Grace Hill

Kendall Pretzer

When things are going well, people tend to let them be. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is the standard approach when everything flows smoothly. But, what if those “unbroken” solutions are actually causing hidden problems because all the focus is placed on other things?

There’s never a way to fully know if your processes are at their peak unless you continually audit them, assess any inefficiencies and risks and make the changes necessary for optimal results. Additionally, unknown inefficiencies are the perfect breeding ground for increased risk and lack of consistency. A more appropriate approach would be, “Let’s do the review, check-in, and see if we can identify broken or inefficient processes that are affecting performance.”

The Reality of “Unbroken” Solutions

For about as long as it's been around, commercial real estate has been a labor-intensive industry, and it’s proven effective. Tech adoption has been slow among CRE companies because there was no need to change. The reality, however, is that inefficiencies and risks could lie underneath all those unbroken solutions.

Maintaining the status quo can place any company at a competitive disadvantage, create missed revenue opportunities and discourage potential investors. The existing inefficiencies could be placing an unnecessary burden on your employees. Resistance to change is common, but once organizational teams see the benefits and the improvements resulting from positive change, acceptance will follow.

Discovering Policy Problems, Implementing Changes

Policy management is a prime area to begin examining whether your organization’s processes need modernization. If you’re still using printed policies in a three-ring binder, you absolutely need to invest in a change. With the way operations and development function today, there’s no room for error. 

Access to company policies needs to be delivered from a central location where any company-wide updates can happen in an instant.

Yes, this technology implementation comes with initial costs, but the benefits of instantly updating your policies to the entire organization just once will quickly alleviate any cost concerns. These changes also carry a notable decrease in risk by keeping everything in a centralized location, current and easy to access. A centralized approach means a more consistent and even application of policies from the moment a new associate goes through onboarding throughout their tenure at an organization. With rules, regulations and laws continually changing, a method that keeps pace with those changes has become a necessity. And consistency lowers risk, increases efficiency, and delivers immediate value.

Investors are another critical group to consider when examining your policies. Rising interest in Environment, Social and Governance have made ESG scores critical to keep pace with the competition, making it essential that these policies are easily accessible. This can keep scores higher and assure investors that ESG within your company is well-maintained and everyone understands the importance and implementation.

One of the top solutions to discover where inefficiencies and risk may exist is through tailored surveys to the organization's property occupants. However, to make sound business decisions and adjustments, it’s important to have a system that can effectively collect the survey information. Beyond obtaining the data, organizations must have a way to successfully interpret it, turning that into actionable insights for setting improvement goals and adequately measuring their results.

Making Adjustments and Gaining Acceptance

There is always a chance that any changes you make to your processes will be met with some resistance, either by tenants or your employees. Besides explaining the changes you made, owners should provide the “why” to those giving pushback. A clear understanding of the reasons and the new process will go a long way toward gaining acceptance.

After implementation, you may be faced with the need for adjustments. No solution is going to be a perfect fit for every company and property, so some fine-tuning that brings the changes in alignment with your goals is necessary. Making employees a part of that process is an opportune moment to boost acceptance.

Eventually, changes to processes and utilizing surveys to measure the results can increase employee engagement with occupants of your buildings. A more comprehensive understanding of your client’s needs makes it easier for associates to develop a plan to meet their requirements. Satisfied clients will likely produce better survey results in the future, and those higher numbers become a source of pride among employees. This leads to outstanding customer service becoming ingrained in company culture.

When your organization takes time to examine its processes and invests in and implements the right technology to track the subsequent results, you will see that fixing the “unbroken” solutions produces lasting benefits and value to your organization.