By Rosemary Carcucci Goss, PhD and Dustin C. Reed, PhD/JD

Gathered by the research team at Virginia Tech, this report explores the trends and perceptions of leaders in the multifamily housing industry, which has become increasingly competitive throughout the years.

With growing demands from owners, property management companies are constantly seeking ways to maintain a competitive edge in response to the new challenges in the multifamily industry.

Some noteworthy findings among property management firms include:

• Establishing competitive pricing for the services they offer
• Enhancing the value of their brand
• Satisfying HR needs
• Maintaining a technological edge
• Avoiding potential conflicts of interest

Copyright: 2016
Format: Softcover; 30 pages
ISBN: 978-1-57203-240-8

IREM Members: Download the digital version of this for FREE!

IREM developed this set of simple, practical best practices to guide and support real estate management companies committed to operating their businesses successfully and in a professional manner.  The concept behind these best practices is that there are certain proven solutions and recognized guidelines that are likely to result in greater efficiency, enhanced effectiveness, and ultimately a competitive advantage. 

The 2014 edition contains 57 best practice statements that are organized around four categories:

• The management company
• Client relations
• Management of the property
• Tenant and resident relations

IREM Key Report
Insider’s Tips to Operating a Successful Property Management Company
Richard F. Muhlebach CPM, SCSM, CRE, RPA and Alan A. Alexander

Operating a property management company requires more than good communication and management skills. To be competitive, companies must have a sound infrastructure, strategic direction, and sufficient resources to achieve success. This report offers comprehensive guidance on all aspects of developing a successful property management business, and includes detailed coverage of:

• Strategies for successful staffing and company organization
• Components of a management proposal
• How to maintain ethical practices and professional standards
• Owner’s evaluation and selection of a firm
• Leasing commissions and other financial incentives
• Steps for managing new accounts and expanding business profitability

IREM, 2007
eBook, 80 pages
ISBN: 978-1-57203-155-5

If you like this white paper, you may be interested in the other papers in this series. For additional white papers feel free to access our papers on leadership.

In today’s business environment, the ability to create loyal, lasting relationships is crucial. This IREM white paper on Relationship Building will help you do just that—become a leader who is able to garner trust and respect. Your clients want to know that you value their business, and your employees want to know that you value the work they do.

Because trust and respect are not automatic, it’s important to know how to lay the foundation for fostering relationships on an ongoing basis. This white paper will give you the tips and tools you’ll need to win new business and keep what you’ve got, which centers on your ability to earn trust, credibility, and respect.

If you want your company to be at the top of the list, it is crucial for leaders to focus on building relationships that count. Download this white paper today and you’ll learn how to:

• Take your reputation into consideration
• Focus on creating meaningful conversations
• Forge new relationships
• Effectively build rapport and support
• Create solid professional relationships in a digital world

Copyright: 2014
Format: PDF; 6 pages

If you like this white paper, you may be interested in the other papers in this series. For additional white papers feel free to access our papers on leadership.

Ever try to run a property or company, by yourself? You probably either lead a number of teams, or are a member of one or more.

Building and managing teams is one of the critical competencies required of successful real estate managers. It was ranked as one of the top leadership skills for property managers by more than 800 real estate management professionals in the IREM Job Analysis survey.

This whitepaper explains how leaders with emotional intelligence can build and maintain successful teams. This white paper will help you learn the following:

• The definition of a team versus a workgroup
• The essential conditions for team effectiveness
• The stages of forming a team and the leader’s role
• How the team leader can grow and support team growth
• Specific actions you can take to be a better team leader

Teams are more creative and productive when they can achieve high levels of participation, cooperation, and collaboration among members. But this isn’t always easy to achieve.

Even if you already have highly productive teams, it doesn't mean they will stay that way. If a team gets new members, takes on new responsibilities, undergoes a company-wide reorganization, or experiences any number of other possible changes, the teambuilding process may have to start all over again.

Real estate managers need to provide the direction and leadership to help teams achieve goals and operate cooperatively and cohesively. This white paper on Leadership Development: Building Teams can help you get the most out of the people you lead and the groups you manage.

Copyright: 2013
Format: PDF; 7 pages

If you like this white paper, you may be interested in the other papers in this series. For additional white papers feel free to access our papers on leadership.

A common mistake leaders often make is spending most of their time trying to develop their poorest performers— and overlooking their top performers. Studies show that high performers produce 20–50% more than average employees.

It’s easy for most managers to tell their employees what to do and address their poor performance. However, it’s a challenge to actually develop effective feedback and coaching for your employees. This white paper—the 7th white paper in the IREM leadership series—will help you understand some the most important and valuable skills that any leader should have when it comes to coaching and helping others develop their skills.
You will learn how to:

• Support employee engagement and job satisfaction, reducing turnover
• Enhance performance and improve productivity
• Allow employees to understand their value to you and the company
• Build a more effective, cohesive, and trusting team
• Give you more time to do strategic, leadership-oriented work because your team will be productive and engaged
• Enhance your reputation as a leader

Coaching can have a considerable impact if it is targeted at high performers, or at least those with high potential. Even high performers can improve with the proper coaching. Download this white paper to learn the fundamental difference between managing and coaching and become a more effective leader.

Copyright: 2014
Format: PDF; 6 pages

If you like this white paper, you may be interested in the other papers in this series. For additional white papers feel free to access our papers on leadership.

The IREM Job Analysis identifies conflict management as one of the critical leadership competencies required of property and asset managers. One of the common myths is that conflict is inherently bad and should be minimized or avoided at all costs. On the contrary, properly managed conflict can lead to greater innovation, performance, and even improved cohesion within a team—creating an environment for open and honest discussions. Of course, if it’s not managed properly, conflict can also have the opposite results.

One of the best tactics for managing conflict is known as mental jiujitsu—avoid pitting your strength against your opponent’s directly; instead, use your skill to step aside and turn their strength to your ends. In other words, absorb the energy of your opponent and use it to manage their behavior.

So how do you do that? If pushed, do not push back:

1. When they assert their positions, do not reject them: Ask them to explain their position. How does it achieve their interests (helping to learn more about their real interest)? Why do they think it is a fair and reasonable solution?
2. When they attack your ideas, don’t defend them: Ask them to explain why your ideas won’t help achieve their interests. Ask them to help you understand why they don’t think it’s a fair and reasonable solution.
3. When they attack you, don’t counterattack: Sidestep their attack and deflect it against the problem. If someone says, “You’re just being selfish about this,” respond by saying “Well, let’s look at the problems and maybe it will help me understand why you think I’m being selfish.” If someone is using unfair tactics, simply call them out on it, “It sounds like you can’t make a final decision on this. Perhaps I should talk to the person who can, or postpone our discussion until you get more direction.” Generally, when the other person knows that you know an unfair tactic is being used, they will stop using it.

Copyright: 2013
Format: PDF; 6 pages

If you like this white paper, you may be interested in the other papers in this series. Click here to access the other white papers in the series.

The need for leaders at all levels is one of the top critical issues identified in the Global Human Capital Trends 2014 survey.  According to the survey, leadership remains the number-one talent issue facing all organizations.

It’s is clear that a majority of companies face a leadership talent gap, it is not always clear as to what a company needs to do to close that gap. This white paper will clearly outline which leadership activities will provide the best return on investment for your company. Learn how to:

• Identify the different goals behind a leader development system
• Assess your company’s specific goals and needs
• Build the components of an effective leader development system
• Create a leader development climate in your organization
• Use a simple tool to assess your company’s current leader development efforts

Copyright: 2016
Format: PDF; 8 pages

If you like this white paper, you may be interested in the other papers in this series. Click here to access the other white papers in the series.

By Natalie Brecher, CPM, CDEI™

Creativity is what elevates us to success. It’s what separates the winners from the runners-up. Most importantly it adds excitement and vibrancy to the workplace. This White Paper on creativity will teach you how to explore creativity as it is described in a unique question-and-answer format.

Learn how to:

• Cultivate skills to unleash your creative side
• Gain new ways to create a more creative workspace
• Foster a creative environment for your organization
• Work with a formula to generate new ideas
• Make creativity a part of the office culture

Copyright: 2016
Format: PDF; 6 pages

If you like this white paper, you may be interested in the other papers in this series. For additional white papers feel free to access our papers on leadership.

You are managing a property and it is not meeting the owner’s goal for annual return on investment. What do you do? Cut expenses? Spend more money on a new marketing campaign to reduce vacancies? Try to find ancillary income opportunities? If so, which ones? Hold off on capital expenditures, like replacing the leaky roof? These are questions a real estate manager constantly faces, and what they decide will determine whether they make their clients happy, or not. How do you make the right decisions?

IREM’s Job Analysis lists “Critical Thinking” as one of the top five competencies required for success. Real estate managers are constantly making decisions and solving problems. They have to correctly interpret a myriad of financial data, understand market conditions, and identify operating and personnel issues. The profitability of a real estate management company, and the properties it manages, depends on skillful analysis and action.

The IREM Leadership White Paper on Critical Thinking provides ideas and suggestions for improving your ability to make well-informed, reasoned decisions. It covers the following steps in becoming a more critical thinker, by helping you to:

• Clearly and precisely identify the real, underlying issues and problems that must be addressed
• Gather all necessary, relevant, and accurate information
• Evaluate the information accurately, being open-minded and thorough in assessing the information
• Identify the best solutions to problems, making well-reasoned decisions which are also assessed as to their implications and practical results
• Work collaboratively with others in finding solutions to complex problems.

The IREM Leadership White Paper on Critical Thinking includes development tactics that you can start implementing immediately to achieve better, more productive results in your problem solving and decision making.

If you like this white paper, you may be interested in the other papers in this series. For additional white papers feel free to access our papers on leadership.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have enough time to complete all your work? Maybe even have a little free time to work on those new projects you have been putting off?

As real estate management pro­fessionals move up the career ladder, they have less time to actually manage properties. Instead, they have to manage the people who manage the properties.

Delegating responsibility is one of the toughest competencies for a new supervisor (and for a lot of experienced supervisors) to master. It is one of the key competencies that real estate management professionals have identified as being critical for success. Research suggests that leaders who delegate authority more frequently often have higher performing businesses.

This White Paper explains the following fundamentals in learning how to delegate responsibility:

• Provide clear and specific directions
• Assign goals, not procedures
• Delegate authority, but monitor
• Give credit, not blame

This White Paper also provides some interesting insights into why some supervisors tend to have a difficult time in delegating work to their subordinates. The fears of giving up control or prestige are just a few of these reasons.

After pushing through your personal obstacles and becoming more self-aware, this White Paper will help you free up more time so that you can focus on more higher-lever strategic planning. Delegating responsibility will help you build engagement and motivation among your staff members, thus strengthening your organization overall. Download this PDF to help you strengthen your leadership skills and simultaneously help others strengthen their skills as you delegate tasks.

Copyright: 2013

Format: PDF; 7 pages

If you like this white paper, you may be interested in the other papers in this series. Click here to access the other white papers in the series.

By Natalie Brecher, CPM, CDEI™

Having a diverse workforce is crucial for organizations to stay current and forward thinking. At times, diversity and inclusion initiatives are steps to create fairness in the workplace for groups that are protected legally or are underrepresented.

Having a diverse workforce enables your company to have both analytical and creative thinkers. Having this diverse set of thinkers creates a balanced harmony and sense of productivity for your business.

With this IREM White Paper on Diversity you will:

• Gain insights on how to broaden perspectives
• Retain excellent employees
• Read in-depth interviews from international perspectives
• Learn how to embrace differences and utilize them for business success

Copyright: 2015
Format: PDF; 16 pages