One of the biggest things every human looks for is connection — within their friends, their city, their workplace, and even their immediate community. This makes a strong community one of the most important and beneficial things for property management to focus on. It’s a core part of their role in creating a successful and profitable community with delighted residents.
When done effectively, strategies for community engagement can have a significant impact on residents’ happiness and their trust in the property management team. Coordinators should make it a priority to encourage community building among residents with formal strategies.
So, what are some benefits of community engagement? In this post, we're going to highlight some of the most important benefits to residents and how you can get started with creating an engaging community.
Top 5 Benefits of Resident Engagement
Creating effective strategies for community engagement doesn’t have to be complex or difficult. They could be as simple as keeping an open line of communication between your property staff and your residents. Or, implement an online forum or app where residents can communicate and get to know one another. No matter how you go about it, if your strategies are effective, you’ll increase your resident engagement in no time.
The benefits of strong community engagement are almost endless, but these are among the most important.
- An Increase in Resident Satisfaction
It makes sense: The more property managers show care for their residents, the more those residents are satisfied. A well-kept, well-operated community is the only way to provide a property that residents prefer living in. Residents look for properties with strong community engagements and shy away from properties with a history of issues and poor satisfaction. - A Higher Retention Rate
Resident retention is incredibly important for property managers. A lack of community within a property results in high resident turnover rates, and this ultimately makes the property lose money. The more satisfied a resident is, the more likely they are to remain a long-term resident at your property — and the more a resident feels unheard and unappreciated, the more likely they are to leave. - Improved Community Reputation
Sometimes, the best marketing strategy you can implement as a property manager is to foster a content community within your property. Satisfied and comfortable residents will share their experiences with others — whether through an online review or directly with their friends and acquaintances — which may result in referrals. With property management software, it’s possible to contact residents to request referrals and alert them when one was successful.
At the very least, your property’s overall community reputation will improve as morale improves amongst your residents. - Creates a Safer Community for Everyone
Without implementing strategies for community and resident engagement, your residents are likely to be strangers to one another. There’s something to be said about truly knowing the people you live around to make you feel more comfortable and safe in your home.
Strong resident and community engagement helps with:
-
Monitoring and alerting security about unwanted or suspicious visitors
-
Reduction of stolen packages and other items
-
Reduction of unreported maintenance issues
-
Protection of information and property
-
- Fosters Better Relationships Between Residents and Management Staff
By establishing a line of communication with management staff, you can make it clear to your residents that they can come to staff with any concerns, questions, or thoughts.
Encourage management and staff members to attend community events and get to know their residents. This helps residents see staff as more than just staff — they feel like members of the community that they can trust.
Take Your Resident Experience to the Next Level with BuildingLink
BuildingLink is a digital solution that’s built for improving resident engagement.
From event calendars and targeted communication via the mobile app to surveys from property staff and a digital billboard in the resident portal with announcements for upcoming community events, BuildingLink has everything you need to foster incredible resident engagement and connections.
Learn more about BuildingLink’s vast solutions today.