Your Essential Employees

from ABODE June 2020

Portfolio Changes and In The

Lifting your teams out of uncertainty and fear and into empowerment and productivity. By MORGAN TAYLOR, HAA Managing Editor

Onsite personnel in the multifamily industry are working harder than they were before the virus and they’re risking their lives to keep apartment communities operating. If you’re a leader in the apartment business, here are ways to keep your onsite teams engaged and empowered.

This article is an adaptation of a webinar presented by Texas Apartment Association titled “Housing Heroes” and lead by Jen Piccotti and Kara Rice of Swift Bunnies.

In the webinar, Piccotti and Rice stated that in times of crisis, there are two possible directions teams and people will take. One is fear and helplessness. The other is engagement and empowerment, in which people feel part of the solution.

A team’s direction is dependent on the team’s leader. Think about the energy of your team right now. Are they scrambled and uninspired, working from fear and helplessness? Or are they productive and motivated, working from engagement and empowerment?

Be a Leader

Teams right now are looking to their leaders for compassion, recognizing each individual’s experience during and outside of work and extending kindness and humanity to them; stability, which can be hard to find right now, but try to infuse stability where you can; and hope, the hope that all of this is temporary and that as a team we will get through all of this.

Here are ways you can empower your teams during COVID-19:

Communication

Maintaining communication is the most important thing you can do as a leader right now. People value daily communication during this pandemic, and as a leader, you should be leading your team out of their concerns to a place of stability. If your teams are working remotely, constant communication could boost motivation.

Team meetings should take place regularly. Ask your teams what they need from you: daily, weekly or bi-weekly team meetings. In addition to team meetings, carve out time to have oneon-one meetings with each team member. If you have a team member who is suffering or who isn’t doing as well as the others, check in with him or her.

Administering an anonymous survey is an easy way to gauge how well your team is doing and how your company is operating. People tend to be more candid through anonymous surveys, Piccotti and Rice said. The point of doing this as a leader is to listen – listen to what your teams are experiencing, what they need and how you can better lead them.

Here are some suggested questions to ask your team members, provided by Piccotti and Rice. • What is your greatest contribution to your team right now that only you can bring? –Reminds team members that they are an important, valued part of the team. • Why was today a good day? – Promotes positive thinking. • How can I support you? – Most of the time, people may not have an answer to this question, but it’s important to keep asking because there may be a time, and it may only be one time, when they do need your support.

Flexible Schedules

A verbal “thank you” goes a long way, however, your teams need more to stay motivated and empowered during a pandemic. Uncertainty can cause anxiety for most people, and your onsite teams are on the frontlines dealing with the anxiety of your residents, in addition to anxiety and stress in their personal lives. Flexible schedules could be extremely beneficial to your team. Before COVID-19, leaders were relatively rigid about work schedules. This pandemic has challenged us to reconsider what is really important and what isn’t. Ask yourself, does what time your employees come in or leave really matter right now?

Many people are now faced with home schooling their children, managing their own careers and everything in between. Whether they need the time to recharge, to provide for their children or take care of personal matters, allowing for schedule flexibility or shortened days may make your employees’ lives a lot easier.

Show Appreciation

Utilize Zoom as a way to virtually show your appreciation for your team. You can still recognize individual team members for their hard work during this remote and social distant time by giving them a virtual shout out during a team meeting.

You can even celebrate birthdays virtually, too. Having cupcakes or something sweet delivered to team members celebrating a birthday or a big career milestone would be a thoughtful touch.

Having a meal delivered to your team member who you know has a family gives that team member one less thing to worry about. Putting together a care package or a thank you package for your team members is a nice way to show you appreciate their hard work. Think about what we consider essential care items today –toilet paper, masks, hand sanitizer, takeout food gift cards and etc. Even if it’s just one of each item, your team will appreciate it. It doesn’t matter what you send your team, receiving something in the mail is a nice surprise for your team members and it’s a rewarding way to say thank you.

Maintaining Connection, Virtually

You can hold virtual teambuilding activities for all of your employees, whether they’re working remotely or not. Virtual happy hours are a fun way to build comradery during a socially distant time. Consider themed virtual happy hours or a virtual background contest. You could also have lunch delivered to your team and set up a virtual lunch with everyone.

Engaging your employees has been a crucial part of today’s successful businesses, but with heightened anxiety in the air, it’s even more important to keep your teams productive and motivated. As a leader, it’s your job to give your employees what they need, and right now, that means something a little different than what leaders are used to providing for their teams. In an everchanging time, leaders must be dynamic.

The Essentials

Barvin

Camden

Veritas

# multifamily strong

Rockstar

Onsite staff are the masked superheroes of multifamily!

Thank You! W hen ABODE put out the call to our members for photos of their essential employees in action, they answered with more than 200 photos and videos! Here are just a few. See next month’s issue for more. If you have photos to submit, email them to comm@haaonline.org . www.haaonline.org June 2020 ABODE 41