In 2022, the commercial real estate (CRE) industry will see an increased adoption of new technologies: 53% of industry professionals surveyed by Deloitte indicated that they have a future roadmap of where they’d like technology to take them, and 32% are restructuring internal processes based on technology and tools.
As part of this digital transformation, many landlords and property managers are turning to property management apps to enhance building operations and workplace experience across large and small portfolios alike.
Commercial property management software is not just about managing cash flow, payments, and expenses. Today’s property management apps can help landlords and rental property management teams seize opportunities for tenant engagement, streamline operations, and anticipate problems and concerns. So, how are modern property teams using technology to do so today? Let’s dive in.
Streamlining Key Property Operations
Property managers have dynamic, fast-paced roles that change on a daily basis. The responsibilities of the role have evolved, beyond the typical tenant screening, and financial reports. Now, they must collect rent, serve as customer support for a property, and also help with other functions such as property tours and rental applications.
To learn how property management software is being used by innovative teams today, we sat down with LBA Realty’s Senior Property Manager Joanna Morrow and Regional Marketing and Events Manager Adriana Silva. The two collaborate on events and day-to-day property operations at LBA’s One Culver property, a Class A office building with a diverse range of tenants.
Joanna spoke to the challenging elements of her role: “The most challenging aspect is problem solving the day-to-day issues that pop up…You also can’t always prepare for some of the tenant requests, and you need to make sure all your staff is working well together to give everyone a better experience in the building.”
To help address these changes at a property level and manage tenants’ concerns, LBA utilizes a workplace experience app to communicate with tenants. Push notifications allow their team to send important messages and information directly to employees’ cell phones in real time. In Joanna’s case, this functionality has made her job “a lot easier,” allowing her to remain agile and allocate time to other responsibilities.
Enhancing Workplaces With a Property Management App
In addition to streamlining property operations, a management app allows teams to enhance the workplace experience at any property. Employees expect more from their workplaces than ever: offices must reflect their values and create engaging experiences that keep them coming back.
Tenant appreciation events, such as themed happy hours, are a great way for management teams to show tenants that they are valued in the space. When executing such tenant engagement events, a workplace experience app is essential to LBA’s strategy. The team creates and posts invitations in-app so that attendees know about events in advance and Adriana’s team can plan for attendance levels.
This seemingly simple functionality makes managing events easier, especially in comparison to previous years, as Adriana remarked: “I had no idea who was actually going to show up to any of our tenant events. We were always estimating head counts based on word of mouth. The app streamlined this whole process, and is a lot more accurate for planning.”
After events, teams have access to tenant feedback and suggestions for future programming. Adriana spoke to the way LBA harnesses this capability: “After events we ask strategic questions about what other events people would like to see. We’ve actually created follow-up events based off of the feedback we received from prior events.”
Aside from key event insights, a property management app provides teams with amenity usage data that will inform future investments and optimize energy usage. The possibilities for a property management app are endless: To learn more about the role that technology plays in a modern property management strategy, read our latest Conversations blog.
