At the 2023 Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference, Director of Sales Nima Farkhak led a panel with leading multifamily figures about trends impacting the industry — and the tech they’re using to get ahead. The conversation revolved around automation, fraud prevention and training. Particularly, how can multifamily organizations receive more employee buy-in when implementing new technology, and leverage that technology to maximize support for their employees? Panelists (pictured, right) included Leslie Henry, SVP of strategic solutions and development at Towne Properties and Josh Draughn, head of marketing at Weidner Apartment Homes. Read on for key takeaways. Automating early touchpoints significantly reduces site teams’ workloads Most multifamily operators agree that strategic automation is key to efficiency, resulting in streamlined workloads, satisfied employees and happier residents. “Automation is all about how we can give back valuable time to our associates, and we’ve found Chat IQ to be extremely helpful with that,” said Draughn. “Instant gratification is now expected, so our first automated engagement starts just five minutes after an initial contact. Then Chat IQ transitions the interaction to texting, which results in a faster response time.” Since implementing automation and Chat IQ, Draughn says that Weidner experienced a 15 percent reduction in advertising costs year over year. Transparent communication is key to achieving employee buy-in But there are challenges with implementing automation, artificial intelligence and new technology in general — especially when it comes to employee buy-in. Henry noted that most of Towne’s employees have been with the company for a long time and were opposed to change — until they saw its benefits firsthand. “After we implemented Chat IQ,” Henry said, “Our site teams quickly realized how useful it was in gaining back time. They love how it filtered out less promising leads in the beginning. But we also took their feedback if they didn’t like the way the bot was responding. We let them customize some aspects of the responses so there was more of a personal human touch.” Draughn agreed. “Getting buy-in at first will always be challenging,” he said. “But it’s all about how you communicate new changes and listen to their feedback. The human element in multifamily is always going to stay.” Deterring fraud with automation Multifamily organizations are also relying on technology to vet applicants more than ever. ID Verify uses facial recognition technology to confirm applicant identities. To do this, applicants take a selfie during the screening process, which is then matched with the official documents they submit. “Accuracy is one of the biggest benefits of automating the identity and income verification process,” Henry said, adding that automated technology has acted as a fraud deterrent, saving Towne thousands of dollars in the process. “In the beginning, I thought we were losing rentals,” Henry said. “But when we looked closer, it was because some IDs were so clearly fraudulent that the system weeded them out instantly. It saved us from dealing with them, them potentially living with us and us incurring bad debt.” Draughn agreed, noting that while there may be steps like taking selfies, genuine prospects will still follow through with the application. This allows leasing teams to avoid guesswork or repetitive communications. Streamlining online training As the pandemic shifted training methods from in-person to online, Towne Properties also turned to the learning management system Aspire for online training. “We’re learning about the product faster and it’s easier for us to train new employees,” Henry said, highlighting the ease brought by Aspire’s full integration with Towne’s solutions. “It feels good knowing that anyone can learn at their own pace with Aspire.” See it in action A connected solution can help you drive efficiency at every stage of your workflow, enhancing data connectivity and eliminating gaps. Want to see what this looks like in action? Watch a webinar to see how Yardi helps you streamline workflows, reduce fraud and enhance...

With senior housing occupancy at its lowest level since 2010, attracting new residents to your community can be challenging. Staff must work harder than ever to get prospects into the pipeline—but getting seniors in the door is just the first step for your sales team. They call it the sales process for good reason. Moving senior living prospects through the funnel and closing the deal requires, on average, 25 contacts—calls, emails, appointments, tours—over the course of two years. Conversion is a marathon, not a sprint. And as many salespeople will tell you: a lot can happen during those weeks and months leading up to a signed lease. Prospects can change their minds, become frustrated or disinterested, or find another community or course of care, among other things. How can sales teams mitigate prospect fallout and increase conversion? Shorten and simplify the sales cycle. One way to do that is using automation to reduce paperwork and streamline the closing process. Because when so much effort goes into the pipeline, dealing with fall through in the final stages is not only heartbreaking, but also costly to the business. That’s why 68% of best-in-class sales teams have made the switch to electronic signatures to improve the customer experience and close deals faster. In fact, companies who use automation tools like e-signatures during the admissions process are 18% more likely to shorten their sales cycles. According to an IDC white paper on bridging the document disconnect in sales, there are plenty of opportunities for companies to impact their sales process by going paperless. Here are a few ways automation in the sales process can benefit your business: Increase staff efficiency Salespeople spend more than 36% of their time on administrative tasks—and less than two thirds of their time on their core job function: completing the sale. If that’s not concerning enough, consider that 43% of office staff say they need to use several disconnected systems and often have to copy and paste or rekey information, an error-prone and time-consuming process. Employing automation, like templatized electronic leases and e-signatures, during the sales cycle not only takes the guesswork out of document generation, it eliminates the frustrating use of disparate systems that draws out the closing process. Build prospect rapport The typical senior living community receives 31 new inquiries per month. That’s a lot of prospects to keep track of week-over-week, all year long. Fostering a positive relationship with a would-be resident is critical to winning their business. Automating the capture of information as a step in the sales cycle not only ensures that personal details are collected, it guarantees they’re retained and visible to the entire sales team. Reduce errors We love office supplies as much as the next person, but those little “sign here” sticky arrows aren’t doing your community any favors. Consider that 36% of sales leaders say agreements are missing signatures or dates—or have been signed by the wrong person altogether—and another 51% say that documents are often misfiled or lost. Systematized residency agreements and e-signatures, like those found in Yardi Senior CRM, eliminate paperwork and reduce the disorganization and disarray that come along with paper records, curtailing costly mistakes and missed opportunities. Optimize customer experience 40% of front office staff say the documents they send to prospects don’t always display or print correctly, and 38% say recipients sometimes can’t even open them. Imagine a lengthy sales process involving emails and call follow-up, meetings and tours, family visits and stacks of paperwork—and all that’s left between you and closing the deal is a required signature on the lease. You’ve completed the document, crossed all the t’s and dotted the i’s, and sent it to the prospect to print and sign, only to find out that the images won’t render, and the lease cannot be inked. A deal that was all but done is now in limbo, and you’ve left your prospective resident with...

The rise of ecommerce has revolutionised the way we shop – but it has also transformed property logistics. Technology is helping retailers and carriers to manage stock movements, in-store click & collect and home deliveries, but it is also a costly investment. Who will pick up the tab? How are developers, investors, distributors and occupiers using ‘smart logistics’ to serve their customers? Yardi brought together a panel of thought leaders in a roundtable at Property Week’s Sheds Conference in Birmingham. The panel: Paul Crosbie, investment manager, M&G Real Estate Jonathan Gardner, head of asset management, Delin Capital Nick Kay, development director, St Modwen Properties Len Rosso, head of industrial and logistics, Colliers International Charles Spicer, Midlands industrial and logistics director, Savills Claer Barrett, personal finance editor, Financial Times (chair) CB: What do you all think the ‘shed of the future’ will look like? How will the needs of occupiers change over the next five years? LR: I don’t think we should call logistics space ‘sheds’ anymore. It is a much more technologically advanced product than the name suggests. Drones, robots and automation are all on the horizon, but I think the biggest change we’re seeing right now is higher eaves heights and mezzanine floors. Occupiers want to use all the space they’re paying for – not just the ground floor. PC: People are getting very excited about drone deliveries, but they are more likely to be used for rural areas rather than built-up urban locations where their use will be more restricted. JG: Occupiers will still be using vans and lorries, charge can bypass the 200-mile mark, it will really make a change to the use of this technology. NK: And look at the activity going on inside the shed. The rise of the ‘sharing economy’ is a big trend. We’ve seen Airbnb; now there’s a similar business called ZupplyChain for third- party logistics [3PL] companies with excess space to lease it out. If you can find space in areas of undersupply, it would make the market more fluid and ease the supply crunch. CS: The shed of the future won’t be one size fits all. Our market is very varied and diverse – so a manufacturer’s requirements are very different to that of a pure logistics operator. That said, we’re already seeing multi-level facilities and in the future we could well see subterranean ‘sheds’ in high-density urban areas. At the Property Week Sheds Conference, we’ve just heard a number of occupiers say they would not be averse to the idea of sharing space in the future so I anticipate more multi-user facilities as is commonplace in mainland Europe. There are covenant and lease issues but nothing that is insurmountable. We may see a company that is institutionally acceptable taking a ‘master lease’ and then space split between multiple users and companies in a Regus-type model. CB: As investors, how happy would you be with the idea of a shared shed? PC: A facility shared by a number of operators would be interesting if there was an overriding lease. It could give investors more comfort if there was some diversity alongside the main tenant. LR: DHL has been talking about that model for the past five years, but it hasn’t happened yet. JG: Well, it has happened in mainland Europe. 3PLs want to match their lease lengths with their contract terms. If they have a three-year contract, they don’t want to take a five-year lease. However, this comes at a cost – they accept they will have to pay a much higher rent in some locations. Other 3PLs will take a big lease and will stack the space with three or four different customers’ kit. Even then, there could be quite tough conditions to meet, such as 50% of the space being occupied by one client for the full length of the lease. PC: I agree that the sheds –...

Imagine driving up to your house after a long day of work. The garage door opens without touching a button. The front door unlocks – no need to fumble around for your keys – and the lights flip on. Your TV tunes to your favorite channel before you even take off your coat. Is this a dream? No. Welcome to your automated home. Home Automation Past & Present Home automation became accessible in the late 1970’s when X10 technology was made available to the American public. X10 modules allow compatible electronics to communicate via existing power lines in a house. Although X10 is relatively affordable, it is also somewhat complicated and time consuming to install. Home automation in the early days largely remained the pursuit of techy hobbyists and wealthy homeowners. Today’s widespread smartphone and tablet technology has now opened up home automation to a broader audience. Some companies are offering devices that allow users to control a single function wirelessly or automate it all together. The Nest Learning Thermostat is a smart thermostat that connects to Wi-Fi, allowing it to be controlled remotely using a mobile app. You can adjust the temperature of your home from anywhere. Additionally, Nest learns your climate preferences and creates a schedule that optimizes your energy use. Nest even knows when you’re out of the house and self-adjusts to save power. Other forward-thinking businesses are offering more comprehensive home automation services.  Comcast, a national media and technology company, touts their XFINITY® Home package as “the total home security and home control solution that keeps you connected to what matters most.” For less than $50 a month, XFINITY® Home allows you to control your security system, adjust your lighting and access your thermostat from your smartphone, tablet or computer. Better still, you can program integrated automated systems to work together. For example you can tell your home to turn down the heat when you arm the alarm, giving you one less thing to worry about when you walk out the door in the morning. Automation Benefits for Tenants & Landlords Home automation isn’t just a good idea, it’s also a green idea. Automation yields multiple benefits, chief among them being the energy efficiency that comes with having a well-regulated HVAC system. Studies show that building automation can result in consistent energy savings between 5% and 15%. Boost savings by adding automated occupancy sensors to switch off appliances that have accidentally been left on to reduce unintentional energy usage. Additional benefits of home automation include convenience, peace of mind and ease. You can manage your home from anywhere, check your security feed at any time and turn on the lights from your iPad without having to bump around in the dark. There is even home automation technology that will help you take care of your pet. Home automation is more than just a passing trend. It’s the future of real estate. A recent Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate survey revealed that 41% of Millennials would be more likely to brag to a friend about a home automation system than a renovated kitchen. Residential complexes can enjoy significant energy savings and other perks from automation. Automated units are in demand and can be marketed as “smart homes” that enjoy technologically advanced features and added security. In fact, the value of the smart home market is estimated to climb to $60 billion by the year 2017. Home automation “future proofs” your properties, ensuring a steadily increasing listing value for years to come. Ready to try your hand at a little recreational home automation? Here are ten DIY projects to get you started. Editors’ note: Geneva Ives is the marketing writer for Point2, a leading provider of online marketing solutions for real estate professionals, including custom websites, syndication tools and prospecting utilities. She will be contributing technology-oriented real estate interest posts to The Balance...