Tag: ethics

Pitfalls of Competitive Advantage for a Managing Agent

The management of leasehold developments is a hugely competitive market.  In what is an unregulated market, many leaseholders take their chances with one or another managing agent who can talk the talk. But how many of them can actually walk the walk? And how do the attitudes and behaviour of managing agents in the industry reflect on reputations and work ethics? 

Picture the scenario – you have decided you need a new managing agent and you want good service. So, you begin your search to find out who will serve your development the best. Perhaps you want the biggest managing agent as you feel peace of mind knowing that so many other leaseholders use them.  Or maybe you want a local managing agent, one who knows your area and perhaps your building already. Alternatively, you might want the agent who offers the cheapest rate, believing you are getting value for money.

You may want a recommended managing agent via an industry body (RICS or ARMA), or perhaps you had an introductory letter through your door. Some leaseholders use Google and others may have seen an advert on Facebook. Whichever way you find them, managing agents want your business and they will do what they can to get it. Once they get it, they of course, want to protect it. But surely the best form of protecting their business, is by giving the best service and keeping their promises? It seems that many agents unfortunately don’t do this.  Perhaps these competitors should turn their focus onto serving their customers in better ways. It is sadly, indicative of a wider problem in the industry. Concordia’s ethical stance is a threat to some, but we don’t apologise for that, the leaseholder is paramount to us and we will continue to try to affect change for them.

We recently attended the Institute of Residential Property Management’s Annual Conference in London, where it was clear that the industry has a certain culture. Comments from speakers such as “self-regulation won’t work” (Lord Best), “culture change is needed to focus on customer service and treating the leaseholder as the end user” (Mark Prisk MP), and “the number of complaints is rising” (Katrine Sporle), all indicate that something has been very wrong in the sector for some time. Many managing agents see the leaseholder as a commodity – a cash-cow that they can milk dry of all their hard-earned money. All the hidden charges add up – paying by standing order (up to £50.00 a year with some managing agents!), paying for permission to let (even when it is not the managing agents permission to give…), extortionate debt collection fees charged out as soon as possible (even if you paid, but forgot your exact reference), excessive insurance commissions (sometimes leaseholders will be paying up to 60%! Imagine that – of the £1,000 insurance charge per year, £600.00 of it goes to the managing agent). All these added extras, and more, go into the managing agent’s pocket. This is not making a fair living – it’s extortion in our opinion and it’s not morally right. It’s no wonder that managing agents don’t want to lose any clients and that they are fiercely competitive!

So, when a new agent, such as Concordia Residential, comes onto the market with their competitive edge of doing business ethically and without all the hidden extras, it is understandable that some managing agents may become twitchy and uncomfortable. Professional courtesy and healthy competition would radically change the culture of our industry for the better. Everyone in the leasehold management sector caters to different desires of the end user and surely, we should all be respectful and courteous of each other, supporting the different ways we can all help our leaseholders. 

Concordia Residential welcome with open arms the upcoming mandatory regulation in the industry to ensure that malpractice is filtered out. As Lord Best stated, ‘self-regulation doesn’t work’. The culture of the industry needs to change in order to benefit the end user – the leaseholders and tenants. And this is a huge part of Concordia’s mission and reason for existence.   

The Social Media Marketing Moral Maze

Nobody likes cold callers. However cold calling is still done by some companies (we had a cold call from an energy supplier just today) which means it must work to some degree, otherwise it would surely be a waste of time and money for the firm. We recently read a post on LinkedIn which was discussing if it is right and moral for companies to send unsolicited emails promoting their business and services to LinkedIn connections. This got us thinking, how can a company get the balance correct between letting people know their service is out there and available and doing it in the right way so as not to cause any recipients any undue stress or annoyance.

The Right Balance

It’s such a difficult moral assessment to make.  On the one hand, any new company has to advertise in order to make their target market aware of any product or service they are offering. Word must be spread for businesses to grow and fulfil their ultimate purpose of generating income.

Indeed, there is the argument that if a company advertises in say, a magazine with a dedicated topic, then surely as a reader (or the receiver of the marketing message) you accept that companies want to target those who are most likely to buy their product or service.  In a way this is solicited marketing.  By choosing to pick up the magazine, the reader is already engaging in the subject matter and magazines are well known and expected to show advertisements for relevant businesses.  When it comes to cold calling, it is understandable that this is unsolicited and unwelcome as there was no choice by the receiver to engage in that subject matter to start with.

Moral Social Landscape

So when it comes to social media, where does the land lay?  Our view is that this depends on which social media medium the company chooses to use. Twitter is great for hashtags and grouping together conversations in the wider public view. Facebook and Instagram are more personal and private, whereas LinkedIn tends to lean more towards use by professionals or employment seekers.  Therefore, by signing up to LinkedIn, surely the user is actively choosing to engage with other professionals and businesses. Again though, there is a balance to be had here. In our view, we welcome companies letting us know that they exist and that they want to provide a product or service to us (whether it suits us or not is for us to decide).  What we would not welcome is endless unsolicited messages pushing a sales pitch that is not relevant to us. This indeed can be annoying and truly infuriating. 

The moral maze on receipt of marketing messages on social media, we believe, is one that can be navigated with thought and consideration, as well as using the right medium.

Customer Service

Customer service. It’s a phrase we all hear and are subject to almost every day. What does it mean? We know what the words mean, but all too often those words trigger a rolling of eyes and a deep sigh. Why? We believe that all too often customer service is anything but.

How many times have all of us felt the frustration of an encounter, either face to face or online or (here’s the favourite) on an automated telephone system? Poor staff training and moral, lack of care and attention to written replies or using the great tool that is technology as an excuse for not going the extra mile is now so commonplace that our response is mostly “that’s just the way it is”. No! We at Concordia Residential firmly believe that it is not just the way it is.

In our industry we are dealing with people’s investments, homes and everyday lives. The services required are relatively straightforward in an ideal world, but life is rarely straightforward, and people deserve more than the bare minimum of our care, attention and efficiency. A well-mannered, willing to help attitude to dealing with all aspects of property management (and, indeed any other industry) will always beat an attitude that suggests the client is an inconvenience!

Soft Skills

Soft skills are not to be confused with being “soft” in business or when dealing with difficult and challenging situations. These essential skills are often underestimated and even derided by some. We believe they are essential to relationship and trust building. To acquire a set of critical soft skills takes time. The ability to think surgically and calmly and then to add empathy and understanding to any human interaction is where they start. The Concordia Residential “do as you would be done by” mantra embodies this. When combined with efficient, intelligent and moral work practices the results are refreshing and effective. To find out more about how we can give you the best customer service, get in touch with us.

Changing The Property Management Industry…. Or Not?

The residential property management industry is one that always has us pondering – with lots of companies offering a service,  how does a customer choose between them all? And where do customers find out more?

A lot of businesses look for that niche. That special and unique selling point which gives them an edge over their competitors and attracts their customers.

Front and Back Gardens

During a conversation with a very wise business inspiration recently, they described how companies always have a front garden and a back garden.  The front garden is what the customer sees first – the impression that a firm wants to give.  This is normally evident in that particular firms marketing and sales. They paint the picture they think the customer wants to see and granted, many firms are excellent at this. Or they have the funds to employ fabulous PR, marketing and advertising agencies. The firms back garden consists of the workings of the company, but it is only seen once the customer has passed through the front garden. This is the point where customers get to see if both gardens are tended to in the same way.  Does a company put as much time and investment into their business processes, business morals and general business operations, as that of their advertising and marketing?  In other words, do they do what they say they will?  No doubt everyone can think of a company they have dealt with whereby their unkempt back garden doesn’t match their pretty front garden!

Many of Concordia’s competitors are evidently cultivating their front gardens furiously in the race to attract customers and clients, which is great. Some of the campaigns are wonderfully sounding, stating that the industry will be revolutionised by them. Some are stating that they are ensuring changes to leasehold property management are going to be made (obviously we don’t have knowledge of their back gardens and therefore cannot comment accordingly).

USP’s in Property Management

How about we be bold and say that one property management company cannot change the way the industry works or revolutionise it – it’s the lease, the law and the managing agent contract.  Companies can however, change the way they work.  This is what creates a unique pool of services for our customers. Each unique selling point (USP) will suit different customers in different ways.  Some will want an automated service where technology is fully utilised to provide instant answers and 24 hour access to data (Ask Porter are doing some amazing work on this). Some customers may wish for little involvement and to be able to simply hand everything over to a property management company. However Concordia’s aim is to provide a highly ethical, high quality, good old fashioned customer service. One which gives the leaseholder confidence, satisfaction and peace of mind that their development is being managed correctly. Concordia’s back garden is  well tended to and hopefully our front garden looks neat and tidy too.

Commonhold

As a side point to the above, some leaseholders may be interested in the Governments push for their new way of ownership for flats – Commonhold. The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act of 2002 brought in the notion of Commonhold to law.  It allows for flat owners to own a part of the freehold of the block.  This isn’t as popular as many would have hoped due to some hiccups in the way the system works.  As a result, the Government has now opened a consultation on Commonhold reform which can be found here. It makes for interesting reading and we are certainly in favour of Commonhold as this is the way to revolutionise and change the way the industry works.

Emotional Intelligence

It’s the buzzword of the moment – Emotional Intelligence or EI as it is also known. The ability for the understanding of the self as well as others around you, and to use that intelligence to motivate, communicate and consider. We noted an article on the RICS website this week by Gary Williams which touched on the subject of emotional intelligence and how it can give businesses the edge over competitors. 

Concordia Residential are whole heartedly in agreement with Gary’s article. The subject of emotional intelligence, in our opinion, is utterly fascinating as well as totally relevant to business. Emotional intelligence was first highlighted to our founder, Abigail Teece, during her time at university.  It was a subject that was completely overwhelming to start with, but our founder soon became addicted to finding out more and more. Learning about what makes people tick, as well as finding out the reasons behind why people act and react the way they do was hugely interesting. During her time as an employee in the industry, Abi made a conscious effort to apply emotional intelligence wherever possible. To herself, to colleagues, to clients and customers.  It didn’t always work as well as intended and some people around Abi were adamant that she was “too soft” in her approach. They claimed she didn’t know how to “do business”.  There was even a “stupid woman” comment at one point (our eyes rolled at this too!). Many do not seem to realise that being understanding and showing consideration in business can benefit companies so much. Showing empathy and having understanding towards people makes for a better manager, a better colleague and a better person all round.

Our Core

As any astute business does, we keep an awareness of the market around us. We note that there are some competitors who are, as Gary notes, really focusing on “technological innovation, pricing structures, expertise and experience”.  And that’s great.  Indeed, Concordia Residential does have those factors in our eyeline. However our true core and the depth from which our mission statement is built gives utter kudos to emotional intelligence and its surrounding factors. We are big believers that business doesn’t have to be hard-headed, money grabbing or lack understanding.  It can show empathy, be generous and kind.  A good days work for a fair salary.  We must at this point, credit academics Carl Jung and Myers-Briggs for enlightening Abi’s journey through business with emotional intelligence. This has resulted in Concordia’s aim in that emotional intelligence within our company will spill over into providing the best customer service for clients and customers. Concordia Residential is here to make a difference.