Reporting and communications are critical parts of any business. I can probably write several volumes on each topic. The top complaint from property owners is the lack of communication and a close second is probably a lack of reporting. In this article we will discuss 5 tips to improve the communication and reporting with Landlords.
Automation – Automation is a buzzword that is used a lot today. With the advancement of technology there are a lot of tasks that are automated. For a landlord seeking information from a report or needs an answer to a pressing question, automation may be the key. Most property management systems can be set up to automatically generate reports on a schedule set by you and sent to the owner. If the report answers the questions of the owner, they will not need any further input from you.
Pre-planning – This low tech approach is still effective. While you may not know ahead of time if an owner will have questions or not, you can schedule weekly, monthly, quarterly or semi-annual meetings so that they can ask questions that are on their minds. All it takes is for you to coordinate your schedules.
Self-Service – The cousin to automation is self-service. You can think of this as the buffet line of delivering reporting. This is where you allow the owner to pull reports based on criteria they choose. Most property management software will allow you to enable this feature for the property owner.
Dedicated Time – Another low tech approach to communication is dedicated time. This is what I would call the “office hours” approach. Remember when you were in college or in high school where your teachers would post office hours and they would sit there doing nothing waiting for a student to arrive to ask questions. As a student, you felt like you had an open path for communication even if you never used it. In this approach, you block out some time each week where you are available either online or on conference call where clients can call in to ask questions. Of course, if the questions are sensitive in nature, you can take it offline or send a private message but the point is you advertise a time where you can be reached without fail!
Outsourcing – This is where you hire someone to do your reporting and/or communications. If you look at any large business or celebrities, they have a communications team or publicist. Okay, that was not a great analogy but you get the point. You hire someone that is dedicated to perform those tasks so that your clients benefit.
By using these 5 tips you will be able to overcome any issues that you are having with communications and reporting. If you are a property owner, you can ask your property manager if they have any of these measures in place to help improve their communication and reporting. If you like this content, you can get more free content by registering for my free blog.
PMI JCM Realty Group | rcharles@pmijcmrealty.com | (813) 333-9617
w: www.tampapropertymanagementinc.com | w: www.pmijcmrealty.com
