Voices

Your due diligence playbook has arrived. Stonemark Management SVP of Operations Darlene Hunter covers best practices to make the acquisitions process as efficient as possible, sharing her inspiring career arc along the way. For more Voices, visit voices.happy.co.

Imagine a window into what's working and what isn't for every Make Ready underway. On Voices, Pacific Living Properties Business Operations Analyst Jordan Bentley explains the power of transparent software. Find more podcast episodes and stories on the Voices website. 

When you sense a property process needs improving, how can you use software to solve the problem? And, how can you build a culture where team members have a voice in tech decisions? TrinitySF Senior Business Systems Manager Jason Newland shares strategies. Find more podcast episodes and stories on the Voices website.

Shining a light on the property manager experience, SJA Property Manager Martha Berg shares her (unexpected) story of industry growth — and her company's process, choosing tech to ease operations during COVID and beyond. See voices.happy.co for more episodes.

With COVID-19 cases ramping up this winter, what does it take to manage techs compassionately? HNN Communities Maintenance & Capital Projects Manager Owen Fleming shares his path to multifamily management – and how it's helped him craft best practices for software choices and HR programs in the current crisis.

Training multifamily teams to use new software can prove stressful. So, how do you motivate techs and others on-site to embrace the change? Preferred Apartment Communities Director of Training Marie Bell explains, step by step in this Voices episode. Marie Bell has served as Director of Training and Development – Multifamily at Preferred Apartment Communities since December 2017. She has over 18 years of experience in all facets of property management. Prior to her role as the Director of Training, Marie was responsible for training associates in Texas, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. Prior to being appointed Regional Trainer, Marie held the position of Property Inspector. She also held the positions of Property Manager, Assistant Manager, Auditor, and Leasing Consultant with Williams Residential Management LLC, where she was responsible for the oversight of conventional housing units located in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia.

How do you stop turnover where it starts? Gina Lemon, Timberland Partners VP of HR, has a straightforward answer: change your questions to candidates. On Voices, she shares how motivation-based interviewing can improve culture and retention all at once. With over twenty years in Human Resources, Gina Lemon's career includes Fortune 500 companies including UPS, Target, Ameriprise Financial. She is known for attracting, building, and retaining talented employees and fashioning high-performing teams. Gina says joining Timberland Partners has been the best choice that she has made in her career, as the company truly embodies its vision, mission, and guiding principles. These days, Timberland Partners is making a strategic shift to select and grow talent in a different way — focusing on internal motivation and a candidate's attitude. 

When your industry changes constantly, how do you change with it? On Voices, Rae Schnabel, Director of Education and Sustainability at Maxus Properties, explains her path to embracing change in multifamily: from seeking feedback to prioritizing sustainability to rethinking education.The Short About Rae SchnabelRae Schnabel currently leads the Maxus Education Development Team, a new department established to develop a complete education program for all property positions. Using surveys, focus groups, live in-house classes, the six-month-old department has focused on educating new hires. The next phase is creating the curriculum with current education and developing learning paths for advancement with defined accountability measurements.

Seniors dressed up and posing to recreate iconic album covers — the idea that earned Sydmar Lodge Activities Coordinator Robert Speker worldwide media coverage (CNN, NPR, etc.). On Voices, he describes bringing this idea to life, and shares how housing operators can boost residents' spirits during lockdown.

Chronic turnover plus a global pandemic? With multifamily maintenance teams under more stress than ever, now is the time to change culture for the better. On Voices, Nick Hecox, Maintenance Director at Al Angelo, breaks down best practices for meaningful training, conscientious feedback and tech adoption.

How can you leverage technology to reopen safely during the COVID crisis? And, what does it take to build a maintenance culture where techs feel supported, inspired? John Morales, Maintenance Director at WSH Management, discusses COVID strategies through coaching approaches on this Voices episode.

From job losses to school closures, the pandemic's ripple effects have been especially damaging for many affordable housing communities. How can operators help meet their needs in trying times? Steve PonTell, National CORE CEO, advises on social programs through reopening strategies.

As operators start to partially reopen complexes, how can they keep resident experience top of mind? On this Voices episode, Matt Lyttle, Disaster Preparedness Expert and FEMA Detailee to a U.S. Senate committee, advises on key topics: logistics, policy, communication and, most of all, building community.

Leasing tours, due diligence, maintenance repairs — multifamily is changing in nearly every arena. How should day-to-day operations shift in a social distancing era? Jaren Bradley, AMC SVP of Operations, discusses.

As essential workers, maintenance techs are on the front lines of the pandemic. How should their supervisors protect, support and train them? Paradigm Maintenance Supervisor Matt Johnson explains.

When your multifamily workplace goes remote and your employees are maximally stressed, how should you communicate as a leader? Leadership Coach Katharina Schmidt breaks down the fundamentals: from boosting morale and developing self-awareness to setting expectations and resolving conflict.

How do you respond when the COVID-19 pandemic puts your multifamily maintenance teams at risk? Steve Duceatt, RADCO Director of Maintenance & Facilities, offers a how-to on the most pressing issues: from sourcing supplies and communicating effectively to motivating teams and leveraging technology.

When every one of your senior residents is deemed "high-risk" in a pandemic, how do you change course as an operator? Anne Sackrison, COO of CSI Support and Development Services, shares safety, communication, and operational strategies.

How should leaders manage student housing and multifamily communities during the COVID-19 pandemic? Steve Boyack, CEO of CA Management Services, shares on-the-ground insights from every angle: culture and maintenance through communication and technology.

From growth and hiring to conflict and crises, Barry Blanton, Chief Problem Solver at Blanton Turner, shares his lens on the most critical aspects of multifamily leadership.

How do you build a work culture where multifamily standard operating procedures truly matter? Where new employees feel comfortable speaking up to make edits and teams collaborate to shape policy for the better? Brenda Cones, Senior Director of Systems & Operations at Embrey Partners, shares her voice to explain.