Equipping Multifamily Apartment Maintenance Teams for the Unexpected

Apartment maintenance teams can boost resident satisfaction significantly by preparing for the unexpected. Timely response to maintenance requests is consistently at the top of the list of resident concerns, so being equipped with the right technology to provide emergency repairs is critical to retention, referrals and good reviews. When unforeseen issues arise, residents need both answers and action. The first line of defense is giving key personnel the tools to respond to residents in a timely manner and get repairs under way. At the recent RealPage Maintenance Summit, maintenance leaders from Olympus Property and Maxus Properties shared their strategies for managing emergency calls as quickly and efficiently as possible. Both companies work hard to respond within five to ten minutes when an emergency service request is made, even after business hours. Each is leveraging the RealPage Facilities Maintenance contact center, which, in addition to fielding apartment maintenance requests during regular hours, helps properties identify true emergency calls so that workloads are prioritized, and residents are better served. When emergency calls are received, the automated system dials until someone at the property accepts and acknowledges the concern. Requests – via phone, email, or text – are routed to the appropriate personnel so someone can speak directly with the resident and a work order can be created. The solution also provides valuable reporting to help monitor maintenance efforts and response times. Reaching maintenance techs fast Olympus Property Management employs an on-call emergency response system that tracks down a designated technician for any resident making a request. In the event the technician is not immediately available, the call is routed to the next available representative. “(The technician) can speak with resident and ask them what the issue is and give them a time frame when they will be there,” says Jarvis Johnso...