FROM THE PRESIDENT
DEREK AVERY | LEGACY PARTNERS
Investing in your team is more than just compensation
As a part of my overall vision as AAMD President , I ’ m committed to sharing ideas and encouraging all of our members and organization leaders to invest more in their teams . It is our team members that differentiate our companies and make them great . As such , it is development and retention of strong members of our teams that will grow our businesses . Here are just a few ideas on how to further invest in our teams .
Compensation
Your company is likely in the budgeting process for 2017 . What can you do to up the anti for personnel expenses ? NAA ’ s recent Operating and Expense Study showed ( for market rate properties ) salaries and personnel expenses are on average 9.9 % of gross potential rent . I think we can do better for our teams in Colorado .
We have to collectively stretch our budgets and increase compensation for our maintenance teams to be competitive . We cannot afford to lose these incredibly valuable and hard working men and women to other industries that are also recruiting for the talent they provide . Now that our industry has finally recovered from the 2002-2010 age of below mediocrity , we should be able to afford increased wages for our maintenance professionals .
In a recent survey AAMD Members indicated they planned to increase Maintenance technician wages over 10 % from 2015-2017 .
Not Just About the Money
It ' s not always about increasing wages . We should be validating our teams as the
" We have to inspire and teach our team how valuable their work is - providing safe and comfortable housing with a wide variety of services , flexibility and opportunities ."
most important ingredient of our companies and connecting with our teams outside the traditional norms of the workplace . This could mean spending more time with our team and coaching them to maximize their talents and interests . We have to inspire and teach them how valuable their work is - providing safe , comfortable , and respectful housing to hundreds of thousands of Colorado families with a wide variety of ever growing services and amenities . When framed up correctly what we do for our customers is so much more than renting them a place to live . We provide the all-important bundled service of “ home ”.
Recognition
Plants need water and similarly our team members thirst for recognition . Some like more public recognition and others more private . It ' s important to identify and know which is better for specific team members .
Timing is key though , don ’ t recognize too early before the results are in , but as soon as success is reached - jump on the opportunity to recognize and reward it . A well timed element of recognition can be more valuable than a monetary bonus ! I recommend frequent and genuine appreciation and recognition .
Invest in their Skills
Recognizing what your employees already know - that they don ' t necessarily know everything they need to know to do their jobs effectively , opens up the opportunity to invest in them through education .
It ' s easy to simply assume that on-thejob training is the most efficient way to keep a new or seasoned team member engaged in their job , but getting away from the property or out of the office to be formally trained by professionals around the industry can be just as valuable , if not more .
Showing your employees that you ' re putting forth the money to allow them to get their CAM ( Certified Apartment Manager ) or CAMT ( Certified Apartment Maintenance Technician ) designations , for example , clearly demonstrates loyalty and appreciation .
I hope this gives you a few more ideas on what you can do at your company to retain your valuable team members . In this growing industry , it ' s easier to jump ship more than ever these days , and it ' s up to us to come up with innovative ways to prevent this from happening in our workplace .
Cheers , Derek Avery , 2016 / 17 AAMD President
6 | TRENDS • SEPTEMBER 2016 www . aamdhq . org