Top 8 tips for leading a happy on-site team

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Is your on-site team happy?

Is morale low? Is productivity low? Perhaps there is a high turnover of staff? High levels of sickness absence? Are staff unable to make decisions on their own and continually turn to you as the property manager? Maybe they are micro-managed on-site by an unsuitable line manager? 

If you recognise one or more of these traits read on. These are our top 8 tips for leading a happy, on-site team. 

1: Leadership

The clue was in the title for this one. An on-site team needs to be led and managed, so a flat organisational structure is unlikely to be successful. We often see such an arrangement on site, with arm’s length supervision by the property manager from their office often a long way away. Such an approach can work if the property manager genuinely has the time to lead the team but the ideal scenario for a managing agent is to have a self-sufficient site team successfully leading itself.

Cledor advice: Look at the make-up of your current team. Assess the effectiveness of any leader figures currently in situ. In a flatter structure, is there an estate manager in the making that could lead such a team? A fresh reorganisation of the team around an effective leader could be the best thing you ever did for your client. Leadership starts with you, the property manager, empowering those on site. 

2: Local talent

Easier said than done perhaps, but efforts should be made to source on-site members of staff locally first. Staff who can walk to work are likely to be there on time, less flustered, have more energy for the residents and last longer in the role. 

Cledor advice: It could be that the perfect concierge is on the doorstep of the block but not where would expect to find them. They aren’t necessarily easy to find which is why managing agents use firms like us to source talented staff from surprising places.

3: Structure

In the same way as a property manager in an office environment would expect structure to their role, on-site staff are no different. We have seen perfectly good on-site staff flounder when left to their own devices. Some simply don’t have the wherewithal to organise their own days and need to be spoon-fed tasks, although they do them very well!

Cledor advice: A clear umbrella job description is essential but supplemented with daily, weekly and monthly routines can help to provide the structure they crave. Get the structure right by listening to the feedback and finesse the structure with the staff rather than dictate it to them.

4: Horses for courses

Each residential development has its own identity, its own culture, because of its location, its residents, number of occupiers, the style of management and more. So any member of on-site staff needs to ‘fit in’. One concierge may be ideal for a slow-paced yet highly attentive building culture. However, the same one may struggle being very busy throughout the day.

Cledor advice: If you use a company like Cledor and a member of staff is struggling with the ‘culture’ of the block they are assigned to, see if the member of staff can be re-assigned to a building that better suits their abilities.

5: Engagement

Following on from no. 4, you run the risk of losing a talented member of on-site staff if they are under-worked or bored even. If they feel like a bum-on-a-seat at the front desk and nothing more, you won’t get the best from them. The subject of another of our blogs – Can the on-site team run the show – illustrated the importance of empowering the on-site team, delegating tasks to them and generally keeping them busy. An active, engaged member of staff is likely to give you and your residents many more years of attentive service.

Cledor advice: Read our blog and have a good think about what MORE the on-site team could do to reduce the pressure on your valuable time and improve the residents’ experience.

6: Training and coaching

It goes without saying that on-site staff have a great deal of responsibility that by virtue of the fact that you are managing the block, means YOU have a great deal of responsibility too. How the staff are trained to know their building, understand the processes and procedures there, the roles and responsibilities of others, use of the managing agent’s proptech, how to lift heavy items safely, what to do in the event of a fire, and much more is crucial. Transferring knowledge like this, i.e. training, should not be taken lightly. Whether the consequences are unhappy residents or someone getting hurt, we’d all rather avoid the pain and ensure the staff are appropriately trained.  

Then there’s coaching: enhancing knowledge and skills, and developing that person into something special. Training is vital but coaching – one-to-one, informal/unstructured chats, asking and listening, trusting, is what will turn an effective member of on-site staff into a happy one. 

Cledor advice: We take our academy training very seriously. We particularly enjoy coaching property managers to get the best of out of their staff. Leaving training and coaching to chance is unlikely to generate a long term, happy team.

7: Proptech

Gone are the days when on-site staff are not expected to use a computer. These days, they are content to use PCs, smart phones and tablets, to do site inspections, manage keys, visitors and Amazon packages, report faults to the managing agent or directly to an approved contractor. Some estate managers run reports (e.g. service charge arrears; maintenance activity) ahead of RMC board meetings which they also attend as a vital part of the team.

Cledor advice: Don’t underestimate an on-site member of staff’s ability to use the proptech that you use every day. If you need the staff to use the same systems as you use, prioritise those who can demonstrate the right IT aptitudes at selection stage. 

8: Compassion

Above all, whether the staff are employed by a company like Cledor, by the freeholder, or even by the managing agent you work for, they are likely to be fulfilling a vital customer-facing role. Encourage feedback, be compassionate to their personal circumstances, make sure you know what their longer-term plans are, respect their differences and empower them to make decisions. 

Cledor advice: Our aim is to find you well-rounded, personable people. They’ll be from a wide variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. They will all go through our rigorous training, but they will be coached to be themselves. We hope you’d agree with our approach, whichever company you use for your on-site staffing. 

Nick Regnier is managing director of Cledor. To discuss your on-site staff options, drop Nick a line at nick@cledor.co.uk or call the office. 

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