One of the industry’s leading minds believes that property managers can learn a lot from the way in which corporate giants focus on process.
Ireviloution managing director Jo-Anne Oliveri, who has been nominated for the Industry Thought Leader title at the Real Estate Business Awards, said Ireviloution’s online training for property managers and principals has been based on the operations of multinational companies.
"What McDonalds is known for is its consistency. People can be in any part of the world and if they see McDonalds they know they can go in there and get the same consistent food, quality and service,” she told Residential Property Manager.
“McDonalds have 14-year-olds working for them and they all ask those same standard questions like ‘Do you want fries with that?’ and it all comes back to the training and having a policy with a process attached to it.”
Ms Oliveri said Starbucks is a similar type of company that provides a consistent service all over the world.
"Starbucks has that feeling, it’s going in there and knowing that I can have my own personalised coffee and I’ve got this really cool name that I can call it by,” she said.
One of the things these companies have in common is they develop their own unique terminology that is recognised worldwide, according to Ms Oliveri.
“We've developed terminology through the academy that means we can be universal, just like McDonalds, just like Disney, and when we're dealing with clients from anywhere in the world they will understand the language that we're talking about,” she said.
Ms Oliveri said another thing property managers can learn from these companies is how to build their businesses through recommendation.
“Disney grows their business through repeat referral and recommendation, and that’s one of the missing links in property management,” she said.
“Very rarely does the property management industry grow their business through existing clients.”