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A brand has responded to the shifting rental landscape by acknowledging that property managers are having more hard conversations than ever and need tailored training to handle them.
Laing+Simmons’ head of property management, Michael Anania, explained that as vacancy rates have tightened around the country, the boutique network has become increasingly aware that what’s required of a PM has considerably altered as a result.
He described the level of change in a property manager’s day to day as “seismic”. Most of that, in his view, is due to the fact that the conversations they are having with tenants and property owners has shifted both in tone and the information that PMs need to bring to the call.
“Conversations with customers have never been harder. Rental increases, the impact of interest rate rises, the shortage of available homes to rent, and more. There’s an elevated level of anxiety in the community and property managers can often bear the brunt. So we need to train our property managers to work consistently with confidence and resilience,” Mr Anania said.
Some of that training has included sessions on mortgage broking so that property managers are well versed in the way that interest rates impact the entire property ecosystem.
The firm is also aiming to equip PMs with the assurance and empathy to be able to handle calls that tackle two topics that are of utmost importance to every Australian: their home and their financial stability.
Mr Anania stressed that PMs should feel they’re going into those conversations prepared.
“The skills and knowledge must be in place prior to the interaction. Hard conversations can be uncomfortable. Our training is targeted at alleviating any fear from initiating these discussions, through a communication focus and dialogue prompts,” he explained.
And the network has also taken a new approach whereby any issues in a tenancy come to light sooner and residents feel that their property manager is fully aware of their individual situations.
“We have implemented a proactive strategy whereby our property managers call tenants directly in the event of a coming change to their circumstances. Some tenants advise that they need to move out. This triggers a supplementary strategy focused on finding them an alternate home to meet their needs,” Mr Anania explained.
With a proactive approach, PMs find that they’re not just fielding calls from stressed tenants, rather they’re making calls that are met with a wide range of responses.
“Most property management teams across our network are now implementing 10 ‘happy calls’ a day, interacting directly with tenants to ensure any looming issues are understood early, so preparations can be made,” Mr Anania said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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