by Ernest F. Oriente, The Coach {Article #182…since 1995}
Would you like to learn the secrets for finding SuperStars to join your property management company…in 30 days? Are you tired of placing ads and wondering why it takes months to fill a vacant position? Have you looked at your budgets for this year and considered how a few key SuperStars could impact your compensation bonuses? Follow the three steps in this article and your dream of having a powerful property management team will be 30 days away!
Recruiting internally: Begin your internal recruiting for SuperStars by paying a recruiting bonus to your current employees if they find a new candidate who becomes an employee of your property management company. A typical recruiting bonus of $250-$1000 could be earned for each new employee hired. 50 percent of this recruiting bonus could be paid to the referring employee on the day the new employee begins and the remaining 50 percent of the bonus could be paid after the new employee has worked six continuous months for your company. Next, include a classified ad in the E-newsletter that is sent to the residents of the properties you manage. If your residents really enjoy living at your wonderful apartment community, imagine the asset they will be on your property management team. Lastly, consider using the services of a temporary employment agency to fill short-term positions and vacation days, while using their service to find potential future employees.
Tip From The Coach: Temporary employment services will want you to pay a recruiting fee if you want to convert one of their temps to full-time status with your property management company. Remember, their fees are negotiable, especially if you discuss your hiring plans with them in advance or show them the significant amount of money your company has paid them over the past years. Of course, the best SuperStar recruiting comes from making internal promotions, which raises team morale at the same time.
Recruiting externally: Begin your external recruiting search by looking at the people employed by competitive property management companies. Since these companies employ individuals in the multi-housing industry, this is a targeted place for recruiting SuperStars. Trade shows and apartment association meetings are also a great place to network and meet these potential candidates. Next, consider the vendors who serve the property management company, as these vendors spend the majority of their day working with companies just like yours, and their expertise and industry knowledge can be a great asset when it comes to looking for help with your recruiting efforts. Lastly, try using employment placement agencies that specialize in the property management industry or place your employment advertisement in the magazine or E-newsletter published by your local apartment association.
Tip From The Coach: Have you considered doing a hiring seminar to recruit new employees for your property management company? If you can imagine the normal hiring process, which typically takes two to four weeks, and would like to see this process condensed into two hours, send an E-mail to ernest@powerhour.com asking for details.
Recruiting using current technology: If your property management company has a website, add "job opportunities" to your main web page. To see some examples of this idea, go to www.aimco.com or www.riverstoneres.com or www.pinnacleams.com. Next, try placing your hiring ads at websites specializing in employment opportunities like Monster or Career Builder or LinkedIn, just to name a few. Lastly, on your company E-mail system, add job opportunity information so it appears in the "signature" file at the bottom of every E-mail that is sent.
Tip From The Coach: Recruiting using today's technology is fun and fast. More importantly, have you seen the demographics of the type of people who are online? Still wondering how to find property management SuperStars? Try more online recruiting and watch to see the world-class candidates who begin to apply for positions with your company. In addition, use behavior and values assessments to numerically evaluate and benchmark key success factors such as intensity of ambition, people skills, economic drive and sales skills.
Want to hear more about this important topic or ask some additional questions? Send an E-mail to ernest@powerhour.com and The Coach will E-mail back to you a free invitation to be a participant on a TeleForum conference call. For those who join this TeleForum, a bonus of 17 recruiting tips and 37 employment recruiting websites will be shared!
Author's note: Ernest F. Oriente, a business coach since 1995 [27,130 hours], a property management industry professional since 1988 - the author of SmartMatch Alliances - and the founder of PowerHour...[ www.powerhour.com and www.powerhourseo.com and www.pirmg.com ], has a passion for coaching his clients on executive leadership, hiring and motivating property management SuperStars, traditional and Internet SEO/SEM marketing, competitive sales strategies, and high leverage alliances for property management teams and their leaders. He provides private and group coaching for property management companies around North America, executive recruiting, investment banking, national RE and apartment building insurance [ www.powerhour.com/propertymanagement/multifamilyinsurance.html ] , SEO/SEM web strategies, national WiFi solutions [ www.powerhour.com/propertymanagement/apartmentwifi.html ], and powerful tools for hiring property management SuperStars and building dynamic teams. Ernest worked for Motorola, Primedia and is certified in the Xerox sales methodologies. Recent interviews and articles have appeared more than 6500 times in business and trade publications and in a wide variety of leading magazines and newspapers, including Smart Money, Inc., Business 2.0, The New York Times, Fast Company, The LA Times, Fortune, Business Week, Self Employed America and The Financial Times. Since 1995, Ernest has written 182 articles for the property management industry and created 350+ property management forms, business and marketing checklists, sales letters and presentation tools. To subscribe to his free property management newsletter go to: www.powerhour.com. PowerHour® is based in Olympic-town…Park City, Utah, at 435-615-8486, by E-mail ernest@powerhour.com or visit their website: www.powerhour.com