Fair Housing: Landmark Judgment Passed for Multifamily Company

A landmark decision was handed out by the Justice Department yesterday.  This is something that everyone in the multifamily industry needs to pay attention to.  Here is the link to the article and also the full article from the Justice Department.

http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/capital/2009/11/03/justice-department-hits-la-apartment-owner-with-record-fine/

http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/November/09-crt-1187.html

A couple of key excerpts are as follows: “Tuesday, the Department of Justice announced that a Los Angeles apartment-building owner had agreed to pay $2.7 million to settle allegations that he discriminated against blacks, Hispanics, and families with children. It’s the largest penalty ever obtained by the department in a housing-discrimination case involving apartments.

“The magnitude of this settlement should send a message to all landlords that we will vigorously pursue violations of the Fair Housing Act,” said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the department’s civil rights division.”

In addition, an independent contractor will test Sterling’s compliance with fair-housing laws at his Los Angeles properties for three years and provide training to his apartment managers and leasing agents on fair-housing rules.”

This judgment should strike a chord with all of us the importance of making sure our companies are fully educated in the Fair Housing Act.  I found it quite sad after reading this article yesterday and then reflecting on a recent conference I attended.  Here is why.  One of my usual questions to everyone who came by our booth was, “What does your company do for training?”  It was unfortunate to hear from some, “Training! We don’t need training.” 

I wonder how this landlord feels about multifamily training now.  The Fair Housing Act is in place for a reason.  In order to work without fear of a violation, it’s important to be educated properly and have clear documentation on how each staff member is in compliance. 

This judgment could be the first of many to come.  Let’s be proactive and not reactive.  Being reactive could cost us dear.

Written by Jonathan Saar - The Training Factor

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure Series: Sexual Harassment Math Quiz

Let’s take a quick crack at some math.  We are going to take a look at a figurative multifamily situation involving a community with 20 employees.  The property management company does not believe that training is necessary in order to help prevent sexual harassment claims.

As a result of that line of thinking someone makes what they think is an innocent statement towards another employee and then BOOM!!!!!!! A claim is filed with the property manager.  Are your pencils sharpened?  Good!  Let’s see how much this is going to cost our figurative multifamily company.

The first step they have to take is to hire a professional to investigate the situation.  Usually this is an entire business week that is charged back to the property management company. The typical cost is 40 hours X $100.00 per hour.  That’s $4000.00. After that the investigative company mandates that the entire staff take a day of offsite sexual harassment prevention training.  Pencil’s ready?  Let’s say the average pay per hour is $15.00 per hour.  So we need to calculate $15.00 X 8 hours X 20 employees.  Total cost to the company for that training day.  $2400.00

Now you need to factor in travel expenses, meals, textbook and materials, and of course the person you are paying to train your 20 team members.  That will add approximately another $1500.00.  The grand total for this sexual harassment claim----$7900.00.  Let’s not even go down the road if the alleged victim decides to take their claim to court and wins.

Now let’s theorize how much it would cost this company if they had instituted a preventive training program that had a sexual harassment prevention course that could be tracked and analyzed where the team members needed help on this subject.  For an LMS with a Sexual Harassment prevention course, it would cost a company as little as $35.00 per year per employee to take the course twice.  That’s approximately $700.00 a year to train the whole company. 

I’ll let you do the math.

Written by Jonathan Saar. Average statistics provided by The Training Factor

Corporate Cut the Tabs! -My Take on the Interview with Captain Sullenberger

If any of you missed out on The Daily Show with John Stewart the other day, the interview with Captain Chesley Sullenberger is below.  First of all, our hats go off to this amazing person who showed such poise and saved so many lives.  There were two particular points from his interview that struck home with me.  Much thanks to my wife Renee, who totally rocks, for pointing them out to me.

For my multifamily colleagues and really for all of us in business, here they are. 

1.       Corporations need to invest in training and

2.       Put the Tabs Back!!!!!!!

The interview is only about 7 minutes long, so please watch and then see my comments below.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Chesley Sullenberger
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Ron Paul Interview

How many of you thought how completely lame and ridiculous it was for an airline to mess with an emergency handbook!!  As the Captain stated, “I think it would make the system better if we put the tabs back.”  Corporate somehow came to a conclusion that to cut costs, it would be a good idea to take the tabs out!!

This is just an amazing example of where some corporate officials have their heads.  Unfortunately this line of thinking continues across the corporate world and seems to have leaked into the multifamily industry.  It continues to sadden me to hear of major layoffs as a result of the perception that this is the only way to cut costs.   These employees are the ones who have been trying to get their voices heard and who have consistently tried to present to their corporate heads cost saving solutions in order to help their company succeed.  But they feel like my illustration up at the top-gagged and tied up.  And the corporate solution- “Let’s cut back on the tabs.”

This post may be of little consolation to those who are stunned and hurt over what has happened to you.  You are thinking to yourself—“After all the years I have devoted myself to my job and I just got treated like a Tab!!!”  I was a victim of that once as well and I am sorry for what you are going through.

Thank goodness for the Captain’s training.  It saved lives that day.  In the multifamily industry, you cannot go without a training program.  When it counts the most, the training you provide for your staff may save you from a Fair Housing or Sexual Harassment disaster.  Do you keep wondering why your marketing dollars are not bringing the return you hoped for?  The training you provide for your leasing, maintenance and management team will change that.

This message may never reach the people who really need to hear it, but you are reading this now and remember to take this with you as you progress in your multifamily professional career.

P.S. please take a moment and comment.  Thank you.

Written by Jonathan Saar who was inspired by his wonderful wife for this post.

The Training Factor

More Bang for Your Buck

This was an absolutely hilarious training video in my opinion, but then again I am often told my sense of humor is quite dry.  From a business point of view, this video has such a great analogy.  Keeping this all in good humor of course, but can you honestly imagine this poor guy making it to the Olympics with this existing program he is using?  It may be cheap, it may look like what the real Olympic training programs are, but the bottom line is that it is NOT!

There seem to be quite few companies offering multifamily training programs out there.  They promise the world, they say they can offer it for half the price of other systems which is probably absolutely the truth.  I guess the moral and professional dilemma is the decision to choose what training is best for your multifamily team.  What kind of bang do you want for your buck?  Maybe it depends on how bad you want the gold medal for your team.

Written by Jonathan Saar The Training Factor

Stay the Course

Those three words have inspired thousands of individuals for centuries now.  It’s interesting to reflect on the definition.  Wikipedia makes these statements. 

"Stay the course" is a phrase used in the context of a war or battle meaning to pursue a goal regardless of any obstacles or criticism.

Similar to "cut and run", a pejorative phrase used to describe cowardly withdrawal from battle, "stay the course" allegedly originated as a nautical metaphor on maintaining a constant, unaltering course while navigating.

How do these three words inspire you?  What are your business challenges?

Here’s a theoretical list.

1. Marketing plan-Is it the right one for me? How long should I stick to it?
2. Competition-What size fish am I in my pond?  What do I do about the bigger fish?
3. Budgets-Do I spend the money, or do I cut back?  Do I invest or do I ride this economy out?
4. Training-Do I really need it?  Can I live without it?  Will the cheap version be as effective as the higher quality version?
5. Occupancy percentages-What really works for resident retention?  Do I use social media or not?

For many multifamily companies its budget time and new fiscal year decisions are being made.  Your leadership training now comes into play with crucial decisions that will affect your company, your team, and yourself.

Now think of our three words.  “STAY THE COURSE”.  In the nautical context, can you envision the captain of the ship who is trying to encourage and convince his entire crew that they will survive the storm?  The course is front of him is uncertain.  It’s hard to see with all the waves pounding against his ship.  Water is flying everywhere.  His crew is being tossed around.  The 1^st mate and lieutenants continue to delegate orders so that the ship will not sink.  The captain cannot see clearly what is in front of him, but he has his instruments to tell him where he is going.  His compass has never let him down.  His maps and charts have been accurately created.  His calculations are correct.  He knows that the direction he is taking his crew is true.  He stands at his captain’s wheel and confidently yells out to the crew, “STAY THE COURSE”.

Within our multifamily companies we have our instruments that do not let us down.  We have specific ones to deal with Marketing, Competition, Budgets, Training, and Occupancies.  We have instruments that have stood the test of time and we are discovering new ones that deal with the more current conditions and times we live in.  The message is clear for us.  If we act as leaders within our company, have you ever thought of those three words?

Post written by Jonathan Saar from The Training Factor

Acorn Got Secret Shopped!

It’s current events like we have been witnessing recently that give us a whole new appreciation for being Secret Shopped!  I was hired at one time to do secret phone shops, and I never felt more uncomfortable in my whole life.  I felt so sad for the people I was talking to on the phone and looking to try and find something to score them high on.  I felt bad because now that report had to go to their boss and I was so anxious that because of my call, someone might lose their job.  After witnessing the ACORN events, my attitude has changed.  Secret Shops are for a protection and will only make you strive to achieve higher in your position.  Notice below from the ACORN website their motto and brief bio.

Who is ACORN?

ACORN is the nation’s largest grassroots community organization of low- and moderate-income people with over 400,000 member families organized into more than 1,200 neighborhood chapters in about 75 cities across the country.  Since 1970, ACORN has been building community organizations that are committed to social and economic justice, and won victories on thousands of issues of concern to our members, through direct action, negotiation, legislative advocacy and voter participation.  ACORN helps those who have historically been locked out become powerful players in our democratic system.

http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=12342

Now in the property management end our bio or our mission statement on our website may read something similar.  Let’s change the words up a bit.

Who is Property Management XYZ?

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT XYZ is one of the nation’s largest property management companies.  We have a portfolio of over XXX condos and apartments in over 10 states.  Since 1970, PROPERTY MANAGEMENT XYX has been building communities that are dedicated to helping our residents have the best living experience possible.  Our goal is to keep you happy and satisfied with your community and to retain you as a resident indefinitely.  Our chief concern is you as the resident.  Our goal is the utmost of customer service.  We want to hear your voice.  We are here for you.

The question is:  Does our company description match what our employees portray?  When you look at ACORN and their company description, the proof is in the pudding.  It sounds good on paper, but reality is much different.  I can guarantee you right now that they are wishing they had some sort of secret shop system set up in order to protect their organization. 

Does our “About” page read something similar to the example above?  What are we doing in the multifamily industry to make sure our mission statement matches our people?  If you were not participating in secret shops before, what will you do now?  If you were not creating and implementing a performance review program, what will you do now?  If you do not have an active and ongoing multifamily training program, what will you do now?  Do you believe that the only way an employee can benefit from their secret shop is if they have follow up training to enhance their skill sets?  It all ties together.

Never be afraid of secret shops, but welcome them.  Treat each situation as if you were being shopped, that way you can never go wrong.  They are a protection for you and your company to make sure that fair housing laws are being followed and customer service skills and leasing skills are optimized.

Your feedback is greatly appreciated.  If you have been secret shopped before, what is your general feeling towards them?  As a property management company who has that policy of using secret shops, how do you use them to make your team better with their job title?

This article written by Jonathan Saar Director of Marketing for The Training Factor

Questions about your current program contact us: http://www.thetrainingfactor.com

You Must Choose, But Choose Wisely

Decision makers have such a huge responsibility.  Whether or not we are on the property management side or the vendor side, everyday there are decisions to be made. It could be new employees, products, services, events, you name it, there are numerous items on a given business day that need to be addressed.

One of my favorite movies, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” had such an interesting scene towards the end that gave us all something to compare to.  The scenario: What do I base my decisions on?  The Grail Knight in the tomb used that expression, “You must choose, But Choose Wisely”.   We all remember what Walter Donovan did right away.  His superficial reasoning was that the most beautiful chalice had to be the correct vessel.  However he really did not know his history well nor did he do the proper research in order to come to a correct decision.  He just went with what looked best and what seemed to be the easiest choice and we know what happened to him, it kind of got yucky from that point on.  However Indiana Jones knew his history and had studied well which enabled him to ‘choose wisely’.  The action hero once again saves the day.

So what is the application for our industry?  We are confronted daily with 2 paths to take on any given decision.  One appears to be the intriguing and easy choice.  It looks pretty, it has a lot of show, and it glistens with promises and makes you think that if you choose this way it is going to make you a hero, that you will be so highly esteemed for the decision you made.  Where will this path lead?  The other path does not outwardly appear like much.  There is not glitz, no glamour, no outrageous promises, but you have done your research on this path.  You have investigated thoroughly.  You have educated yourself enough to know that even though the glitz is not there, you will not be misled by superficial reasoning.  You will know by your research that this path and decision is the best because you have examined it thoroughly and you want your team to benefit the most.  As the Grail Knight would say, “You have chosen wisely.”

Of course we are not talking about life or death decisions here, but the same principles apply.  Let’s continue to make our industry stand strong because of the professionalism that its foundation is based on.  Don’t get sucked in by a high pitched sales presentation or a resume with pretty borders and big words.  Don’t get caught in the snare of someone who says they will undercut a proposal no matter what, just to get a sale.  Be careful about the events and resident retention concepts you bring to your communities.  Our decisions should not be about short term glamour, but long term prosperity.

I am so interested in hearing from you on some of the challenging decisions you face and what steps you take to make sure you are making the best choice for you and your multifamily company.

Just for fun check out the old Diet Coke Choose Wisely commercial below.
Written by Jonathan Saar-Director of Marketing The Training Factor
For more information on The Training Factor visit our site http://www.thetrainingfactor.com

Perfomance Evaluation and Analysis Feature

We are pleased to announce a new feature that has recently been added to our Training University! We are constantly improving our product for your benefit. You have told us of your need to marry employee training with employee performance evaluations. Whether those evaluations are in the form of Supervisor/Manager evaluations or secret shopper experiences, you needed a way to disseminate those evaluations to your employees and to train them in the areas where they may need extra help. You spoke and we listened!!

Introducing the Performance Evaluation and Analysis feature. This feature will allow you to upload all of your employee evaluations to your employee’s transcript page. Your employee will be able to see their evaluation, see and/or hear their secret shop, and receive training based on their performance analysis!

Best of all, this feature is available now and at no extra cost to our valued clients!!

We will shortly be unveiling reports to complement this new feature as well!

If you are interested in learning more about this feature and get an overview of how to use it effectively, please call Mechelle or Renée at 770-514-7773 or email us to schedule a mutually convenient time!

Thanks again for your feedback that helps us make The Training Factor the most comprehensive Learning Management System in the multifamily industry.

http://www.thetrainingfactor.com 

Blue 32--Blue 32--Ready, Set Hutt Hutt

Football season is now in full swing. Time to take the passion of the game and use it to your advantage with your residents and with your team. Statistically speaking, football continues to grow in popularity with many different demographics. It is no longer just a guys game, but the amount of women who tune into NCAA on Saturday and the NFL on Sunday is steadily growing.

So with such an ingrained passion with so many people, what can you do to use this to retain residents and gain loyalty with your multifamily team? How about dress up Fridays? Let your staff show up with their favorite team jersey. The result? Instant conversation starter when the residents come in!

The stuffy office atmosphere is gone and opportunities for fun and engaging conversations now have a breeding ground.

Now what about direct resident retention? Pretty well I am sure you know your resident's birthday, anniversary, graduation day etc. What about their favorite football team? Interesting fact to chat about on the community blog and get the residents involved in a little friendly rivalry.

How about a fan dress up contest? Or maybe a Saturday tailgate party? Options are probably endless when those wheels start spinning upstairs.

Bottom line-- have some fun with your multifamily team and with the residents. Show them both how much you value and appreciate who they are and their own particular passion for such a great weekend pastime.

If this is something you have already tried before, please share. I would love to hear how it worked for your community.

Visit our website http://www.thetrainingfactor.com

Are you an Otter?

Good morning everyone. I love watching Planet Earth and found an episode particularly interesting this weekend. There was a section that discussed the otter as a social creature and how well they work together as a group.

Here is what was cool. What do you think? One on One, Otter versus Crocodile. Who do you think would win. The answer is obvious. Don't count the otter out yet. Here is how the otter faces such a formidable opponent--teamwork. As a group they work together to harass and antagonize a crocodile that is coming to close to its family group. The crocodile although hungry, gives up on trying to catch a meal.

Lesson for today--Are you an otter? How much do you contribute to your team? What is the crocodile in your company's daily challenges? Is it the economy? Occupancies? Or maybe something within ourselves?

Whatever the case may be, there is a lot to learn from such a wonderful creature. The only thing that matters to an otter is keeping the team together and facing adversity and challenges head on. How do you act like an otter in your daily work and life? Thanks for reading, and have a great Monday.

Training--Huhh!! Why??

Good morning everyone and happy Friday!!!

Morning thoughts have been reflecting on the different types of multifamily professionals I have met. The most intriguing for sure were the ones that when I asked questions about their training program, they said--Huhh! Why? They looked at me as if to say-"We hired them because they know the position, why should we as a company have to go any further?"

I really need your input on this statement. Here is what I have humbly noticed thus far. Please notice that this may not be the only variable on this next statement, however it is an important factor. Those companies who did not believe in training have been laying off like crazy. In contrast those companies who have a strong training program are hiring and even buying up new additions to their portfolio.

My message--Maybe your response to why you are laying off or why your NOI does not look good at all should be--Huh!! Why!!

Open the mind, examine the possibilities, get involved with the social aspect of the multifamily industry so that you can learn from others. Be humble.

Please share your thoughts-thanks folks- Have a fabulous weekend.