AIM 2023: Turnover, the New Pandemic - Is Marketing the Cure?

Turnover, the New Pandemic - Is Marketing the Cure?

High turnover and acquiring top-tier talent are among the largest pain points multifamily faces today. According to the National Apartment Association’s Property Management Industry Pulse survey, 74% of multifamily owners say their greatest challenge is HR, Staffing & Recruitment.

The pandemic caused our industry to hyper-explore new systems, technology, and solutions to meet modern renters’ needs. While those areas are crucial, it starts with having a secured, high-performing team in place to make these implementations and initiatives happen.

Panelists Kristi Fickert, VP of Enterprise Growth at Realync, and Tyler Marker, Director of Marketing & Professional Development at Zidan Management Group, discussed tactics that can help attract and retain employees.

Marker began talking about a strong candidate his company was considering. It made a great offer to them, but Zidan didn’t showcase its company and its culture.

“So, she felt like she didn’t fit in our company and didn’t accept,” Marker said. “We didn’t intentionally market ourselves to her. But remember, you never lose, you learn.”

Marketers can become enlightened by embracing their role in HR as recruiters, aiming to attract employees like they do apartment renters.

Having employees express why your company is a great place on the company or community website will go a long way in showing prospects why they should join.

Highlight the things that are attractive to the demographic you are seeking. For example, Millennials and Gen Z make up 51% of the workforce today. They expect a hybrid schedule. Sixty percent of renter prospects are willing to rent with only a virtual tour. Candidates’ No. 1 request is for professional development.

“They often aren’t bringing a four-year degree to the job with them; they want career development to come from their employer,” Fickert said.

Just like resident reviews, apartment companies can track and promote hiring reviews (such as through Glassdoor) because prospects will look at them when deciding where to work.

Fickert said to devise comp reports (like you do in marketing) for your hiring and company management.

“By showing how this is done to your HR team, it will help them do their jobs better,” she said.

Fickert said that because marketing professionals are trained to write convincing copy, they would be good at writing job descriptions.

Marker said no matter the pitch, make sure it’s authentic.

“Gen Z is exhausted from having to live in the world of IG perfection in the images in our social media posts,” Marker said. “Things do not need to be overly produced to perfection. People just want to see ‘real.’ ”

Other Interesting Notes

• The average tenure for employees before the pandemic was eight years and now it’s 2.2 years.
• Fickert said that companies with happy employees give better customer service.
• Gables has created action items they want their employees to do on the job as part of a gamification system where they can earn points for recognizing other employees’ help and efforts. The points can be redeemed for various gifts, etc.