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If you haven’t heard of corporate social responsibility, it’s time to start listening. What is it, and why should you care? Corporate social responsibility, CSR for short, is not just another buzz phrase in multifamily housing: it might be the key to employee retention.
We met with Jen Piccotti, Chief Operating Officer at ManagInc, the industry leader in resident and employee satisfaction, retention and education to learn more.
What is CSR?
Jen Piccotti: Corporate social responsibility is a focus on corporate culture to improve retention, reputation, recruitment and performance. But it’s more than just volunteerism and green initiatives. CSR is rooted by three pillars:
- The Workplace
This is a focus on providing the support and resources to employees so they can do their best work—as well as to suppliers. And that part is important because residents don’t always see a distinction between in-house maintenance staff, for instance, and the landscaping crew who’s contracted out. So it’s important to work with suppliers who are paying attention to their culture and their impact, because who you choose to work with is a representation of your brand.
- The Living Environment
Here, we ask ourselves questions about the communities we build and manage. Are we providing everything residents want and need? How is our customer service? What do our policies and procedures look like?
- The Greater Good
This is what most people think of when they think of CSR: it has to do with volunteerism, philanthropy, utilizing resources responsibly, and maintaining a code of ethics.
What does CSR have to do with staff retention?
JP: More and more prospective employees, especially Millennials who make up the largest segment of the work force, are asking questions. What kind of company is this? How do you run your business? They have a choice, they care and they want to work for someone who’s doing their part in making a positive difference in their world.
In multifamily housing, we have an opportunity to lead because we have a huge audience, both on the employee and resident side, to discuss what it means to be a socially responsible company. Research has found that companies focused on CSR have employees who are much more engaged.
In the multi-family industry, the average turnover rate is 32%–and for leasing office and maintenance staff, it’s closer to 50%. But companies who make CSR a priority have much lower turnover at 20%.
What is the key to employee engagement?
JP: Over the last 6-9 months, this concept of improving culture has become such a hot topic issue. And it’s clear that the lowest hanging fruit to impact engagement and culture is communication.
People incorrectly assume staff on the front line don’t care what’s coming down the pike, that there are five new properties in the works. But it makes on-site employees feel like valued insiders to know that. They’re interested in what the executive-level employees are thinking and doing, and they want answers to the “whys”: Why are we going into that market? Why are we switching technologies? Everything should have purpose, and it should be clear.
How does staff retention affect resident retention?
JP: One of the top drivers for lease renewal is staff responsiveness and dependability. Residents want to know and recognize the on-site team and have confidence they are willing and able to help. They want to walk down to the office and say, “The crazy cat lady is at it again,” and that team member knows exactly what they’re talking about because of the ongoing relationship. That team member can say, “I’m on it, I’ll take care of it.” There’s sort of a shorthand there versus having to recount a series of episodes to a new staff member. If you can keep the same team, you’ll have better success keeping residents too.
Is there any other advice you can give to multifamily housing providers?
JP: I would say to remember that the way you treat your employees is the way they’ll treat the residents. Often, there’s a double standard. You want your staff to return calls the same day, put on amazing events, be innovative and know everyone’s name. But then it’s not reciprocated. Staff might leave three or four messages before they hear back. The training videos might be 10 years old. You don’t want the message to get lost in translation, especially if you’ve worked hard at improving your company’s culture. Make sure that trickles down.
