Motivating Employees in a Down Economy

Whether your employees are facing hostile tenants, dwindling accounts or reduced bonuses, keeping morale afloat in a tough economy isn’t easy. If your strategies for motivating employees remain unchanged, it may be a good time to reexamine your loyalty and recognition programs—and possibly create new ones.

“Most property management companies are either treading water or are financially sound,” says Fred Thompson, president of the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM) and director of property management at RE/MAX 200 Realty in Winter Park, Fla. Still, he says, they must adapt in order to attract and keep their top performers.

To compensate for financial losses, employers should offer smaller, more meaningful rewards, focus on training and keep communication lines open.

Here are six ways to stay competitive:

1. Offer low-cost, flexible rewards
In a sluggish market, property managers should compensate for more than just leasing or renting performance. Inexpensive gestures can let employees know that the company still appreciates their work.
When its employees go above and beyond, Village Green, a Detroit-based apartment management company, encourages supervisors to reward employees in a more spontaneous way—a recent change in reaction to reduced profits. For example, a maintenance technician who works overtime due to a fire may receive tickets to a baseball game, gift certificates to a spa or an extra vacation day.  

“I wanted something really flexible and didn’t want associates to have to wait until quarterly bonuses,” says Gerald Schulz, the company’s vice president of Human Resources. “This allows supervisors to do something on the spot and forces them to [consider] what motivates their individual employees.”

2. Keep up training
Employees stay motivated when they have the tools to do their very best. “This is not the time to cut or reduce your training,” says Ernest Oriente, founder of PowerHour, a professional coaching service that specializes in property management companies. Rather, it’s an opportunity for employers to fine-tune their training methods and procedures.

Consider incorporating these inexpensive training techniques:

• Observe employees while they interact with potential customers.
• Do they send out professional, articulate emails? If not, have them take a writing class at a local college.
• Cross train your employees. Learning elements of each other’s jobs can foster a culture of teamwork.

3. Be transparent
Preoccupation with job security can cause anxiety and impede performance, ultimately affecting the bottom line. But businesses can counteract any mounting anxiety—and retain employees—by being honest about the company’s financial well-being.

“Companies that are not being open and transparent with their team are making a huge mistake because they’re perpetuating fear,” says Oriente. Meet face to face with employees—particularly with top performing ones—to let them know their jobs are safe.

4. Consider the context
Make sure policies reflect the current economy so that people are still being rewarded for positive growth, even if it means lowering the bar a bit. If a property manager brings in seven accounts in the same month that five others were lost, that may still be an achievement worth recognizing.  

5. Shake it up
Change up standard incentive programs, no matter how small. If employees are used to being treated to a bagel breakfast, why not bring in lunch for a change? It may cost a bit more but sends the message that they’re valued.   

Thompson has rewarded employees in the past by having their cars washed and detailed.

6. Make concessions at the top
Three years ago, at RE/MAX, revenue and employee satisfaction were both in a slump. To boost holiday bonuses, Thompson decided to compensate employees for the loss out of pocket. “It was only a few hundred [dollars] per employee,” he says. “It hurt quite a bit, but I felt it was the best thing for morale.”

Don’t wait until the market recovers to give your training and incentive programs a closer look. Companies that make small adjustments today will emerge stronger tomorrow.