Your company just bought new property management software, and like any new purchase, you want to take it out for a spin. But unlike say… a new 2014 Maserati GranTurismo that only needs a lead foot and a tank of gas to operate, your property management platform offers you a multitude of ways to get started – which can leave you feeling a bit overwhelmed. Luckily, I’m here to steer you in the right direction.
The answer is: Work Orders – the Engines of your Operation.
Tenant requested work orders are the engines that power successful building operations. A properly configured work order software ensures that tenants know their satisfaction is a top priority, and smooth communication and easy information access are the hallmarks of a reliable system. A tenant who is able to submit a work order once – without any follow-up effort – is one that will continue to use the system and help keep your building running smoothly. Suffice to say, tenants are the key to a prosperous property, since a happy tenant does not leave a building and will be a promotional asset to attracting new tenants.
This brings to mind an incident that happened a few years ago, during one of our severe New England winters. I was working in an older office building in downtown Boston, and on this particular day it was so cold that we had a pipe burst in the ceiling, in the middle of our office. We were VERY lucky that it was a clean water pipe because it proceeded to flood the entire office, and you can imagine the pandemonium as people grabbed their desktops and belongings, and ran out into the hall. Building management was immediately notified and the clean-up began later that day. The quick action and sharing of information/updates kept us – the tenants – happy. The work order process worked.
No other part of a property management system could have provided the triage and swift response that was necessary to resolve a real-time problem. Communication between the property management staff was essential to ensuring the process ran efficiently – and that is the kind of process that a successful work order software provides.
Building Engines’ Work Order Manager takes things one step further by allowing for flexible configuration of service level priorities, associated response and completion targets, notification and escalation protocols, and providing an integrated feedback loop for your tenants. It’s important to remember that tenants have higher expectations than ever and leading building teams need to move beyond simple work order management to a Service Delivery Program to effectively meet those demands.
So needless to say, without a fully-functional work order manager, your building is an empty shell, just like a Maserati without a motor would be a very expensive, but very useless, metal box.
