Every year, I look forward to Apartmentalize’s conference. This year, things at APTvirtual look and feel quite different than last year, but Apartmentalize has done a great job pulling together some really compelling virtual presenters. It’s nice to have the opportunity to keep learning about the industry from experts with real-world experience.
With that said, here are a few sessions that I found particularly intriguing. (You may notice a theme!)
"Should" —The Most Dangerous Word in Maintenance
This session seems designed to help operations people focus on getting things done instead of getting sidetracked by more “pie in the sky” strategies that may not pay off as well.
Obviously, prioritization is key, and I’m a believer in the idea that getting the “tried-and-true” to be more standardized and predictable (hello, workflows!) can free up time to be more strategic and innovative. I’m definitely interested in hearing their ideas.
Maintenance: DECODED
This session gives a rundown of how to optimize your property departments using stats for all the pieces of the service puzzle, including “planning, scheduling, assessments, training, procurement, time management, resident retention, and more.”
I look forward to hearing this take because, at SuiteSpot, we’re huge believers in the power of data. We maintain that it’s almost impossible to effectively measure your company’s performance if you lack benchmarking. This even affects your maintenance program; for example, if you don’t know how long a sink replacement should take and how much it should cost, you won’t be able to tell which techs are meeting your standards and which need more training. That’s why we built benchmarking into our SuiteSpot TRIMM™ platform. (Stay tuned for our announcement of the comprehensive features!)
Work Orders in a Remote World: Real-time Project Management
We don’t think anyone will debate the idea that the pandemic has changed the way properties operate. This session addresses the special challenges every business is grappling with and gives a sense of how to overcome those obstacles.
Anyone familiar with SuiteSpot knows we have many Covid-19-related opinions. (Check out our blog post, 5 Ways to Rethink Project Management in a Post-Pandemic World.) What concerns us most, though, is the looming maintenance backlog; we think most properties don’t realize just how many jobs are going unlogged right now. (Read our blog post, 4 Ways to Prep for the Post-Pandemic Backlog, to figure out how to be ahead of the game.)
I can’t wait to hear from this panel of experts, as they all bring valuable experience to the table.
I Can't Fix It, But Can I Manage It...Especially Now
Ah, yes--the age-old issue of maintenance staff retention has been exacerbated by the pandemic. The dearth of workers means that some staffers are promoted to Lead Maintenance positions before they might be fully ready. This session shares ways to improve performance and communication.
I’m always looking forward to learning new strategies. We’ve written about staff retention and, of course, we believe that communication is crucial. The fact is, most maintenance workers excel at fixing things and have to learn management expertise and softer skills as they go. We built the SuiteSpot TRIMM™ platform (stay tuned for our announcement of the comprehensive features!) to facilitate communication and remove much of the administrative burden from your maintenance leads and staffers with workflows (read our blog here!) and escalations & alerts.
Leveraging Renovation Innovation: Strategies to Maximize Your Value-Add Investments
The focus in this panel discussion seems to be on managing capital and determining actionable metrics--two topics near and dear to my heart. Part of this strategy is finding tools and solutions specifically designed for renovations, including the planning process, renovation management, and metrics.
Finding the right tool that your staff will adopt and use is crucial, because even the best platform must be user-friendly to be effective. (Check out this blog we wrote--More Efficient Unit Turnovers: 6 Tips to Help Your Digital Transformation.) I’m obviously biased, but SuiteSpot was created to be a field-friendly cross-functional tool to reduce delays and reduce costs. Being able to speed up the unit make-ready process is crucial. (We give 9 tips in this blog and held a webinar on The Future of Frictionless Technology.)
I’m always keeping an eye out for other solutions that are working well for property operations, so I think this is a don’t-miss!
How Property Management Tech Positively Impacts the Asset Manager and Operator Relationship
This session is interesting because it breaks down the way property operations has traditionally segmented out the interests of operators and asset managers. In truth, they should be working hand-in-hand, but that’s easier said than done. Technology (including real-time reporting and analytics) is the key to ensuring this happens.
At SuiteSpot, we believe that success hinges on everyone working toward a holistic, integrated strategy that increases NOI. (Check out the white paper we wrote on this: How Modern Multifamily Property Owners and Operators Increase NOI and Revenue with Digital Turnover Solutions)
Make It or Break It Maintenance
Did you know 19% of residents move to a property that’s around the corner and the cause is usually maintenance dissatisfaction? This seminar gives tools and tips to cut your losses.
It’s true that many companies don’t realize that maintenance is the number one issue for resident satisfaction. The catch is that it’s become even more important during the pandemic, simply because residents are essentially trapped in their homes. (Read How Covid-19 Has Accelerated Resident Expectations.) If you want to prevent a post-Covid exodus from your properties, this session may help!
I hope this may have tipped you off to a session you might find interesting. We had a great time in person last year, but this year, I’m looking forward to being in the virtual audience and hearing other industry professionals.
Check back for my recap of highlights from Apartmentalize!
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