Block Management is becoming increasingly difficult. Walking the tightrope between clients and customers is challenging, and finding the balance between providing quality, cost-effective facilities management while offering superior customer service can be difficult—especially when your workflows haven’t been updated to account for society’s changing expectations.
It’s time to get ahead with our 7 top tips:
When it comes to selecting the right contractors to carry out your PPM, don’t forget to ask the obvious questions. What experience does your contractor have and can they provide references and testimonials? Do they have an online presence; what is “the internet” saying about them? When it comes to choosing the right company for the job, don’t overlook the power of word of mouth.
Are they accredited and certified? Does your contractor have the correct accreditation and certification? For larger programmes of works, check and see if your contractor is accredited by an appropriate trade body. Also check whether they are accredited by the Safety Schemes in Procurement (SSIP) umbrella body.
PPM ensures that the building is always in order. It’s a fact of life in this industry that members of your management team change. Having a well thought out PPM programme in place means that when your team changes, nothing is overlooked! Your new teammate starts off knowing exactly what’s going on, rather than having to play catch up. This seamless transition means that your service level will maintain its high standard across the board.
Implementing a well-documented PPM procedure, with a forecast of attendance details that is easily accessible to leaseholders will minimise disruption. A planned schedule of works gives block managers the ability to warn occupants that maintenance is taking place, giving them the opportunity to plan around the works. This advance warning and consideration should increase resident satisfaction and make the work easier to carry out.
Block managers should always be accessible. There’s a myriad of ways to be contacted; publish an email address that you can be contacted on and be sure to provide your mobile number or even consider setting up office hours where leaseholders can come and address concerns in person. Little steps like this will increase leaseholder comfort level. While they might not actually choose to contact you, they’ll appreciate knowing that they can.
Invest in software that allows you to contact multiple people at the same time. Developing the ability to impart mass information to large groups of people ensures that all leaseholders are equally informed.
It’s hard to ignore the impact that social media has had on communications in the business world and block management communication is no exception. While Facebook is the obvious communication channel, giving managers the opportunity to create groups, post bulletins and send out mass messages, other social media outlets also have a role to play. Twitter is also a useful channel to provide and receive information. Its back-and-forth nature lends itself to speedy dialogue and can be good for troubleshooting.
