Today’s building residents are living in an increasingly service-dominated culture, which is naturally leading them to expect more from their block manager. Ten years ago, residents may have compared their experience as an occupier of one place to their experience of another. Now, with instant access to information at their fingertips and an avalanche of choices, residents are more likely to compare their experiences as residents to every customer service experience they’ve ever had. All too often, it’s found wanting.
A need for instant gratification
The Internet and portable technology such as smartphones have provided access to a wealth of information that the modern consumer can choose to engage with, however, and whenever they wish. They have become used to receiving immediate service, and this has changed their expectations for the property management services they receive. To account for this, block managers should allow residents to track the progress of planned maintenance or reactive repairs issues in the same way that consumers track the progress of their food delivery services.
Residents expect more choices
The abundance of ‘choice’ is one of the most fundamental ways technology has shifted resident expectations for their customer experience. Today, the customer has more choice than ever afforded to them. They want to choose how and when they have a conversation with their building managers, how they report a repair issue or send a complaint and when an issue is going to be resolved. Do you still rely on a phone number or email inbox to respond to resident enquiries during office hours? The chances are that your residents would much prefer to, and are hence more likely to, report maintenance issues if you let them do it on a self-service platform that is available anywhere and accessible at any time.
Greater focus on relationships
Ironically, the rise of the use of technology and proptech within the building sector has also created a renewed need for the presence of a block manager within a building. Even in an instant-access culture, residents want the experience of speaking to a real person in order to feel like they’re connected to the person resolving their property issues. Residents are looking for a relationship, rather than a transaction. Clear language and transparent communication can help build this sense of connection, but it’s also important to let them know that when they choose to make contact, they’re going to be heard and will be able to easily have a conversation if necessary. Having multiple points of contacts for different types of enquiries can be off-putting; it’s much better to have one main property manager who residents know they will be able to get hold of whenever they need to. Ensuring the regular presence of a block manager and investing in uniforms for maintenance and building staff to increase their visibility can also help to build long-lasting relationships between a building’s management services and its residents.
Make technology work for you
The industry will need to move away from reactivity and towards proactivity if it is to keep up with what customers expect. Using proptech to meet customer expectations in areas such as repairs and maintenance – for example, implementing software that allows residents to track the progress of their repair and keeps them aware of maintenance or events around the building to increase the transparency of the process – frees up one of a block manager’s most important assets: time. Reinvesting this time into building the relationships and creating the trust that residents require will allow technology to no longer be part of the problem when it comes to resident expectations, but part of the solution.
