As a property manager, your day-to-day operations play a crucial role in the health of your business. Your work flows can either make your business incredibly profitable or keep you in a constant state of stress.

Save time and resources, improve the owner, lead, and tenant experience, and maximize your efficiency with these key tips:

Manage seasonal upswing like a pro

One of the biggest stressors in the property management industry is the extreme variability in workload. During peak leasing season, property managers will be swamped with showings, condition reports, and move-ins for multiple properties (while juggling tenant and owner requests)! In the winter months, things seem to come to a screeching halt.

One way to handle seasonality is to hire additional in-house employees when you need the extra help. The downside is that, come winter, you’re paying unnecessary wages for workers that have little to contribute. Another option is to exclusively use a self-showings software to handle your tours, but this comes with an increased risk of rental scams and squatters, especially during the summer months when fraudulent activity reaches its peak.

Showdigs’ network of on-demand, licensed real estate agents is the best solution to the hiring and firing cycle. With flexible pricing based on only the properties you’re actively showing, you’ll never overpay for labor again.

Set owner expectations

Managing owner expectations from the get-go is the best way to ensure your time isn’t wasted by unnecessary questions. Be sure to give new clients an accurate timeline of when their property will be rented based on the season, price, location, and demand. You can also set owner expectations when it comes to response times, such as how quickly you respond to critical issues and to general questions. 

Share the burden of being on call

Being on call for tenant emergencies isn't fun. No one likes their evenings or weekends interrupted. Unfortunately, this is just part of the job. In order to make this less frustrating, most property management companies will have a system in place to ensure every employee is pulling their weight.

We’ll talk more about improving employee satisfaction later! But if you notice your turnover rate increasing, it may be time to outsource the most burdensome tasks. While more expensive, a property management-specific phone answering service may be the solution to disgruntled, burned out employees.

Review your internal software

Do you like the software that you use? If you're not sure, you might want to review our list of the top property management software to see if there are alternatives worth trialing.

Switching your software is no small task. However, since your property management technology is so intricately woven into your day-to-day operations, it's worth checking that you're still paying for the best. When you have the down time, do some research to see if you can make improvements to your key technologies. The initial time investment of switching your software can have a huge impact on your operations, saving time and money down the road. 

Update tenant screening processes

You can mitigate future problems by renting to the highest-quality tenants. Stay on top of current best practices for screening tenants by attending industry events and reading industry publications. Encourage your in-house team to speak with prospects' references instead of just checking that they're listed on the application. Software like RentRedi may seem expensive at first, but you can rest easy knowing that you’ve done your due diligence and you’re renting to the best tenants.

Retain your renters with tenant-centric tech

Now that we’ve covered renting to the best tenants, it’s time to discuss keeping them. To keep your clients happy, do your best to reduce turnover and retain long-term tenants. Having the right technology in place can improve tenant satisfaction while modernizing your operations. Here are some ways that technology can help improve the relationship between tenants and property managers:

• Easy online rent payments
• An app or support ticketing system for submitting maintenance requests
• A place to log suggestions and complaints (either about the property management company or the property)

Additionally, technologies like Piñata make it easy for renters to earn rewards and build their credit. When the time comes to raise rent, tenants will be less likely to move if they know they’re receiving money back. 

Minimize employee turnover

Not every property management company struggles with high turnover, but plenty do. Employees leaving, is easily the biggest wrench that can be thrown in your property management operations.

Make sure to foster a workplace of open communication so that your team members are more likely to come to you with their concerns before they decide to suddenly quit. Do everything in your power to make sure that your staff isn't burning out or working longer hours than they originally agreed to. One of the best ways to do this is to get help with property management showings when your in-house team is too busy to handle every vacancy on their own.

Another way to show your appreciation to employees is to offer non-cash benefits, such as a monthly house cleaner or a meal subscription, both of which can be considered business write-offs for you! Regularly recognize them for their hard work — at the end of the day, we're social creatures, and verbal appreciation is incredibly powerful.

Time to revolutionize your property management operations? Showdigs Agents can save you thousands of dollars (and hours!) per year by handling fieldwork like showings, property documentation, and marketing photos, so you have more time to grow your business. 

Learn more on our website, or book a time to chat with our leasing experts!