Moshe Crane, Vice President of Branding and Strategic Initiatives at Sage Ventures, joins Daniel Cunningham on Apartment Academy to share his journey from Director of Marketing and Leasing to a strategic leader, shedding light on the importance of operational efficiency and tips for effective maintenance in multifamily property management.
FROM LEASING TO STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP 🏢
Moshe started at Sage Ventures in 2018 as the Director of Marketing and Leasing, managing 1800 units. Over time, his role expanded as he eagerly took on more responsibilities, eventually becoming VP of Branding and Strategic Initiatives.
“I met with the President and I felt that I would be able to get more value if I would take a step back from the Director of Marketing and Leasing and shift over to an area where I can really help make things more efficient and smoother and better, in all areas. I ran our LinkedIn page, and the company started seeing benefits from that. We had a handful of people who came to work for us because they liked what they saw on LinkedIn. There were owners and investors that were talking to the owners of the company about how much they liked to see what was going on at the company, and so the company wanted me to expand on that. That led to me focusing on company branding versus property branding and the strategic initiatives, instead of just focusing on leasing and marketing on a site level. I work directly with the president on initiatives in all areas.” – Moshe Crane
COVID-19 AND THE PUSH FOR OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY 🤒
The pandemic forced the multifamily industry to rethink traditional practices. Moshi discussed how COVID-19 highlighted the potential for virtual operations, challenging the necessity of onsite staff for tasks like leasing. This shift has driven a focus on operational efficiency and the adoption of technology-driven solutions.
“My thesis is what COVID-19 did was to sort of see changes we didn’t see coming. One is we’ve pulled people offsite in a way we never would have before collectively, and we survived that. Now we have returned people to onsite, but not in the same way that I would say pre-COVID. But what we learned is that there are ways to accomplish some of the operational items that in the past, like leasing, we thought, well, you have to have somebody onsite for that. We learned that’s not necessarily the case. There are options to do these things in a virtual manner. The second change are the demographic of potential employees decreased because a lot of those folks discovered work from home options that pay similar amounts, don’t have the same level of stress, don’t have the same old responsibility, sometimes don’t have the same level of peril, if you will, of what it what it’s like to be onsite. And so we are having a dearth of maintenance and property managers. So we’re having to figure out how to do more with less. Those two things feel permanently ensconced now in our industry and have forced us to think more about operational efficiency. How can we do more with less?” – Moshe Crane
CENTRALIZATION VS OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY 🏗️
Moshe and Daniel explored the concept of centralization as a strategy for operational efficiency. While centralization can streamline operations, Moshe emphasized maintaining a balance with personal interaction.
“Centralization, I think I initially have had a very bad taste for it because it feels like first of all, it should be rebranded, but to operational efficiency, not centralization. Centralization is a tactic to be more efficient, but it really felt like it’s coming from the tech community to sell us a product. Right? They’re telling us how we need to operate, and that we need their tools in order to operate in this new world. And maybe there’s some truth to that. Maybe there’s not. But to me, the whole thing is being more efficient.” – Moshe Crane
TACKLING MAINTENANCE CHALLENGES 🔧
Moshe highlighted the often-overlooked maintenance operations. By analyzing maintenance expenses across properties, Sage Ventures identified significant areas for improvement. Moshe proposed creating an apprentice program to train and develop internal maintenance talent, aiming to reduce turnover and build a skilled workforce.
“Maintenance as a whole has not received the attention and the love it deserves. When I was in my lane as Director of Marketing and Leasing, I didn’t think much of maintenance at all. In my new lane, I’m obsessed with maintenance. It’s half of our staff onsite. It’s practically all of our expenses on site and having an understanding of that.” – Moshe Crane
PRACTICAL TIPS FOR IMPROVING MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS 🛠️
- Monthly Lunch-and-Learns: Implement regular training sessions for maintenance teams to encourage continuous learning and foster team camaraderie.
- Expense Analysis: Break down maintenance expenses by category and compare them across properties to identify areas for cost savings and efficiency improvements.
- Centralized Purchasing and Contracts: Streamline purchasing and contract management processes to ensure consistency and cost-effectiveness across all properties.
EPISODE LINKS
Follow Daniel Cunningham on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cunnuh/
Follow Moshe Crane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/moshecrane
Follow Apartment Academy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/apartment-academy/
Check out Sage Ventures: https://sageventures.com/
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