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According to the National Apartment Association, property management executives reported that one of their goals for 2019 was to use technology to increase efficiency, allowing employees to spend more time with customers. The year is winding down, but if your properties are still struggling with being bogged down with administrative tasks, it’s not too late to kick off the new decade with a fresh start.
Here are our top tips for using key control technology to put more time back in your on-site personnel’s days.
Manage Keys Electronically
The most obvious application of an electronic key control system is to manage keys. If you’re using an outdated method of managing keys, such as pegboards and manual logbooks, implementing electronic key control systems will save employees as much as two or three minutes to retrieve a key and document the transaction. It might not seem like much, but that time adds up from day to day. That’s not to mention the time they’ll save looking for lost or poorly labeled keys as well.
Collect Prospect Data by Scanning Driver’s Licenses
How much time do leasing agents spend entering prospect data when someone wants to tour a property? Cut down on that time by enabling employees to scan the prospect’s driver’s license to automatically capture a record with their contact information. Agents can then add notes about the floorplans prospects were interested in, which lead sources brought them to your property, and more. When it comes time to follow up, agents can automatically import prospect information into a follow-up message.
Automatically Notify Residents to Pick up Their Packages
Dealing with the sheer volume of packages that land in your leasing offices is a herculean challenge. There are plenty of solutions hitting the market, such as lockers and off-site storage facilities. However, if you’re looking for a time-saving solution that doesn’t involve sacrificing valuable office space, or if you don’t want to force residents to add one more stop in their already busy lives to pick up their packages, there are other options for handling deliveries more efficiently.
For example, a package logging application that uses a handheld barcode scanner and digital signature capture pad allows on-site personnel to scan packages when they’re received and automatically notify recipients by text or email when their packages are ready to be picked up.
Consolidate Applications
Using a single system to combine tasks such as updating employee time clocks, checking out keys, and managing work orders reduces the total number of applications employees have to interact with on a daily basis. This helps with the onboarding process as well. For example, a new employee needing to learn how to check out keys, clock in, and check on a work order would only have to learn their way around one software program rather than three separate ones to complete those tasks.
In addition, you’ll save time by being able to get a high-level view of each property by running reports on key activity, employee work schedules, and work order statuses.
Don’t waste any more time — learn what to look for in an electronic key control system.
