Benchmark: Your handling time for errors should not exceed this
The first step in starting to work data-driven is to get an overview of your own key figures. The second step is to see where improvements are needed, but to see where you have fallen behind, you need comparative figures.
To enable you to compare your results with others in the industry, we at Homepal have started using benchmarks.
Today we are looking at a benchmark in cases, namely the handling time of fault reports from tenants.
Why is it so important to keep track of fault reports?
"We are too bad at following up on error reports from customers. It is probably quite classic that you place a work order and then release it and expect it to be completed, but that is not always the case. It can be a fault report that, according to our guidelines, should take 7 days that can be left for 4 months. This is terribly poor service.
Small issues can lie around and ferment and grow, while the big ones usually come to the surface more quickly and are rectified - but then it becomes an urgent measure that really shouldn't have been urgent in the first place."
– Head of property management, municipal real estate company with about 3000 apartments.
The above quote is indicative of the frustration when follow-up does not work properly. Tenants suffer and customer satisfaction decreases, costs increase for emergency measures and employees have a worse work situation when the work piles up.
What can be done instead?
First and foremost, residential real estate companies should have three categories for fault reports from tenants:
Priority 1 - Urgent cases are addressed within 24 hours.
Priority 2 - Priority cases are resolved within three days.
Priority 3 - Non-urgent cases are resolved within 10 days.
Communication is key
It is not always possible to stay within these limits. Sometimes there may be a missing spare part or a breakdown at a subcontractor. It is of the utmost importance to communicate this to the tenant. Tell them why there is a delay and when the work is expected to be done instead. Often, tenants can have the patience of an angel as long as they are informed of what is going on.
Remember that case management is almost always the customer's main point of contact with you as a landlord. It is a golden opportunity to ensure good service and increase customer satisfaction.
Do you keep track of customer complaints?
Want to read similar posts? Read about vacancy benchmarks here.
