The 6 Keys to Exemplary Rental Management

In the current context of the tertiary real estate market, where competition is increased to retain and attract tenant companies, the quality of customer relations is more crucial than ever. Investors must work together with their service providers to provide an exemplary customer experience.

Here are six key points to improve customer relations.

1. Knowing the Tenant

This may seem obvious, but in practice, the knowledge of tenants by the owner or their property manager is often too limited and unstructured. The first step is to identify and map out the key contacts within tenant companies. Depending on the organization of each tenant, the contacts may vary depending on the issues at hand (the lease, building services, multi-technical issues, etc.).

However, knowing the contacts is not enough. The company’s context is fundamental to better anticipate its current and future expectations: its industry, organization, growth prospects (especially regarding workforce), and work structure (flex office, remote work, etc.). Based on this, it becomes easier to engage in discussions about the services that matter to the company (a bike room, a small dining solution, extra meeting rooms, etc.).

Going further, some investors use access control data or sensors to track the flow of people and understand tenant space usage.

2. Clarifying Responsibilities Among Building Stakeholders

It’s crucial for every site to find a functional balance that considers the reality on the ground: building services, available skills, tenant expectations, etc. Each stakeholder must have a degree of autonomy, ensuring responsiveness, but must also be accountable for their actions.

Stakeholders (asset managers, property managers, and service providers) must function as a collective: a single team serving the tenants. For this collective to work, regular coordination is necessary, even if just to symbolize the collective effort. Crisis management should not be the only time stakeholders exchange information. If coordination is limited to emergencies, disconnection at the first sign of difficulty can quickly become the norm.

The division of responsibilities must also be clear to the tenant. An escalation process to a different contact should be available if persistent issues arise.

3. Establishing Well-Defined Communication Channels

Logging a ticket ensures better tracking of requests. When a request is initiated through another means, there’s nothing to prevent creating a ticket on behalf of the tenant. The challenge is often unifying the channels: a tenant should not have different channels for each type of request. QR codes can be a helpful tool for directing requests effectively.

However, the focus should not be exclusively on communication through a digital tool. Nothing replaces direct exchanges on-site or by phone: voice interaction ensures that the request is acknowledged and allows for clear explanations. Direct exchanges and tickets should work together.

4. Establishing Clear Processes

Clear processes help establish good practices. They provide a foundation that ensures consistent operations across the organization, regardless of staff turnover.

All opportunities for tenant interactions should be viewed through the lens of customer relationship quality. This begins from the start of the relationship: taking over building management, leasing, tenant improvements, inspections, and move-ins. For example, establishing introductory meetings at the start of the relationship, carefully preparing and structuring them, can enhance their effectiveness. It’s crucial to succeed at the start of the relationship, as early interactions create a lasting impression that can be hard to change.

For a property manager, the challenge sometimes lies in the diversity of investor clients and their organizations. The start of a contract should be an opportunity to define the operating balance with the investor. While this time is sometimes taken, the working methods between asset and property managers are rarely formalized.

5. Adopting a Service Culture

It’s important that every employee feels responsible for a part of customer satisfaction. Property management services are increasingly integrating customer relations into their job titles to emphasize this approach.

To bring this mindset to life, several actions must be combined: training to support employees, satisfaction surveys to better understand expectations and measure progress, and management that prioritizes this focus.

Dissatisfaction often arises from poor communication. For example, the natural tendency is to wait for a confirmed intervention date before informing the requester. However, this waiting period creates uncertainty, which the tenant might interpret as indifference. It’s important to communicate, even if just to explain the time needed to handle a request. The delay is often justified: the need to obtain multiple quotes to optimize costs (and thus fees), existing warranties that slow the process, etc.

A service culture and on-site presence culture are also inseparable. Being on-site demonstrates and makes visible the diligence applied to good management.

6. Aligning the Information System with Ambition

Each of the points above has a counterpart in the information system. For instance, tenant information must be stored somewhere, processes must be available to employees, tenant requests must be structured in a tool, etc.

The first step is to assess the tools available, their current use, and their potential. Depending on needs and investment capacity, CRM systems or tenant portals can complement the system.

Conclusion

The evolving real estate market presents a tremendous opportunity to restore the prestige of the various real estate professions. A holistic approach is essential: all stakeholders and every lever (organization, tools, training, etc.) must be engaged within the framework of a long-term action plan that is carefully monitored.