Onsite Insites by SatisFacts Research 2014 - 2nd Quarter | Page 8

Want to Learn About Sense of Community?
Just Watch Sports!
Pick any season, any sport and you can
sense of community. Sports teams are
of community – atheletes come
backgrounds, with different strengths
with the desire to be the best.

learn a lot about
the embodiment
from different
to form a team

Isn’t that what we’re here to do in the multifamily
industry? Be the best community around for our
residents and provide them with the best living
experience possible? So it stands to reason that we
should borrow some strategies from sports teams and
create our own winning formula.
Developing a sense of community must first begin by
redefining it. Residents need more than a pool party to
feel as though they are an important part of where they
live. According to the Theory of McMillan and Chavis
(1986), there are 4 integral parts to building a sense of
community; Membership, Influence, Integration and
Fulfillment of Ideas, and Shared Emotional Connection.
Lets explore Membership.
Membership – Everyone likes to be a part of a team.
And what better team than your apartment community?
As with any successful team, there are 5 aspects that
create an overall sense of “oneness”:
1. Boundaries – basically the playbook. Think of this as
your community policies, operating procedures, etc.
Everyone should follow the playbook at both the
management and resident levels.
2. Emotional safety – the locker room. Residents should
have an avenue to express opinions and give feedback in
an atmosphere free of retaliation and intimidation.
Providing residents with access to surveys is helpful in
this regard. And once residents give their feedback,
establishing a process to respond to all feedback gives
you an opportunity to make a remarkable recovery. Click
here to learn how to launch a feedback program at your
community.

3. Sense of belonging – the starters and the bench.
Residents need to feel as though management sees them
as an important part of the community. Remember, they
are the ones keeping us in business. A suggestion for
those of you with community newsletters would be to
dedicate a space each monthly to highlight a resident
achievement, comments and/or kudos.
Give your
residents a little primetime coverage!
4. Personal investment – playing their position. Every
resident contributes an equal share to ensure the living
experience is enjoyable for everyone in the community.
Observing quiet hours and maintaining their apartment
homes are two examples. Resolving any resident issues
timely and consistently will help to boost everyone’s
commitment to your community’s overall success.
5. Common symbol system – the team uniform. Your
community logo unites everyone, from management to
resident. Use it on every piece of communication and
proudly display it around the community via banners,
bootlegs, etc.

Developing a sense of
community must first begin by
redefining it.
Residents need more than a
pool party to feel as though
they are an important part of
where they live.
By Lia Nichole Smith,
VP of Education and Consulting,
SatisFacts ResearchTM