As a maintenance manager, keeping up with your multifamily community maintenance is a critical part of your role. However, many common pitfalls can arise, from inconsistent quality of work done to not having backup vendors.
We’ve all been there — having the perfect schedule for the day only to be presented with problem after problem —a vendor can’t make it, new damage gets brought to your attention, the list goes on.
By adopting a few simple strategies, you can mitigate the common problems that arise so you can stay on track as a maintenance manager.
1. Make Time for Preventative Maintenance
Although easier said than done, when it comes to multifamily community maintenance, it’s crucial to aim for prevention rather than waiting for issues to become more severe.
By building a preventative maintenance plan, maintenance managers can ensure that all systems and components of the property are functioning correctly and help identify any issues before they escalate into more significant problems.
Allocating certain time throughout the month for each type of maintenance that you believe should be done for your property can help keep you on track.
Making the checks a firm part of your schedule will help keep you and your team accountable by way of habit-forming. Completing preventative maintenance will become ingrained in the normal to-do list, ensuring that important matters will not slip through the cracks.
2. Use the Power of Automation
As a maintenance manager, it’s essential to be aware of the latest technology and tools that can help you improve your business and provide better services to your residents.
Harnessing the power of automation is a prime example. Automating your maintenance management tasks has numerous benefits that can significantly impact your daily operations and overall success.
- Increased efficiency: Automation can help streamline many routine tasks and processes, freeing up time for you to focus on more pressing issues and strategies.
- Increased revenue: By being efficient, onsite teams can turn units more quickly, reducing turn time and increasing revenue.
- Better data management: Automated systems also provide a central repository for all data related to your properties and residents. This can help you make informed decisions, track progress and identify areas for improvement.
If you have yet to automate your maintenance management services, you should start to consider it. Automation eliminates the risk of human error, ensuring that all data is accurate and up-to-date. It also provides real-time updates, making staying on top of important tasks and deadlines easier.
Overall, automation can save time, streamline processes and improve communication between property managers, on-site staff and residents.
3. Keep Track of Work Orders
Being responsible for overseeing community maintenance can be challenging, especially if you manage multiple properties and deal with numerous work orders daily.
One of the best ways to improve the efficiency of your work orders is to keep a detailed record using a software program. A centralized database of all work orders will help you stay organized and on top of your workload while tracking and handling orders promptly.
4. Communication is Key
Effective communication between property managers, maintenance staff, service vendors and residents is essential for the success of a property management business.
By fostering open and clear communication, maintenance managers can create positive relationships with all parties involved, leading to better outcomes and increased satisfaction for everyone.
Tools like Rent Ready allow communications between all parties to be seamless and accessible from the convenience of your phone or desktop. As a maintenance manager, you can receive notifications for work orders for turns and real-time updates on the work being completed.
Want To Learn More?
If you’re interested in learning more about maintenance management — such as dealing with expensive apartment vendors or what you can do with all the time you’re going to save automating your turn services — then the Rent Ready blog is where you need to be.
We regularly post insightful articles about multifamily communities, property management trends and more. Head to our blog by clicking the link below and see what you can learn.
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