As the biggest buzzword of multifamily in recent years, centralization has taken the industry by storm as it seeks to improve properties in their leasing, maintenance and admin operations. While it is powerful when done well, the adoption of it is still slow moving.
Centralization addresses several key issues, including ones that surface at the hands of limited staffing. Overall, centralization aims to maintain or elevate the quality of resident services without compromising the bandwidth of the on-site staff. This can be extremely beneficial to properties, as staffing shortages and high employee turnover rates are a universal problem across the industry.
Yet, every property comes with its own set of pain points, where the need for support can look different from one property to the next. We are looking to artificial intelligence (AI) to help spotlight those pain points, and with that spotlight, centralization might finally gain its long overdue implementation.
Why? Because AI’s data is telling us a much clearer story.
AI is built to not only automate tasks, but to also take the data from interactions with renters and learn from it. Allowing AI to analyze information and provide insights could lead to recommendations for better processes.
When examined, AI’s data can reveal the current gaps in your leasing or maintenance strategies and tasks. By analyzing customer interactions and renter behavior, you can get a quicker look at where your staff’s output, or lack thereof, plays a role in the short-term with lead or resident satisfaction and the long-term with conversion and renewal rates.
Take leasing, for example: Are calls getting missed? Are follow ups happening too slowly? Are there several no-show or cancelled tours? What areas or tasks are leasing agents needing support that could also be automated without compromising the customer experience (low-value tasks)?
With your data, examine the same for maintenance: When are calls going unanswered? Under what conditions do you see upticks in requests? Where is the resident satisfaction most negatively impacted in their maintenance interactions?
With the inevitable struggle of bandwidth, you’re bound to find opportunities for improvement.
After you’ve identified procedural gaps in the data, consider solutions that would support your staff and let them focus on high-level tasks. Leasing agents could use centralizing technology or AI to automate tasks that don’t require more personalized interactions.
This could include answering the general questions from leads via chatbot or call center, tour scheduling and re-scheduling, and follow-up communications throughout the leasing journey. In fact, AI has the ability to automate all of those tasks while using data to refine their future interactions with other leads.
Centralizing communication through a call center or having AI handle scheduling for work orders would only accelerate the productivity of your maintenance staff. Removing these tasks from their plate allows them to focus on completing work orders and strictly prioritizing the communications that require their interaction.
While it might seem obvious, AI-powered tools aren’t just providing data, but also able to give your teams more bandwidth to focus on high-value tasks with renters. This only enhances the lead and resident experience and can make a massive impact on revenue-generating areas such as new leases and renewals.
According to the latest 20for20 research, the industry already has a high adoption of centralization for admin tasks, likely due to the ease of its implementation.
Aside from that, it’s surprising how many properties have yet to begin implementation of centralized leasing and maintenance, especially considering the frequency at which it is discussed.
There is evidence of some taking a more hybrid approach, where companies might centralize single tasks such as maintenance dispatch or lead nurturing. But overall, there are very few examples and attempts to comprehensively centralize departments, despite the myriad of benefits implementation has to offer.
Many companies may think they do not need collective centralization in these departments. This is where AI could impact centralization the most, as it continuously makes processes in need of improvement more obvious in the analysis.
Centralization is still the big buzzword, but it is now sharing the spotlight with the introduction of artificial intelligence to technology. That’s because now the data from AI is giving us the most direct window into renters’ needs and behaviors. When you look at the story the data is telling, the opportunities to meet renters where they’re at stand out.
In a year like 2024, where oversupply has had a detrimental effect on occupancy rates across the country, the need for a better resident and lead experience stands firm. Despite the market conditions and come crunch time at the end of 2024, someone ends up at the top of the podium. And the ones who are at the top will be the ones who look at the gaps with data and adjust their strategies accordingly.
If you’re interested in leasing smarter with Anyone Home, BOOK A DEMO to learn more.
