If you are involved in leasing commercial premises, you will know how important it is to ensure that your tenants are happy. To keep tenants happy, you need to be alerted to any issues they may have as and when they arise.
However, tenants are often confused about how to go about reporting issues. This can discourage them from reporting issues, or lead to multiple tenants reporting the same issue to multiple contacts in a property management organisation.
Communication issues are one of the main obstacles to memorable tenant experiences. If tenants are unable to share their needs, opinions, issues and feedback with you, then it is very difficult for you to keep your tenants happy.
Often, tenants don't report issues because they are simply unsure of how to do so. They are unsure of who they should reach out to and what channels of communication they should use.
Tenants' confusion about reporting issues can discourage them from reporting issues altogether. It can also result in them only reporting major pressing issues and not smaller ones.
But, if any issue goes unreported and you are unaware of it, then you cannot fix it. The issue will persist, which will worsen your tenant's experience. It could also become an issue for more tenants over time or give rise to bigger issues down the line.
Moreover, if one tenant is experiencing an issue, chances are that other tenants are experiencing it too.
While a lack of clear communication channels might lead to tenants not reporting an issue, it could also result in duplicate reports.
If tenants are confused about the reporting process, they might all report the same issue to many different property contacts through different channels. Property contacts might get flooded with multiple reports of the same issue from different tenants.
The best way to enhance tenant communication and resolve your tenants' confusion about reporting issues is to implement a clear channel of communication.
Smartphones have fundamentally changed how we communicate. Today, tenants generally prefer using mobile communication (for example, communicating through an app on their phone) over phone calls or emails. This is because a mobile app is convenient and accessible while being less obtrusive than email or phone calls.
So, implement a mobile reporting channel that tenants can use to report their issues. The reporting channel should also allow your tenants to see who will handle the issue so that they can follow up if needed.
This will create transparency for everyone who is involved in the chain of the issue. Moreover, it will limit the number of duplicate reports sent to different contacts involved in the management of the property.
To provide your commercial tenants with an optimal experience, you need to be alerted to any issues as soon as they arise. If you do not know a problem exists, you cannot solve it.
The best way to encourage tenants to report issues is to implement a simple and effective reporting channel that tenants can use. This will resolve any confusions they may have about reporting issues and help you help them!
If your organisation is looking for a tool to involve all tenants in property management for better decision-making on workplace and property strategies, have a look at our 30-day free trial:
We are building the world's first operational involvement platform. Our mission is to make the process of finding, sharing, fixing and learning from issues and observations as easy as thinking about them and as rewarding as being remembered for them.
By doing this, we are making work more meaningful for all parties involved.
More information at falcony.io.