Cultivating a culture of retention in property management

Speaking on a recent episode of The Wire, Maria Milillo, the head of property management at Raine & Horne, stated that retention and recruitment continue to be the industry’s biggest pain points. 

She explained that the Great Resignation — which saw a surge in attrition at the height of the pandemic — has not ebbed in 2022 but rather persisted in the property management industry in 2023. 

“[As] a result of that, we know that many principals and property management departments are suffering in two different ways. 

“One, they’re failing to recruit new staff, and secondly, they’re having to outsource roles that probably traditionally they would’ve kept in-house. They’re the biggest challenges I think that I’m seeing in our businesses at the moment,” she said.

Citing a new LinkedIn report revealing that 60 per cent of workers are considering changing their jobs in 2023, the executive noted that the property management industry is not alone in facing the stress of “finding good quality” staff. 

“So there’s a lot of changes going on in lots of other industries. And I think that employers need to be mindful of how they’re going to keep their staff, of how they’re going to recruit from other sectors. These are some of the challenges that they’re going to see this year.

“[It’s] a timely reminder of what principals need to think about going into 2023. It’s all about retention and recruiting new staff,” she stated. 

On that note, Ms Milillo called on leaders in the property management industry to make changes that will lead to better employee retention, particularly by focusing on making property managers “feel loved and valued”.  

She underlined the importance of giving “more recognition and more rewards” to property managers, who often feel like “the poorer cousin to sales” in terms of incentives and commendations. 

In addition to ensuring that property managers are rewarded and properly remunerated, Ms Milillo also called on leaders to address the root cause of people turning their backs on the profession, which is the lack of growth progression. 

“[Whether] it be rewarding them, recognising them, making sure they’ve got the best tools, and those property managers that have received the best training, and that they are helping them grow as an individual. 

“Because a lot of property managers struggle to see growth progression in their jobs. So making sure that they are as upskilled as possible and that they’re feeling supported, they’re feeling that love is really, really important,” she emphasised. 

And while there are a “lot of perks” to being a property manager, Ms Milillo said leaders also have to acknowledge the demanding nature of the job, particularly its potential impact on mental health and how it consequently impacts retention. 

“I think that a lot of property managers out there have struggled with not only their mental health, which is why we’ve seen so many move on, but also the mental health of their clients and they’re the ones they’re dealing with,” she stated. 

In this vein, she underlined that it’s important for employers to think about the mental health and wellbeing of their property managers as part of a retention strategy.

She advised businesses to focus their training on improving their employees’ wellbeing and arm property managers with the right skills and knowledge to manage conflict.  

“I think dealing with mental health and dealing with conflict is another area that’s going to help retain good staff if property managers know how to manage these situations because, ultimately, I think they lead to the most stress [and] most burnout when there’s one really high-conflict kind of personality you’ve got to deal with.

She highlighted that preparing property managers to have “difficult conversations” is not beneficial, not just in the workplace. 

“It’s also great for you if you are having a difficult conversation with a partner, or a son, or a daughter, or a mother-in-law. It’s really great to apply this sort of education and training to other areas of your life.

“So, if we can try and mitigate the stress and the burnout caused from outside the workplace, then that essentially also helps us respond to issues and concerns and things that arise in the workplace; it would better manage them well,” she explained. 

To tackle the recruitment pains the industry is experiencing, she recommended leaders launch recruitment drives that are not focused on onboarding people who are just from inside the sector but also from other industries. 

“Property [management] is predominantly about customer service. So I think it’s important to find someone with that experience.

“And I’ve heard lots of success stories lately. In fact, of people who have recently been recruited from a different industry who have been doing a fantastic job and they’re really happy they brought them on board,” she said.

She also called on business leaders to do away with their traditional strategies when it comes to recruitment. 

“So traditionally, we always saw the need for a business to go, ‘Right, I need a property manager and they must have experience’.

“And now we’re understanding that we’re less likely to get that person with the experience. So making sure we’ve got a good onboarding program, good training programs in place, and making sure that we support those new people,” she stated.

Listen to the full conversation with Maria Milillo here.