Going Above and Beyond to Boost Resident Retention

Ben James is usually the first staff member to arrive at Optima Kierland Apartments in Scottsdale, Ariz., getting there at 8 a.m. most mornings. As assistant property manager of the community, his daily responsibilities include meeting with the maintenance manager for an update, walking the property to ensure amenities are open and in tiptop shape, greeting residents and providing assistance to anyone who comes into the office.

But one day in January 2025, James was faced with a resident request he hadn’t experienced before—something beyond the scope of his routine responsibilities at the apartment community. A resident was getting married and had left behind a $15,000 diamond necklace – a family heirloom that she planned to wear for her wedding on the East Coast.

“Frantic was an understatement,” said James. “This was on a Thursday, and the wedding was Saturday. We got permission to go into the apartment, and the resident let me know exactly where it was in the bedroom.” He then took it to the post office and mailed it out via the safest and most efficient method. It arrived on time, and the resident was overjoyed.

But James is not alone in his dedication to providing extraordinary customer service. Today, more than ever, service is essential to attracting and retaining residents. After all, with so much apartment inventory available, and more in the pipeline, renters have more options than ever. So how a resident or prospective resident is treated from the point of first contact can make the difference between their ultimately executing a lease or renewal—or not.

“During Covid, people realized that it’s not as much about the fancy gym or the other amenities,” said Taylor Blades, a senior marketing manager for Yardi Systems. “It’s about how connected they feel to their community, and that connection comes from the level of service they get from the on-site team.”

Above-and-beyond service is a win-win

Many apartment operators pay renewal bonuses to their on-site staff, and if an act of kindness makes a resident more likely to renew, that benefits the staff member and the landlord. Others recognize the employee. James, for example, said he was named “Employee of the Quarter” due to his customer service skills.

In an industry plagued by a high employee turnover rate, making an employee feel appreciated can go a long way. “We train our employees that we’re all selling the same four walls, the same ceilings and the same pools, but that someone is going to make a leasing decision off of how you treat them,” said Christine Gustafson, vice president of marketing and public relations for The Breeden Co. “When you show acts of kindness, you create a fan of your community.”

Building a service-first culture

Gustafson said that The Breeden Co. expects staff members to go above and beyond to provide great customer service to residents. “From a business standpoint, as a company we expect these acts of kindness,” she said. “To us, it’s a business. To our residents, it’s a home.”

Here’s how to instill a commitment to service in your employees.

Hire properly. Make sure you’re hiring employees with the skillset they need today. “For a long time, people were hiring leasing agents who were technically able – they had to be able to respond to leads quickly – but now we’re seeing a shift back toward hiring people who are good ‘people people,’ who can connect with you on the tour and get to know you well,” said Blades.

To make sure that prospective employees are a good fit, Breeden now uses a two-day process for hiring, doing a traditional interview on the first day to get to know the applicant’s personality and then asking questions to test their skills on day two, Gustafson said.

Due to this prudent hiring process, Alex Horst and Justin Maynard, both service managers, were able to go above and beyond to help an older resident who had fallen in the hallway and hit his head at The Pinnacle on 31st Street in Virginia Beach. His distraught wife couldn’t get him up and called the office crying. Horst and Maynard rushed to the resident, got him settled in his home and then helped them to their car so the wife could take her husband to the doctor. But their service didn’t end there. The two continued to check in on the residents, helping to take out their trash, delivering packages and more. The residents ultimately left them a five-star review.

Train employees and then get out of their way. In addition to making wise hiring decisions, train your employees how to handle difficult situations. Many apartment companies are now incorporating hospitality principles into that training. “Hotels go above and beyond just so someone will have a good experience for a few nights,” said Yardi’s Blades. “So why wouldn’t we try to create that same experience for someone who is living in an apartment community for a year or potentially multiple years?”

Consider setting a budget for unexpected acts of kindness, and empowering your employees to use it. Giving employees the autonomy to make decisions on what constitutes a kind thing to do for a resident makes them feel more connected to their job—and can help create employee loyalty.

“Having a clear simple program so team members understand how they are empowered to do the right thing makes all of the difference,” said Joan Carro, senior managing director of operational implementations and integrations for Greystar’s U.S. property management business. “They’re creative and engaged and excited to be able to go above and beyond for our residents.”

Find balance. It could be challenging today to balance on-site, personal interactions with the temptation to transition as many tasks as possible to centralized operations and the efficiencies that come from AI. But apartment operators can actually tap AI to free up on-site staff from routine responsibilities, such as collections or renewals, that take away from their ability to connect with residents and provide the very best customer service.

“The right balance is utilizing technology to free up our team members to provide that service,” said Carro. “If they’re not keying in 1,000 checks on rent day, they’re more likely to be out in the community and engage with our residents. That’s the important component.”