Centralization isn’t one-size-fits-all. Property management companies are looking to centralize their business through new workflows, consolidating processes, shifting organization structures, etc. for a variety of reasons. These include reasons like:

1. Removing operational friction due to disjointed processes
2. Evaluating the effectiveness of certain roles within the organization
3. Adding specialized roles
4. Scaling company brand
5. Improving customer engagement
6. Offering more personalized services

No matter what aspects of your business you decide to centralize, the purpose of centralizing workflows & inputs should be to create holistic efficiencies across corporate and property operations, all while delivering better customer experiences, providing accurate data to make impactful business decisions, and improving ROI.

With Entrata’s software (now and in future additions to our centralization product specifically) customers get to determine the processes and workflows you centralize to enhance your customers’ and employees’ experiences. With Entrata’s all-in-one operating system, consolidate whatever operations make sense for your business, while leaving the rest untouched.

Centralization through customization

With Entrata’s workflows, on-site team members save 100 hours of time per year, while also experiencing a 5% improvement in operational efficiency for site teams, and an 8% increase in units occupied during a lease-up period. Throughout the remainder of this blog post, we’ll delve into the pros and cons of each model and provide insights to help you decide which one is best for you. Keep reading about Entrata's Centralization solutions here.

Entrata is malleable enough to fit each of our customers needs, regardless of how different they might be. Whether you want to centralize marketing and leasing, maintenance and facilities management, accounting, or your overall property setup, Entrata has got you covered.

A centralized approach

In a centralized model, you consolidate on-site operations for each property to a central team, workflow automation, and/or location, to make processes more scalable and ensure a consistent experience at every touch point. Currently, centralization efforts are often focused on streamlining sales and marketing efforts to simplify the processes at the beginning of the lead-to-lease cycle. However, there are a variety of different areas of a business that companies are centralizing or actively working on to centralize.

A great approach to centralization is to start by adopting a hybrid centralization strategy. Taking a hybrid approach might be best for your business if you want to take advantage of some of the efficiencies and scalability that come from centralization. A hybrid model gives you the best of both worlds by centralizing teams and workflows in specific areas of your business. This could be automating initial responses back to leads as well as lead scoring or creating a centralized contact center to handle lead communication and schedule appointments. Choose whatever fits best in your business process and makes your job easier.

We live in an on-demand society that has created unrealistic expectations from consumers. When they ask questions or submit an application, they want a response immediately. If your on-site team is responsible for managing not only the day-to-day needs of residents but also the leasing process, it can prove difficult to respond as quickly as applicants might want.

That’s why creating a centralized leasing center makes a lot of sense for many businesses. It allows for specialization and a more focused division of labor. The end result is a better overall experience for the resident at every step of the renter’s journey. The leasing agent helps maneuver the tedious application process steps, while on-site staff can focus on ensuring residents' needs are met post-move-in. These two positions require completely different skill sets, allowing you to hire the right people to deliver an optimal experience to residents.

Another positive outcome that comes as a result of being able to have a more focused team is increased retention. When you’re playing to your employees' strengths, they have less stress about their job and they feel more fulfilled in their chosen career path, which means they will be less likely to jump at the next opportunity. Reducing employee turnover creates continuity and a more consistent experience for renters during the life of their lease.

According to Kimberly Nicholson, Senior Director of Property Systems at Greystar, “People on-site are resident focused. They’re not burdened with leasing, and residents don’t have to go in and wait behind two or three people waiting for leasing information.

Along those same lines, Suzanne Hopson, President of Operations at Tricap, noted that today’s prospective residents don’t want in-person interactions like they did in the past during the apartment shopping process. Because of this, Tricap’s sales associates can focus on getting leases signed and site teams can focus on delivering stellar resident experiences. To learn more about centralization strategies check out our ebook, How to Create a Centralization Strategy That Works Best For Your Business.