How to Decide If a Technology Is Right for Your Company

Imagine purchasing a sporty new sedan. It accelerates like no other, is unmatched on the open road and always draws admiration.

Problem is, you live in a mountainous area where snow and mud are prominent. You like to spend the summers off-roading, which usually requires a rugged vehicle with sizable clearance. While your new vehicle is fun to drive, it doesn’t really fit your purposes.

Multifamily organizations sometimes experience something similar when building their tech stack.

It might be tempting to adopt the trendiest new innovations or to keep up with the tech offerings of the competition. But if it doesn’t fit your organization, it’s going to be much like the sports car for the mountain dweller.

Fortunately, owners and operators can take steps to ensure that the tech they adopt moves the needle in a positive direction. Here are some must-haves for any tech-related checklist:

1. Define your needs before you start

Much like the car example above, understanding your needs before you start is a key to ending up with the right technology.  Document why you are looking for the technology, what problems it has to solve, how it should solve them and the return on investment you expect. This should act as both a guide and the reasons you are crafting your tech stack.

2. Avoid integration frustration

Some tech works well as a standalone entity. But if it doesn’t integrate with your property management system it can lead to more frustration than efficiency. It will require teams to manually transfer data from one system to another as opposed to producing a seamless flow of information.

In the modern apartment landscape, no one has time for double entry. So, the first thing operators should consider with any tech implementation is whether it will speak the same tech language as your existing system and the potential impact on your frontline staff.  If your frontline team does not believe in the benefits of the technology, it makes adoption even harder.

3. Train beyond functionality

Training should be more than just a crash course on the functionality of a new software. While functionality is a solid starting point, training teams often stop there and don’t delve into the goals the organization hopes to achieve with the software, how it can migrate from one system to another and any limits that the user should be aware of. Users should also be trained on how to identify when the software is not doing what is expected. Without proper context, users will have different ideas of the desired outcomes for the software and might use the solution differently, which will lead to inconsistencies.

As part of this effort, operators should have a training regimen in place that encourages questions and feedback to ensure that all users understand both the functionality and the end goals of any new implementations. Multiple modes of training are also vital to enable associates to learn in the medium of their choice, whether it’s video, literature, in-person training or a combination of multiple modes.

4. Don’t rush the rollout

You’ve properly vetted your tech and adequately trained your team. The natural next step is to make it go live across the portfolio. While that approach is tempting, a rushed rollout seldom ends well.

Operators should deploy a more measured approach, using the standard methodology of implementing the tech at one property, moving on to two or three and then initiating portfolio-wide. To help determine the time needed for each facet of the rollout, operators should gauge the complexity of the software and any related risks. The more complex or the riskier to operations, the more time that should be allotted for the rollout.

For instance, an amenity reservation system or parking platform qualifies as low risk and generally less complex. A digital payment platform that provides crucial monetary data for the community is typically more complex and must feature a buttoned-up process before the official rollout.

5. Give adequate time to measure results

Any early performance results gleaned from a new software are purely anecdotal. Measure success along the way but note that at least a year is needed to determine the true impact.

For instance, let’s say a community introduces a new maintenance portal in which residents can submit digital service requests. The initial spike of new signups might appear encouraging, but those numbers will taper when much of the community is signed up. Likewise, satisfaction rates might be high at the beginning simply because it’s a new platform—or low if you experience complications with the software—but a true measure of the impact takes time to assess. Factors such as time saved for onsite associates or improved renewal rates must be considered in the overall ROI of the software.

Adopting tech demonstrates an innovative, forward-thinking approach. Yet, the initiative can be counterproductive if done hastily without the proper vetting, training and allotted time to roll it out. Operators who take a measured approach will have the best opportunity to ensure the tech is a welcomed and effective addition.

Savas Karas is the chief technology officer and chief transformation officer for CAPREIT.