When was the last time your leasing journey got better?
Has your leasing process changed in recent years?
Are you still interacting with Prospects the same way you always have?
If these questions make you pause, you likely aren’t being proactive with your leasing workflow and are allowing your leasing process to stagnate and fall behind. Multifamily Leasing is incredibly competitive, and the properties and owners who continuously work towards improvement, are the properties with better occupance and higher investor performance. Don’t let your property fall behind current trends and market demands - use the Continuous Improvement Cycle to advance the performance of your leasing process.
What is the Continuous Improvement Cycle?
The Continuous Improvement Cycle is a method used to constantly improve processes, products, or services. One of the most common models for this cycle is the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle. First we will look a quick overview to understand PDCA in general terms, then we will look specifically at how it can be applied to Multifamily Leasing.
PLAN: Identify an opportunity for improvement and plan a change.
- What problem do you need to solve?
- How do you see the problem resolution?
- What resources do you need?
- Who is responsible for carrying out the project?
- What are the objections against starting the project?
- How can you address them?
- How do you measure the project performance?
- When does the project start, and when is it considered completed?
DO: Implement the change on a small scale.
The ‘Do’ stage has nothing to do with completing the project. Here you only create a controlled environment and run a test on a small-scale project without interrupting the main workflow.
Say, you want to improve your prospect leasing cycle. You aren’t satisfied with lead nurturing campaigns, and your team has suggested the root of the problem is in lead prioritization. You need to develop a new model and make it work on a small scale.
CHECK: Use data to analyze the results of the change and determine whether it made a difference.
- Have you reached the expected result?
- What have you achieved? (talk numbers)
- What can you improve it?
- Should you continue pursuing the plan?
ACT: If the change was successful, implement it on a wider scale and continuously assess your results. If the change did not work, begin the cycle again.
- If things are going as planned, you’re moving on to the ‘Act’ stage. Finally, you’re realizing the plan (or its adjusted version) at full scale.
This cycle promotes continuous feedback and iterative improvement, allowing organizations to refine and enhance their processes over time.
How does this apply to Multifamily Leasing?
Applying the Continuous Improvement Cycle (CIC) to the leasing journey for multifamily property owners involves a careful critique of the existing leasing process, and some self-reflection and honestly about where the faults are and how they are impacting prospects and residents. Here’s how each stage of the PDCA cycle can be thought about and applied in the context of a Multifamily Leasing Process:
1. Plan
- Identify Areas for Improvement: Assess the current leasing process to pinpoint pain points or inefficiencies, like long wait times for responses, complicated application processes, or low lease conversion rates.
- Set Goals: Define clear objectives for what you want to achieve, like reducing the application processing time, improving tenant satisfaction, or increasing the lease conversion rate.
- Develop a Plan: Create a detailed plan outlining the steps required to achieve the desired improvements. This will require input and ideas from the entire organization. This could involve adopting new technologies, streamlining communication, or offering better training for leasing agents.
2. Do
- Implement Changes on a Small Scale: Test the proposed changes in a specific area or with a small group of properties. For example, you might pilot a new online application system or introduce virtual tours for prospective tenants.
- Train Staff: Ensure that all relevant staff members are trained on any new systems or processes being introduced.
3. Check
- Monitor Results: Collect data on the performance of the new process. This could include metrics like application processing times, conversion rates, tenant feedback, and overall satisfaction. Digital Lease Journey Intelligence Systems like the one we provide can be helpful with this.
- Analyze Data: Compare the results to your initial goals to determine whether the changes have had the desired effect. Identify any unexpected issues or areas where further improvement is needed. If you are a Yardi user, our Yardi Chat IQ handoff, and Yardi SQL Dashboards can be helpful in this process.
4. Act
- Standardize Successful Changes: If the pilot was successful, roll out the changes on a larger scale across all properties. Update standard operating procedures and ensure all staff are informed.
- Address Shortcomings: If the results were not as expected, analyze the data to understand why and adjust the plan accordingly. This might mean refining the process further or trying a different approach.
- Repeat the Cycle: Continuous improvement is an ongoing process. Regularly revisit each stage of the cycle to identify new opportunities for enhancement and make sure the leasing process remains efficient and effective.
Examples of Application
- Plan: The property management team notices that many potential tenants abandon the application process midway. They plan to simplify the online application form and introduce a live leasing agent chat support to assist applicants.
- Do: They implement the new application form and chat system in a few of their smaller properties as a test.
- Check: After three months, they review the data and find that the completion rate of applications has increased by 20%, and the feedback from applicants is positive.
- Act: Based on the success, they roll out the new form and chat system to all properties, provide training for the leasing staff, and continue to monitor performance for further improvements.
Conclustions
Like many business analysis methodologies, the Continuous Improvement Cycle can be extremely helpful for multifamily properties to adopt. It’s not just a process in and of it’s self - it’s a methodology and a frame of mind that should be promoted by the organization. When on-site teams, remote leasing staff, management, and investment stakeholders all adopt a mindset of continuous improvement, it will result in real tangible benfits at all levels of the organization.