Effective Training: Developing Effective Property Managers

Comprehensive training gives your property manager the tools they need to support your board and resident needs, while creating operational successes.
 
Property managers support their boards by communicating with residents and fulfilling their needs. They are strong self- and people leaders, provide financial expertise, skilled in the technology required to manage your property and excellent decision makers.   
 
We invest in our property managers with a thorough training program that empowers them to contribute to your thriving community includes:

• Strong support services behind them
• Access to advanced tools
• Readily available and innovative technology 

Our property managers are competently trained to be great leaders and decision-makers, so you can be confident leaving the day-to-day operations in good hands.

Becoming a Great Community Leader

Successful property managers have strong leadership skills. They need confidence to take a lead role in meeting board objectives and community goals through:

• Annual goal setting
• Well-informed recommendations
• Leading, guiding and supporting staff 

A great property management company recognizes the importance that leadership plays in the success of a community and invests heavily in training that teaches self-leadership and people leadership.

Self-leadership:

• Enhances the property manager's awareness of their own abilities so they can properly improve their leadership skills.

People leadership:

Helps directors and managers develop talent within the property management company through:

• Improved coaching
• Regular feedback
• Motivation
• Empowerment

Community Financial Stewardship

A critical part of managing a community is understanding its financial position to help expand its resources. Property managers with financial acumen are not only accurate, but can:

• Assess the current budgetary status of the corporation
• Better advise the board on important spending decisions
• Set priorities for short- and long-term goals
• Expand community resources

With a good understanding of financial reports, your property manager can create operational success through preparation for maintenance needs, special assessments, and resident delinquencies.
 
Our property manager are well-trained and have expertise with financial reports. They understand the importance of keeping meticulous financial records for your corporation through:  

• Balance sheets
• Income statements
• Cash flow statements
• General ledgers
• Accounts payable reports
• Account delinquency reports
• Cash disbursements ledgers  

Training in this area is critical to your property manager’s success as it directly impacts the financial health of your community.

Group Decision Making

Group decision-making is at the heart of how a community functions. Success often depends on consensus building and cooperation. Decisions are rarely made by one person in a community corporation. Group decision-making ensures many people are engaged, contributes innovative ideas, gives everyone a voice and ensures all options are reviewed.
 
It’s more of an art than a science, and your property manager needs to be a collaborative leader by learning how to facilitate group decision-making on your board.
 
Training a property manager on group decision-making involves instruction in areas like:

• conducting effective meetings
• negotiation
• consensus-building
• collaboration styles
• understanding group decision-making processes

Mastering these skills lays the foundation for your property manager to build shared agreement and prevent conflicts. Proficiency in leading group decisions puts your board in a better position to make more informed decisions. And as we all know informed decisions help create sustainability and highly valuable outcomes.

Using Software and Technical Tools

A great property management company offers comprehensive, ongoing training for its in-house technologies. Training in this area continues and evolves as technological solutions and platforms are updated, or newly developed.   
 
To execute they roles effectively, property managers must be well-acquainted with the technology that supports their job functions. Whether it’s proprietary property management software, accounting software, or a community corporation communication platform, your property manager must learn how to use these tools to their full potential.
 
We provide continual training for our property managers so they remain comfortable using all available tools to support your community. As well, they’re able to complete tasks quicker and more competently.
 
Technology training is generally offered through online modules or video for the use of all internal tools including:

• Accounting
• Communication
• Tracking work orders and reservations
• Amenity and service management
• Vendor invoices
• Payment tracking

Communicating with Boards & Residents

Communities have diverse populations and unique personalities. Effectively supporting everyone requires purposeful communication. A great property management company offers training to property managers on various communications techniques so they can:

• Communicate with different audiences and personality types, board members and residents
• Understand various communication styles and how to adapt
• Foster open, two-way communications to keep messages clear

Communication skills training covers:

• effective writing
• public speaking
• relationship-building
• creating effective presentations
• coaching
• active listening techniques 

With this kind of training, your property manager better understands interpersonal nuances, tailors communication to each recipient, and successfully expresses their thoughts and ideas to board members, residents and vendors. They will also avoid or reduce misunderstandings by conveying clearer messages.
 
“Fundamentally, being proficient in how one communicates with different audiences is a critical skill for great managers," explains Glenne Manlig, president at FirstService Residential Alberta. "We provide guidance and coaching to managers on how to adapt their own style and how to recognize opportunities for more effective communication with varied audiences. It’s important that our interactions with residents are clear and transparent so nothing gets in the way of good communication."

Managing Time Effectively

Property managers deal with dozens of calls and emails, documents, appointments and prioritizing tasks every day.
 
Their day is always busy, and time-management is crucial to remain organized and timely. Our property managers understand this and learn how to maximize their time so they can more efficiently address resident and board needs as they arise.
 
At FirstService Residential, we are fully committed to the ongoing education and growth of our property managers. We invest a significant amount of time and effort into their pursuit of it. In addition to the training that managers undergo to obtain their management license, our managers also attend regular training sessions throughout each year.
 
At FirstService Residential University, in-person and online training modules provide the training our property managers need to gain and strengthen the skills they need to excel in their role. And this contributes to a thriving community.  
 
For more information about how we ensure the success of our property managers, read our new guide, Achieving Excellence: The Development of a Successful Property Manager.
or contact FirstService Residential Alberta today.