The psychology behind building management
Everyone wants happiness, it doesn't depend on outside factors and conditions initially but on the persons inner condition. Mental attitude counts for everything in construction, tenant and building management. Action seems to follow feeling, but really, action and feeling go together and by controlling the feeling, we can influence the action desired.
In our last article we had ended with how to run the tenant committee. There is something key I'd like us to note, the age-old problem with initiatives like this one is how to get people to cooperate, a manager's nightmare that one. Lets analyse a poorly managed building, there`s quite likely poor communication, no attention towards the next person and no praise for any good works but instead dozens of stickers full of threats and fines, .....OFFENDERS WILL BE FINED OR PROSECUTED is my favorite.
These methods of threats may be common and have been around for ages, many may even argue that it's worked for them till now. One thing is sure though, they don't work for long and being tough as nails doesn't get you very far with being liked by people and having them cooperate with you. Who likes threats anyway?. The problem with threats is that they present a challenge for some and not a deterrent. I may be wrong but how many times have a seen a sign written no dumping with a pile of rubbish underneath it, yet in direct oppose you find a clean manicured lawn with not a sign in its vicinity warning anybody, but you find even leaves seem to avoid falling on it. People function on attitude, if something looks sincerely important to you the owner and you ensure that it is visible to everyone around it by taking care of it, respect usually follows naturally from others around you.
Lets look at an example i read recently in another article.
When I first read this notice the first feeling was shock, legal action over feeding a squirrel?. I must protest i thought, it is managements job to remove the squirrels not mine and now they threaten me with court. Well any normal person would feel this way. If you notice, the real problem is not highlighted in bold, oh no, it's the threats we wanna get across isn't it. Lets see how we could have written this letter better without any threats.
SAVE OUR APARTMENTS
To all residents of 131 Bldg
Thank you very much for finding the time to read this notice. We know all of you are good cooperative tenants and your great attitude has made this building look as good as it does. In all our vigilance it appears there's a friend who has turned enemy. The cute squirrels we all love and look after are unfortunately costing our building thousands in repairs because they are eating holes in the roof and all woodwork. I'm sure we all love our home and would want to continue preserving it. Lets stop feeding the squirrels, don't worry, they wont die, they'll just go back to being wild again and stop eating our building. Please lets all get together, explain to everyone around you especially your kids and your visitors about not feeding them. It's for our own good.
Your Trusty Management
What makes people tick is what will also make your tenant, tenant committee and repair and construction projects work. Firstly, stop shouting, yelling, criticizing and all that goes in that group of non functional behaviors, it looks like you're being effective, you should hear what the same people say about you behind your back then. The building owner didn't realise the reverse effect of this letter working against them. Now their name will be asociated with 3 things, Squirells that are eating the building, angry staff and courtcases. Do we still remember it for much else?,no, the letter has shadowed all the beauty that apartment might have had.
Help, attention, praise and withholding of criticism when problems occur to degrade and embarrass the other have for over a century now proved effective. A successful project is not merely about how great you are at the paperwork and software. Failure of these principles has often been the cause of failed projects and management. Projects and buildings are perfected or destroyed by people, it doesn't matter how strong your bricks are, a mere kid with a crayon or a can of paint is stronger in effect.
Team spirit needs to be built, if a tenant understands the true benefit of taking better care of their building and surroundings for their personal gain and the property owner, they are far more likely to do it without even being pushed. When they do this, the only way to keep it going is lavish praise and appreciation by the tenant committee and the property owner publicly, it is kind of hard work fixing a building worse still for now pay and in most cases a sincere thank you would spur one on. With our previously discussed social media platforms in place, it would be a great place to showcase great tenants and great work. Such level of praise will drive them and others to do more, far more than threats or money could have ever achieved.
Broadcasting Platforms
Website - Having a website dedicated to your building may be a good tool for showcasing your buildings values and excellence and parade the workers and tenants who make it all so great. You can use photos of work days thanking all those who participated or by name.
Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram- Just like the website, social media has the built-in ability to find like-minded people who may be interested in the building for whichever reason. Publishing your buildings excellence boosts tenants pride and increases demand for a place in the building, you may find yourself soon having a waiting list rather than vacant apartments. It's an easy marketing tool.
WhatsApp Business - The benefit this app holds is separating you from your normal WhatsApp to avoid disturbing you as they are two separate applications that operate on the same device but different numbers. It keeps your home/building management life in order for all parties. It sends messages far much quicker and is more likely to be seen by everyone and not just thrown among other hundreds of messages.
Benefits to each party
Property owner/ Manager
Free marketing for the building and happier prouder tenants.More improvement work is done, building is kept up to scratch without much effort from just your side with the help of the tenants at far less costs. It doesn't matter whether you're in a rural area or the middle of Sandton, if people feel its important to keep your building intact, they will. Its more about the feeling than the compliance to the rules.Constant revenue flow as less vacancies will occur and basing from your analytics reports of interest in all your social media pages, it opens up room for expansion. It tells you the exact number of people who visited your site for a certain period. The analytics data may prove useful for loan application approval when you think of developing more buildings as its proof of how viable you already are.A good reputation can be built and this creates a more profitable image of you, the tenants and all stakeholders involved are more efficient and spread good reviews. Social media is an effective management tool, even when you are away, you still have a broad network of info to receive from live and give to. This means easy updates on progress on any given work.
Tenant
The status carried by having lived in such a well-known and prestigious building and the chance to actually shine as a wonderful tenant would do you a lot of good as a reference when it comes time to move to those buildings that not only put you on a waiting list but require a good reference as well.The efforts that you dear tenants make are not only to the profit and benefit of the landlord, the work you do and responsibility you take will benefit your quality of life and create better relationships with everyone. When you're working on a common goal there is greater chances to create friendships.The friendships spoken of will benefit the general security of the building and everyone in it. If you are all in talking terms with your neighbors, I'm sure if something amiss occurs someone is quite likely to try to locate you. This vigilance will reduce such things as burglaries. Its easier to spot the odd one out when you know everyone around you.Many tenants vacate a place only to move within the same area in a place that has better conditions, meaning it's not the area you don't like but the building you're in. This constant movement is tiresome with retrieving deposits and transportation. It can be eliminated with your assistance in maintaining you building, it may take a bit of time and effort but the overall effect will save you the hassle and gain you peace as well as many friends in the process.Being part of these groups be it physical or digital will provide a quick access to help from the right person when something like a fault occurs. Important public safety phone numbers should be easily available for every user, these would include police, ambulance, plumber, electrician and more.
The power of responsibility vs deposits & fines
People by nature tend to adapt to the energy around them. If you step into a quiet building, naturally you feel the need to act the same, if you land in a noisy, dilapidated building, your natural behavior will either reject it or adapt to it and add to the chaos. Here's a little example, the yard of a house you own will most likely never have ''no littering'' signs but it will be clean. This is because people behave better in environments they feel at home in. It is a natural sense of responsibility that comes when you feel that your home represents you.
It is my humble belief that the true elements of management have never really changed in terms of their basics and cannot be replaced by technology alone ,the route to success still remains with good management skills and knowing how to handle people. This will make the job easier for management and life more cozy for the tenant, all in all a more polished look and feel. If the same strategy worked for managing the contractors that built the Petronas Twin towers, it can work for you and your buildings maintenance.
Hope you enjoyed reading this article, if you have any suggestions, tips or your own personal experiences, do leave a comment below and lets chat about it. Thanks again for your valuable time and I'll see you guys again soon. Take Care.
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