We recently performed a benchmark survey asking property managers, owners, and their teams a series of questions about how they manage tenant relationships.
The full Tenant Relationship Management (TRM) benchmark survey report is here, but we couldn’t help but comment on some interesting feedback on how changing workplace demographics may be influencing tenant needs.
Sounds like juicy information, right? Get this:
Out of the over 300 commercial property management teams surveyed, 78% of respondents believe that the changing workforce demographics, and the changing use of building common spaces are having the largest impact on how they interact with tenants on a regular basis.
That means the increasing number of millennials entering the workforce, and baby boomers leaving the workforce, may be having a greater effect on CRE than previously thought.
The Workforce is Changing, But Work Priorities Are Not
But this changing workforce isn’t looking for extravagances like an indoor pool or massage parlor (though admittedly, who wouldn’t want that). According to survey respondents, keeping building systems functioning well, and maintaining quick service delivery times are far more important for tenant service satisfaction.
And they’re right.
If you were on a spaceship that was suffering from a life support system failure, you wouldn’t want your engineers to busy themselves working on fixing a broken coffee machine. Breathing is more important. As a tenant on that spaceship, you would definitely recognize the value of prioritization.
When it comes to tenant satisfaction, service delivery will always come before amenities. If your tenants and their employees can’t work effectively, they won’t be happy. But that doesn’t mean that building amenities don’t have a very influential role in improving tenant satisfaction!
The Priceless Value of Building Amenities
As a property manager or owner, you aren’t just serving your tenant contact – you’re serving your tenant contact and their employees. If both aren’t happy, you’ll see the negative impact.
Generally speaking:
Happy Tenant Employees = Happy Tenants
The good news is that you probably already have a suite of shared building amenities you’re already offering tenants and their employees.
But how can you measure satisfaction with these resources, and inspire their use?
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Use a Tool to Track Usage
If you want to know how much your tenants value your building resources, you have to have a consistent method of measuring both resource use, and satisfaction.
Luckily for you, there is a Property Management Tool with a Resource Scheduling functionality built in so you can keep track of when tenants are requesting to use your building resources. Your tenants can request access via an easy-to-use Tenant Portal, and you can approve and monitor their requests from the web or via your smartphone.
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Improve Resource Promotion
Do your tenants and their employees know that you have building resources available? Often times they don’t – and that means you’re both missing out on the benefits!
Try advertising your resources in public spaces where your tenants travel frequently, such as elevators, entryways, cafes, and bathrooms. Make sure your signage is noticeable, and don’t be afraid to be creative!
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Utilize your Tenant Relationships
Great property managers and property management teams keep regular tabs on how their tenants are doing.
If you’re engaging in a conversation and you realize that they could benefit from using one of your building’s resources – mention it! Chances are good that they didn’t know the resources existed, or they forgot about them.
Once you start measuring satisfaction with your existing building resources, you’ll have a much better picture of what tenants really need, and the actionable data necessary to make informed choices.
And if you found this post helpful, we invite you to sign up to receive a complimentary copy of our Tenant Relationship Management Benchmark Survey Report when it comes out. It features even more tenant satisfaction revelations captured from your top peers – you won’t want to miss it!