Regroup…is this a new management trend? Not a chance! Regroup is simply an opportunity to end one month’s business cycle, recap the performance at each property you manage and outline a plan of success for the new upcoming month. Why does it work? Because it allows each person on your team to assess their performance from the previous month, and to make any necessary adjustments for the new month. Here’s how it works.
Scheduling and preparing regroup: Regroup should be scheduled during the slowest time of each month and should start before your leasing office opens in the morning, if possible. A solid and productive regroup takes about two hours and will require about one hour of preparation by your resident manager. Be certain to have a blank chalkboard or a standing easel for taking notes and keep distractions to a minimum. Regroup is also a time to build on the creative juices from each person on your team, so make regroup a special part of each month and allow for everyone to have equal time to share their feedback. Simply stated, there are no wrong questions or topics discussed at regroup and your team will respect and respond positively to this freedom.
Tip From The Coach: As the supervisor for your properties, it is critical for you to attend regroup and actively participate in them. Your preparation for each regroup should begin by reviewing the agenda from the previous month with your resident manager, to assess if the to-do list from last regroup was accomplished. Then, review together the new regroup agenda making certain your resident manager’s gameplan is consistent with your company goals and expectations.
Running the meeting: Each month’s agenda for regroup should begin by reviewing the financial information important to your company and its investors. This might include “actual” revenue and income versus budget, resident retention percentages, collection issues or expense performance versus the budget. Then, have your resident manager address any problems experienced during the past 30 days or any upcoming issues that will affect the property. Next, map a calendar of activities that will enhance the performance for this property. This might include a monthly event to thrill your residents, a new marketing plan, or a special focus on your resident referral program. This part of regroup is where the creativity of your team really starts to roll and if you listen closely, you will hear many “golden” ideas. Lastly, have your resident manager recap the team goals for the new month and be certain the meeting always closes on a positive note!
Tip From The Coach: As the supervisor for this property, take detailed notes during regroup, then send a brief memo to your resident manager recapping the day. Include in this memo a to-do list for the upcoming month, so your resident manager will clearly know what is expected. Clear communication is the cornerstone of management success.
Meeting individually with your team: At the close of each regroup, plan to spend another thirty minutes more with your resident manager to recap the day, cheer their success, and discuss the specific performance of each individual at the property. During this meeting ask your resident manager if he/she needs any additional support or training to develop their skills or the skills of their team. This is the most important part of regroup as time spent developing your team for future opportunity, will make for pro-active management which means you always have a sharp person ready to be promoted to the next position.
Tip from the Coach: In the same spirit of the individual meeting you have with your resident manager, ask him/her to have a similar meeting with each member of their leasing team. This will help to grow their skills as a leader and you will want to attend the first few meetings to be certain the agenda for the individual meetings are exactly as you expect. In fact, as a manager, always “inspect what you expect”. A good rule of thumb!
Wow! Such an important topic and so much to share! Incorporate regroup into your next 30 day business cycle and see for yourself how successful the time is spent! Need help planning your agenda? E-mail a quick note to ernest@powerhour.com and the Coach will send you a sample agenda in ten minutes. It’s easy! The Coach says so! 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 PowerHour conference call.
Ernest F. Oriente, a business coach since 1995 [29,760 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 utility bill auditing national real estate and apartment building insurance, SEO/SEM web strategies, national WiFi solutions, powerful tools for hiring property management SuperStars and building dynamic teams, employee policy manuals and social media strategic solutions. Ernest worked for Motorola, Primedia and is certified in the Xerox sales methodologies. Recent interviews and articles have appeared more than 7000 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 200+ 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