Why Property Managers Leave? How to reduce your staff turnover
For every business, the risk of employee turnover is one of the most painful and disruptive things that can happen, and this is especially relevant for estate and letting agencies who see property managers leaving on a regular basis. It affects almost every area of the business from;
- Relationships with clients (landlords).
- Internal team dynamics.
- Added pressure on other team members.
- Time and money spent on sourcing, managing and training new employees.
- Increased operational risk (no guarantee’s new employee works out).
- Impact on profitability of the agency.
So, the question is, why staff turnover is this happening?
Reasons why Property Managers Leave
Every director of an estate or letting agency dreads the moment they realise their key member of staff (PM) is leaving and they have to quickly find solutions to their problem whilst also figuring out how to keep running and growing their business.
We have found from both Hannah, LoftyWorks’ in-house Head of Property Management Department, and our clients that one of the reasons this can happen is simply burnout that often led either the property managers quitting or finding a new job. Here are the most common reasons we found for Property Manager’s burnout:
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a Property Manager (PM) is an intensive customer facing role and requires the individual to be resilient and emotionally capable of handling difficult people and situations constantly;
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a PM has a wide range of responsibilities and workload that can quickly spiral out of control from onboarding a new landlord to organising a timely repair (Hannah has recently been dealing with a fire) and navigating tenant communication;
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A PM deals with many high-pressure scenarios and demanding customers, and this often means being available for calls and chats even outside the working hours, keeping numerous facts and data in your head and receiving more critique and higher levels of service expectations;
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Sadly, they garner little acknowledgment and gratitude, which leads to staff feeling disincentivised at their jobs leading to worse performance, fatigue and losing interest in the work.
These reasons often lead to burnouts and cause people leaving both managerial roles but also junior and senior PM roles.
How Will This Affect Your Agency?
Impact on Work Culture
Property management is a people-driven industry, thus one of the most important things that is being built throughout the daily routine is relationships between the team and clients (landlords). The customers start trusting your team more and more to get the job done. This leads to upselling your services (when there is a good rapport between agents and clients, the latter one tend to intrust more and more property into your agency ‘hands’ which, naturally, drives more income for your business).
This lovely scheme can suddenly become ruined by a property manager leaving and changing the client’s perspective – ‘Hm, they have a new PM every 3-6 months, it must be something wrong with this agency, I better not trust them with my property’.
Financial Implications
Have you thought about a true cost of replacing an employee? A Centre for American Progress (CAP) study found average costs to replace an employee can be from £3,328 (for a low-paying job) to £8,000 (midrange positions). For example, the cost to replace a £40k manager would be £8k. Not saying that to replace a CEO who earns £100k may cost up to £213k.
Growth Ambitions
It’s nice and easy when everyone understands their role and can execute effectively. But imagine starting to teach all the nuances of your business every 6-12 months to a new employee – there will be definitely not much room and energy for growth of the very business. The older colleagues might just turn into trainers for newer colleagues which may lead to a new burnout and resignation.
LoftyWorks tips and tricks for Employee Retention
People are the most valuable resource of any company and making sure they are not only happy but in a sustainable work environment is so important.
Top five tips for preventing property manager burnout:
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Consider property technology for automation of tasks.
Automate the process of reporting maintenance issues through technology
Organise virtual viewings process to streamline your pre-tenancy workflow
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Arrange frequent staff appreciation events.
Praise people during team meetings
Award outstanding employees quarterly
Regular special occasions like appreciation dinners
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Encourage off-site meetings for greater work-life balance.
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Set up and promote mental and physical wellness of employees.
Encourage staff to leave their desks and go outside for lunch
Organise a discount for or give a regular budget for personal care or gym membership.
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Respect your employee’s personal time and stress involved in peoples daily lives through a good work-life balance.
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Let us help
Experts in Property Management and Client Accounting
Our team of professionals with 10+ years’ experience in property management and client accounting will be able to help with the following:
Property Management:
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Coordinating day-to-day maintenance
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Keeping up to date with ongoing compliances – GSC, EICR, EPC
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Arranging periodic inspections – carried out by 3rd party
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Working on tenancy contracts renewals
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Working on the end-of-tenancy contracts
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General query handling
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Legal notices
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Deposit returns
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Negotiate dilapidations
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Right to Rent Checks
Client Accounting:
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Daily bank reconciliations
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Process contractor payments
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General accounts query handling
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Rent collection
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Process landlord payments
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Producing and sending landlord statements
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Manage property expenses & invoices
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In-arrears chasing
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Monthly KPI reporting
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Revenue assurance
Further Information
Should you wish to discover more about property management, drop an email to sales@loftyworks.com or a message to our WhatsApp on +44 330 321 3500.
