In the property management business numbers are important, but people more so. Getting the people right is a huge step in making the numbers work and being able to implement your plan of action by having the right skills in the right positions.
In the book Maverick Real Estate Investing by Steve Bergsman, there is an interview with Stuart Hornery, the past President of Lend Lease. He states “Good companies succeed by having good people.” This statement rings true for any wildly successful company; Apple, Virgin, General Electric.
This does not mean that numbers are unimportant, but rather in the lineage of “must have’s” having the right people is the imperative step to gaining ground on obtaining good numbers.
In Michael Hammer and James Champy’s book “Re-engineering the Corporation” they devote a good portion of the writing to “processes”. Up front, however, they make it clear that the right people must be in charge for re-engineering to take hold within the company.
In property management, we too have many processes to implement, many a checklist is at hand to assure that steps are followed for the delivery of quality and consistent service. What is necessary to assure this occurs? Good people.
Being in a leadership role, you have probably experienced the drain (in time and money) of making a bad hire. To avoid this potential going forward best practices suggest implementing a process for hiring to assure the best possible fit from the beginning. Is this a fool-proof plan? No, but no plan increases the probability of creating a bad match, higher turnover and productivity losses…many a bad thing.
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Mr. Wilhoit is the author of three books: How To Read A Rent Roll: A Guide to Understanding Rental Income and Multifamily Insight Vol 1 & 2 – How to Acquire Wealth Through Buying the Right Multifamily Assets in the Right Markets. Multifamily Insight Vol 2 — just out!
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About This Blog: Multifamily Insight is dedicated to assisting current and future multifamily property owners, operators and investors in executing specific tasks that allow multifamily assets to operate at their highest level of efficiency. We discuss real world issues in multifamily property management and acquisitions. This blog is intended to be informational only and does not provide legal, financial or accounting advice. See www.multifamilyinsight.com