Editor’s Note

Virtual or face-to-face, education is key at all career stages. E-learning solutions enable apartment companies of all sizes to implement new employee training on Day One. They also allow management to leverage the talent pool and facilitate promotion from within. Tracking tools simplify staying abreast of performance details for large numbers of employees across a far-flung portfolio—and since you can see which employees are struggling with specific skill sets, costly in-person training can be deployed only when and where it’s needed.

After a number of years in Vegas, the National Apartment Association held the 2012 Education Conference & Exposition in Boston. The sleek Boston Convention Center is a bit more buttoned-up than Mandalay Bay, but I did spot an Elvis impersonator roaming the show floor; so you can take the NAA expo out of Vegas but you can’t take Vegas out of the NAA expo. The enormous exhibit hall was filled to capacity with suppliers—a good sign for the economy and a great resource for apartment operators. Watch MHN TV for interviews on a range of topics affecting the industry.