THE EMPLOYEE-PROFIT CHAIN
All of this leads to what we like to call “The Employee-Profit Chain.” Based
on tons of empirical evidence, it’s clear that employee engagement does much
more than just lead to positive attitudes about one’s job – but also it impacts
retention, performance and profitability. [Chart]
Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” has become a must
read for anyone focused on employee engagement. There’s more to the story
than simply how much people love to work for the company – and that has to
do with the impact this has on performance. A subsequent analysis showed
the following:
Stock prices for “100 Best Companies to Work For” rose 14%/year from
1998-2005 vs. 6% for the overall market
The multifamily industry’s first employee satisfaction benchmark is based on
results from over 5,000 employees from numerous property management companies across the nation (12.1% corporate office, 4.5% regional staff, 83.4%
onsite staff ). Most questions asked for how much an employee agreed with a
positive statement (using a 5 point rating scale). The overall combined agreement
score for all positive statements was 3.95 on a five point scale (above 4.00 means
high levels of agreement reached). The score for corporate office employees was
3.87, 3.91 for regional office staff, 3.97 for on-site teams.
A critical section of the survey covered what motivates multifamily employees, the highlights of which are outlined on the right. When reading this,
keep the “The Ten C’s of Employee Engagement” in mind; it is fascinating
how the results and The Ten C’s have in common.
CREATING THE MIDAS TOUCH
How can property management companies give employees the Midas touch
and help them turn assets into gold? The following is a good start: management
buy-in regarding feedback; ask, listen and act; focus on what motivates; embrace
education and career development programs; provide meaningful recognition.
There is a reason that a growing trend in the multifamily industry is not
just evaluating resident feedback, but also evaluating employee satisfaction.
Happy employees equals happy customers, which, in our business, leads to
reduced resident turnover. The relationship between the two is powerful.
Doug Miller is founder and president of SatisFacts Research. Prior to creating his own businesses in 1996, starting in the late 1980’s Miller was Director of Marketing for several national and regional property management firms. Miller received his B.S.B.A from Washington
University (St. Louis) and his M.B.A. from The American University. Doug can be contacted at [email protected]
www.aamdhq.org
SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS
Top Motivators (cited by at least 10%)
1. Opportunity to learn new things
2. Opportunity for advancement
3. Incentives/bonuses/commissions
4. Working on a team
5. Authority to make decisions
6. Quality of work environment
7. Recognition
8. Helping others be successful
9. Base salary
10. Management shows faith in judgment
Highest Rated Aspects of Workplace and Company
1. Like my job
2. Know their manager’s expectations
3. Manager honest, ethical
4. Like working for company
5. Proud to work for company
6. Manager shows faith in my judgment
7. Would refer friends to company
8. Manager interested in input
9. Satisfied with company as a place to work
10. Company has an outstanding future
Barriers to Getting Work Done (cited by at least 10%)
1. Budgetary constraints
2. Issues not addressed promptly
3. Paperwork requirements
4. Budget inadequate
5. Vendors/service provider problems
6. Office technology
7. Apartment turnover quality
8. Inconsistent direction
9. Inconsistently enforced policies, procedures
10. No authority to make decisions
11. Work environment
SOURCE: Satisfacts Research (www.satisfacts.com)
AUGUST 2015 • TRENDS | 21