SPECIAL REPORT: Improving Performance Through Personal Accountability

By Jessica Fiur, News Editor

Boston—Do you take accountability for your actions? At the recent National Apartment Association Education & Exposition in Boston, Andrew Botieri, Total Peak Performance, presented a session titled “Improving Performance Through Personal Accountability,” which described the importance of taking responsibility at your property. The first part of accountability is actuality enjoying you job, according to Botieri.

“If you don’t love what you do, what a disservice to yourself and your team because you’re not giving 100 percent,” he said.

People who enjoy their job will take on more at the property, such as fixing maintenance issues, which is important because, according to Botieri, 49 percent of residents will leave because of controllable property issues.

It’s especially important to be accountable because unhappy residents won’t stay at your property. According to Botieri, it costs six times more money to replace an existing resident than it does to retain them. So reducing turnover can end up saving thousands of dollars.

An unhappy resident could also affect future prospects for a property. Botieri said that a dissatisfied resident will tell nine to 15 people about it. And approximately 13 percent of them will tell more than 20 people about it.

Long-term customers are usually more profitable, according to Botieri. A 5 percent increase in customer retention can boost profit by 25 percent to 125 percent, he said.

As mentioned, most residents move out because of maintenance issues, which is where accountability will really make a difference.

“When companies fall above the line of accountability, they recognize when there is a problems, take ownership and solve it,” Botieri said. “You learn more from your mistakes than your victories.”