Part 1: The Power of Standardized Systems in Property Management Companies

Our next big topic on The Property Management Show is the importance of standardized systems when you’re starting, growing, or even preparing an exit strategy for your property management company. This is such an essential topic that we’re breaking it into two parts. Today is Part I, and we’ve asked Dave Gorham to join us because he’s a systems and standardization success story. Introducing Dave Gorham of Realty Solutions Dave Gorham is the broker-of-record and owner of Realty Solutions, a New Jersey-based real estate management company. Realty Solutions is more than a property management company; they look at the full lifecycle of an investor and an investment property. In addition to managing properties, the company does community association management and operates a law firm. They’ve been in business for more than 20 years. With over 30 years of real estate experience himself, Dave can also approach his work from a place of personal experience because he’s an investor, too. He’s also a Mind-Set Coach for Frame of Mind Coaching, and loves building leaders. Defining a Standardized System in Property Management: What it Is and What it Isn’t Anything that makes what you do repeatable and easy to track is a standardized system. It could be a calendar. It could be a history of events. It could be a list you keep with a paper and a pen. The idea is to track what you do and measure results. It’s that simple. When you really start to build your standardized systems, you’ll start thinking about property management software and accounting software. A standardized system is not a rigid set of rules. It’s a consistent plan to leave people more space and energy to be creative and work their own way. This is an important distinction. The systems provide enough guidance so that when things happen, there are warning signs to show you what might be coming or what area of your business might be affected. The successful standardized system will have rigid processes but will give the user freedom to do their job better. In a property management company, your standardized systems might cover how internal communication is tracked or what happens when someone signs up for your services or where you start when one of your clients wants to sell a property. PM Grow Summit Sponsorship How to Manage the Fear of Standardized Systems People get nervous about standardized systems because people fear they won’t be nimble enough in their job. It creates fear in an organization sometimes, especially when people believe that they should do things according to their own best judgment. You have to demonstrate the benefits of a standardized system against the risks of doing everything on a case by cases basis. Fears are usually dissipated as soon as people start using the system. With the right standardized and consistent process in place, you don’t have to figure out what you’re going to do next. You know what the next step is, and you’re prepared to take it. But now you can use your critical thinking and your creativity to do a better job with those steps. A property manager can do a better job working with a vendor who has been a challenge when she is working within a standardized system. Everything is tracked, so that property manager is not only working better – her work can be repeated and measured because she’s documented what she’s done. Sometimes You Need a Better System Everyone uses some sort of system. The question you need to ask is – how do you know if your system isn’t working? Consider your sales process.