Every multifamily marketing manager wants to see trust and confidence among their teams. But how do they achieve it? The answer: by creating a culture of accountability, which starts with setting clear expectations, offering support and modeling behavior. Here are a few ways multifamily marketers can motivate their employees through team culture.

Set measurable goals

To bring out the best in your leasing consultants and property managers, guide them by setting specific, attainable and measurable goals. Be honest and transparent about your expectations, and then let your team members set individual goals for you to review. To measure each team member’s success, utilize key performance indicators (KPIs). This will encourage and empower them to feel responsible for your apartment communities, work hard to improve the rental experience and increase the bottom line.

Measure against past performance

Research from Columbia Business School shows that employees receive feedback better when it’s measured against their past performance instead of that of a peer. This approach helps your apartment community teams feel empowered to improve rather than leaving them defensive. They’ll see evaluations as fair — and a perception of fairness has been shown to boost productivity and morale.

Remain positive by acknowledging specific contributions of each leasing consultant over time while also offering constructive feedback. They’ll feel recognized, and you’ll be more likely to see great work from them going forward. If there’s an area they’re struggling in, model the behavior you want to see, or take the time to teach the skills you think are especially important.

Back it up with data

When setting goals with your leasing and property management teams, back up your points with data. Explaining the reasons behind targets lets your staff in on the process, and they’ll appreciate your collaborative approach.  

Say you’ve previously found that a certain number of retention tasks each month correlates to a certain percentage increase in renter renewals. When the property manager sees that hard data, they’ll understand concretely why they need to perform a specific number of activities each month to achieve their goal and help the business advance.

Schedule regular check-ins

Once you've set data-driven goals, you’ll want to schedule regular one-on-one check-ins with each of your leasing agents and property managers to see how they’re progressing. Communication is crucial in an accountability culture. Check-ins give each team member a chance to voice concern and for you to offer support. Following up also signals how important you think their work is.

Make check-ins feel like a casual conversation, but follow a basic structure to keep them on track. Before the meeting, skim notes from your prior check-in and jot down points to discuss, such as goals and projects. During the meeting, turn off your computer screen and put your smartphone away so you can give your employee your full attention. Use open-ended questions to keep the conversation moving. Acknowledge recent accomplishments, provide feedback and summarize key points before ending the meeting.

Use a CRM

Give your leasing team the tools they need to accomplish their goals and become more efficient. Knowing that you’re investing in their success will help them feel more invested in their work.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software is a great resource to help your agents hit crucial KPIs. Armed with the right CRM, your on-site team can develop relationships with prospects by recording their preferences, and they can also deepen relationships with current residents using CRM prompts for follow-ups based on stored information.  

A culture of accountability starts when you listen to your apartment community teams, recognize individual accomplishments, treat them like trusted partners and give them the best tools to meet their goals. You’re showing you care about them and the bottom line. Employees who feel cared for will perform better at work — to their benefit and the benefit of the company.