Property managers spend their days constantly prioritising, and then re-prioritising their ‘to do’ list, with tasks ranging from planning new resident arrivals, dealing with maintenance and safety issues, organising onsite events, to performing a variety of administrative tasks, such as handling parcels and managing visitors. All of which contributes to the overall resident experience.
The changing expectations of residents
Although digitalising your resident experience can often be overlooked, it can help increase the value of the development.
- 92% of residents prefer digital communications – a massive 81% of millennials find having to make phone calls very stressful.
- 90% of millennials would consider paying higher rent for better amenities or better property technology.
- 81% of residents say that it is either important or very important for them to be able to access their resident portal from a mobile device.
- 64% of residents signed their current lease online in some way, and given the choice, 58% of residents would rather pay rent using a resident portal mobile app than a property website via laptop/desktop.
As the data shows, residents desire a digital experience which is no surprise given the demographics of occupiers. A recent report released by The British Property Federation, Dataloft, London First and The UK Apartment Association has revealed that the most common age band for residents in both BTR and the PRS is 25 to 34 years old (both making up over 40% of all residents).
Digitalise your tenant onboarding
With 91% of all residents likely to use a mobile device the next time they are looking for somewhere to live according to research by Revel, it’s imperative that property managers ensure prospective residents can easily find and browse their property portfolio online.
By digitalising the applicant journey, prospective residents can view the progression of their tenancy in real-time, communicate with the lettings team, sign contracts, and even make payments, all online. Being able to see where they are in the process can also help to manage expectations of how far along the journey they are.
With every tenant following the same automated onboarding process, end-to-end tenancy management software like Spike Lettings can also provide examples of accepted documentation and a clear indication of which documents still need to be produced by the applicant, saving hundreds of admin hours having to chase for the right documents and speeding up the onboarding process. As well as having the potential to handle all reservations in-house rather than relying on an outsourced lettings agent.
Make reporting issues and booking amenities easy
One of the most time-consuming parts of a property manager’s job is the handling of maintenance issues, with minor issues turning into major ones if they aren’t dealt with quickly and efficiently. Without an easy and simple way for residents to report maintenance issues, they can often go unreported.
Resident Portals like Spike Living speed up the communication in these instances and allow residents to quickly provide your maintenance staff with a clear picture of the task ahead, with residents even able to attach photos of the issue so maintenance staff can diagnose the fault ahead of time, increasing the likelihood of fixing the issue in their first visit.
Similarly, with onsite gyms, games rooms, dinning spaces and a host of other amenities becoming the new norm in residential developments, having an easy way for residents to book and interact with these spaces without requiring staff interaction increases the probability of them being used. Being able to open an app and book a room turns what could be an archaic process into a seamless experience, encouraging residents to spend more time enjoying the spaces, and not having to worry about the stress of gaining access.
How to Get Started on Your Digital Journey?
As the data shows, digitalising the resident journey and experience is no longer a ‘nice to have’ and more of a ‘must have’ for those developments wanting to attract and more importantly retain its residents. In an age where self-service and digital interactions are being the new norm, property managers need to ensure they adapt with the times.
Spike’s tenancy management solution, Spike Lettings and award-winning resident engagement portal, Spike Living, is proven to not only enhance resident experience but also streamline and improve the operational efficiency for property managers.
Want to learn how our solutions could work for you? Request a one-to-one demo below!
