Not All Centralization Is Created Equal: Mastering Multifamily Maintenance
What are the best ways to make the most of this strategy? Here’s your guide.
Smart tech is now crucial for centralizing processes in multifamily communities. Image by cottonbro Studio via pexels.com.
Centralization is a trending operational strategy in multifamily, and a movement that likely won’t ever be retracted. The advent of new property technologies in recent years has equipped the industry to permanently migrate toward combating labor issues and rising operating costs.
However, centralization efforts are rarely uniform—especially in maintenance. There are varying opinions about which functions and services should be centralized, the level of on-site presence required at communities, and the technology needed to effectively facilitate centralization without sacrificing service. But the clear consensus is that successful maintenance centralization hinges on technology. Proptech and smart home platforms that either create efficiencies, empower teams to complete tasks remotely, or enable a contactless experience are essential to fully leverage the benefits of maintenance centralization.
For years, many operators only had visual cues of where and when maintenance tasks needed to be performed. The problem with this model is that failure was often the prompt to repair, meaning there had to be an obvious problem to the naked eye before anything was fixed. Technological advances like maintenance tracking and pre-scheduled inspections helped the industry adopt better preventative maintenance practices. But things don’t break on a schedule and teams still find themselves being largely reactive to maintenance issues.
Smart home technologies and monitoring capabilities have modernized the visual and preventive processes. Operators have a true holistic and transparent understanding of their communities and portfolios and it is this knowledge that is the foundation for centralized maintenance.
Here are some key technologies to further support the transition to a centralized maintenance management structure:
Self-guided Touring
Historically, leading in-person tours has been a primary role of leasing associates, but touring and online leasing technologies have largely absorbed those tasks. At first, self-guided touring enabled on-site associates to direct their time to other tasks, like customer service, and limit their interactions with prospective residents to before and after tours. However, as the technology rapidly evolved and prospects expressed a preference for contactless touring, even those brief touchpoints became unnecessary. And it was that development that largely spurred the industry to embark on centralization efforts.
