as they were simply not being trained – especially from a health and safety point of view
Two concierges were upskilled: They were capable of using a computer and tablets but not given the opportunity. Now they are doing site inspections using an iPad
The managing agent is looking at on-site software options to deal with residents’ messages/requests, parcels and packages, security passes for contractors and keys/fobs management
They aren’t out of the woods yet but already the site staff are more motivated, morale is up, they now think the agent does care about them, and the dead wood is gone
The site staff want to be TUPE’D to the client’s employment, which is now being considered proactively by the managing agent, which has recognised that the client will save VAT on the staff salaries by bringing them under their employment
In this example, the managing agent was under pressure and the client has hinted they may look elsewhere for management. Would the next agent have performed better? The answer is almost certainly no if they maintained the status quo on site.
Now that the changes have been made, the client is happier. The on-site staff (that are paid 100% through the service charge) are happier too, more productive and are showing loyalty to the client by asking for TUPE. We’re pleased to see the staff we have placed there thriving.
I have total confidence in my team to find practical and achievable ways to improve life on site for the staff, the agent and most importantly, the residents. Every residential development is different – obviously – but you won’t be surprised to hear that we’ve seen it all before and the best run developments benefit from a show-stopping performance from the site staff.
5 steps to on-site staff bliss:
Commission a health-check on your on-site staff
Discuss the report with your client – get their buy-in
Implement the report’s findings
Nurture the site staff to make sure they’re fully on board with necessary changes
Enjoy the benefits of the site staff running the show.