Wendover’s Approach to Attracting, Retaining Multifamily Talent
Vice President of HR Kim Webb on finding the best applicants for on-site property roles when most candidates favor remote-work environments.
Visibility is crucial to help your company stand out from the competition, according to Kim Webb. Image courtesy of Wendover Management
Defined by its distinct need for on-site work, the multifamily industry is grappling with a fiercely competitive job market and a persistent demand for top talent.
The U.S. economy added 336,000 jobs in September alone, surpassing all expectations. For Wendover Management, a multifamily developer in the Southeast, this means that differentiating itself to attract top-tier talent is imperative.
In an interview with Multi-Housing News, Vice President of Human Resources Kim Webb revealed details about the strategies her company is employing to attract and retain employees in an industry that can mostly offer a non-remote work environment. Webb talked about the challenges housing developers face, and provided solutions for companies seeking to optimize their multifamily talent management strategy and elevate service quality.
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With the recent increase in remote work, have you noticed any changes in candidate preferences or expectations when it comes to on-site property roles? How has Wendover adapted to these changes?
Webb: While Wendover has seen an increase in remote work due to the pandemic, our property roles were always intended to be on-site. Having associates on-site and readily available enables us to manage properties and care for residents more effectively.
Our mission is to create exceptional experiences by building value-driven communities that enrich lives. We are looking to fill property roles with candidates who want to personally be involved in making the community an exceptional place for residents to live and feel at home. This type of impact is challenging to achieve from a remote position.
In the current highly competitive job market, how do you stand out from competition to recruit and retain top talent for your on-site roles?
Webb: Developers face challenges with recruiting and retaining multifamily talent simply because the job does require on-site work. In today’s world, many people are looking for hybrid or remote work, but to manage and maintain a housing community, remote work is not possible.
Additionally, this year we have seen a steady flow of applicants, meaning there is some competition among developers to attract top talent. Visibility is crucial to help your company stand out from the competition.
How can multifamily businesses overcome these challenges effectively?
Webb: The number one thing multifamily businesses can do to attract talent and reduce turnover is to have online visibility and strong positioning in order to vet through for culture fits. Communities must be transparent about their mission and vision to attract candidates who share the same values. Additionally, when moving forward with a candidate, it’s important to have discussions about motivation in the initial screening conversation—always do this sooner rather than later.
For affordable housing communities, recruiters must emphasize the benefits of affordable communities. For example, affordable communities typically have fewer units than market-rate communities, and therefore there is less to manage, and more focus can be put on each unit or each resident.
Why is it important for you to streamline the application process for candidates?
Webb: An easy application process that caters to candidates is important when it comes to attracting talent. If an application is long, tedious and repetitive, it is going to deter potentially strong candidates. Wendover places ads on 17 different job boards—such as Indeed and LinkedIn—which produce the most traffic, to help gain attention from candidates.
An experienced recruiter who understands the needs of a company is also very valuable. What qualities should companies look for in a recruiter when trying to meet the unique hiring needs of a growing multifamily development company?
Webb: An experienced and confident recruiter is extremely important. Recruiters talk to people all day every day, so confident and effective communication skills are vital to build relationships, lead interviews, manage expectations and keep candidates in the loop on updates in the hiring process. Effective communication includes being a good listener and addressing questions and concerns from candidates. Recruiters should also be approachable, organized and trustworthy, and know when to identify any red flags.
Culture and values play a pivotal role in talent attraction and retention. How do you communicate these to potential candidates to ensure alignment?
Webb: Companies should emphasize their culture and values to ensure they are moving forward with candidates who care about maintaining high standards and going above and beyond for residents. By emphasizing this from the start, companies can focus efforts and filter out candidates who don’t portray these traits to keep the hiring process moving.
Recruiters must listen to their “spidey sense” and ask themselves: Does this candidate truly meet all the markers? What are their red flags?
This has helped Wendover with turnover. Some examples of red flags in a candidate are when they are not dressed presentably or make excuses to justify previous issues, rather than owning up and explaining how they have grown.
Could you provide an example of how hiring employees who align with your company’s culture has positively impacted employee retention and the quality of service you provide to residents?
Webb: Hiring and retaining employees that align with our culture allows us to have open conversations about the good and the bad. When our employees feel something isn’t working, the relationships they have built allow them to speak up.
We can share the why, even if they do not agree. Conversely, they can share with us their why, which could lead to change. Being heard and effecting change is empowering and an effective retention tool.
When our people stay, our residents feel the stability and are comforted knowing we have employees who truly care about the community.
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Can you discuss any specific initiatives or programs that Wendover has implemented to foster a sense of community and teamwork among its employees?
Webb: Offering competitive benefits like long-term disability insurance, a variety of health-care plans and 401(k) matching are all important to employees. In the last 12 months, Wendover added new paid holidays to increase employee morale and increase our PTO accrual rate.
To help foster employee development, Wendover also offers 100 percent education assistance. We pay for higher education and some certifications up front, so employees have no out-of-pocket expense. For example, for our maintenance teams, we pay up front for EPA certifications for managing HVAC units and CPO certifications for managing commercial pools.
Focusing on promotions and growth from within also fosters a sense of teamwork among employees and reduces turnover. Working to train employees and to expand their skills builds a sense of community and gives them something to strive for.
How does your company’s approach to multifamily talent management directly influence tenant satisfaction and lease renewals?
Webb: Having spacious and safe units, as well as high-quality amenity options, are both important to resident satisfaction, but it’s the people who foster a sense of community. Having a consistent management team that can get to know residents and form relationships with them helps to increase resident satisfaction, and in turn, increase lease renewals.
Can you provide examples of best practices from Wendover’s talent acquisition and retention efforts that other housing developers could learn from?
Webb: As leaders, we must be willing to not just listen to what candidates and employees want but be willing to act on some of what they share. Our industry and the world are changing. What attracted and retained people two years ago has changed. We need to be nimble and adjust as these changes come.
