There are many factors that give commercial real estate (CRE) properties a competitive advantage. Some of these factors – like location and size of a building – come from sheer luck and can often be out of your control if you’re a building owner or manager. However, there is one factor that is always in your control as an owner or manager and can vastly influence the success of your property: building operations.
Let’s face it though, most – if not all – CRE property owners and managers will say they have an efficient process for operations. But is this really the case? Probably not. Some CRE teams are still using outdated methods such as phone calls, emails, and manual data entry to track operations. Some are using technology that cannot keep up with the pace the industry is evolving. Unsurprisingly, the ones that are using the best property management software available to them are the ones who truly gain that competitive advantage they are seeking – and feel like property management superheroes.
Here are 6 ways the best property management software can make you feel invincible – or at least a lot more confident in your building operations:
1. Your tenants are self–sufficient
Whether it’s emails, phone calls, or simple work order software system, most CRE buildings have some process for handling tenant service requests; but these tactics don’t necessarily make your tenants as self-sufficient as they could (and in today’s world, probably should) be. To truly empower your tenants to be self-sufficient, give them the ability to request services how they prefer to communicate, whether that’s on their desktop computer, on messaging software they use during the workday, or through their mobile devices. If you provide the right methods of communicating with building teams to tenants, the fewer phone calls you will get, and as a result, the fewer manual tasks you will find yourself completing.
2. You can communicate with your tenants through multiple channels
It’s just as important for you to be able to communicate with your tenants via multiple channels as it is for them to be able to communicate with your team. Today’s tenants are always on their smart devices. You can take advantage of this by communicating with them where they already are. For example, instead of purely sending one email to the one contact person you have at a tenant customer, you send text messages notifying multiple of construction in the lobby. Sending important information to a broader group of building occupants through the methods of communication they prefer, and already use, is critical to improving building operations.
3. You efficiently and proactively manage maintenance
There is an extensive amount of equipment in any given CRE building that can, and sometimes will, malfunction or break, causing you to have to drop everything you are doing to put out the fire that has started. You can prevent this by proactively managing these pieces of equipment. In order to do this, you must have an effective and well planned out preventive maintenance and inspections program. But it is impossible to effectively track preventive maintenance and inspections solely with a pen, paper, and the occasional email. You need technology that can support this initiative. The best property management technologies will automatically organize and prioritize PM and inspection tasks for your engineers and vendors. This will enable them to quickly understand the most pressing tasks, get to work faster, and ultimately spot problems earlier and save your team from putting out unexpected fires.
4. You understand all risks associated with your property
There are so many risk factors at any given time in any given CRE property. Understanding and managing this risk is critical to building operations. The last thing you’d want to happen is finding out about risk after it’s too late. Operational risk management requires preparation, processes, and the right tools. You cannot effectively manage risk without all three. Preparing yourself with the right processes and tools means you will have visibility into who is in your building at all times, any incidents that occur, and whether your certificates of insurance are in good standing.
5. You have visibility into data that gives you critical insight into your building
One of the biggest challenges many CRE companies face is gathering, organizing, and analyzing all of the data they collect from their building operations. On the flip side, if you are able to do this, you almost immediately gain an advantage over your peers. To be successful in the future, being able to see all of the data concerning your building operations in one snapshot will be critical to the value of a CRE property. Having one space where your data is displayed in easy–to–analyze reports will enable you to keep a finger on the pulse of your building at all times.
6. You understand the importance of having an open property management solution
An open property management solution means a system that can easily integrate with other technology in the CRE tech space. While some may not see this as an important piece of the puzzle today, as the amount of technology used in CRE buildings continues to grow in the coming years, it will be critical for success in the future. To understand the performance and value of a building, your technology will need to share information back and forth to give you the complete picture you need.
If you want to gain a competitive advantage that all CRE property teams are after, you must equip yourself with the best property management software available to you. In today’s world, it is impossible to effectively run building operations with manual processes, ineffective tools, and outdated technologies. Stay ahead of the curve and ahead of your competitors by understanding how effective property management technology can give you confidence in your operations.
If your property management software isn’t making you feel almost invincible, it may be time for an upgrade. To learn which solution is right for you, check out this helpful guide.
