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1. What does White Development do?
I started White Development 52 years ago. It's a private, family-owned real estate development and property management company based in Alexandria, Louisiana. We have 57 full-time employees. The company owns and manages approximately $70 million in real estate assets, with the vast majority of holdings in residential properties, specifically 2000 units in apartment complexes spread out across three states: Louisiana, Texas and Florida. The 13 major complexes are located as far away as 200 miles from the central office.
2. How have you managed these 13 remote properties?
We have an on-site property manager assigned to each of the 13 complexes who reports directly to the central office on a wide variety of property management issues.
Prior to employing eZ, communication between the central office and the property managers was conducted primarily via phone, fax, e-mail and physically traveling to meet. One day a month, property managers and central office management, approximately 20 people, traveled to a specific location and met for a Managers Meeting. These monthly meetings were supplemented by on going written status reports submitted by each property manager.
Much of the daily contact between property managers and the central office has revolved around maintenance. For perspective, White Development spends approximately $4.5 to $5.0 million annually in the upkeep of its residential properties, which consists of everything from replacing carpeting to plumbing to repaving parking lots. A company policy requiring any expenditure over $100 to be approved by the central office keeps us in close, on going contact with the property managers. In addition, senior management spends approximately 10 days a month traveling from the central office to the various complexes to personally assess, approve and/or oversee substantial expenditures.
3. Why did you decide to try eZ?
I was all for anything that would help ease travel, which I did a lot of visiting the various properties. We also wanted to try and connect those remote properties more closely to central office management, speed the flow and accuracy of communication and the company's ability to react to key issues, improve customer service, and build the cohesiveness and performance of the overall team.
We were already using the Internet a lot for our basic communication, so we decided to take it one step further and invested in this new communication technology because it enabled instantaneous, real time data communication and collaboration over the Internet.
4. How did you go about employing eZ?
First, we participated in an eZ pilot program with a small group of employees from the central office and a few of our key remote properties. In preliminary testing, eZ was so successful that we expanded it across the enterprise, installing it on the desktops of all central office employees and the 13 remote property managers.
Our total investment in eZ software was $6500. We also gathered the property managers for an afternoon at central office to learn every aspect of eZ and how it can be used to link with our scanners and digital cameras. The property managers found eZ incredibly easy to use.
5. You've been using eZ for 6 months. Tell me the three most compelling ways it has impacted the business?
First, it saves time and saves money. In fact, we believe that in Year I, it will have improved the company's bottom line by close to $500,000 in both cost savings and increased productivity. This makes the decision a no-brainer.
Second, it virtually eliminates the need for travel.
Third, it enables instant decision making while you sit at your desk on issues that are located miles away.
Overall, eZ has fostered faster and more accurate communication across the entire enterprise. Our customer service and response time have dramatically improved. It's the best technology investment we have ever made.
6. How less frequently are employees traveling?
Remember those monthly manager meetings that 20 people used to take a day traveling to and from? Well, we now hold those meetings online. What used to take a full day, now takes two hours. Central office management has also cut travel to the various complexes by nearly 75%. Instead of 10 days on the road a month, we spend on average no more than 3 days, even less some months. We estimate that in travel and time out of the office costs alone, the company is saving $150,000 annually.
7. You still have to travel though for emergencies?
Not necessarily. eZ has had a huge impact on our turnaround response time and our ability to respond more appropriately. We had a situation recently where a car accidentally drove through part of one complex causing substantial structural damage. With eZ, what normally would have taken days to fully resolve, took hours. The property manager photographed the damage and instantaneously shared the information in an eZ. Because no one had to travel, all key parties were quickly assembled online - central office management, insurance adjustors, contractors, and other repair personnel. They were able to view and access the damage, mark-up the photos to illustrate what needed to be repaired and discuss immediate remedies. Within days, the contractor returned with the design for further structural improvements, which were approved online. Estimated time savings: All tolled, it took five hours of our time as opposed to easily 48 hours when you consider travel time. Repair of the complex took two weeks as opposed to a month.
8. You mentioned earlier that maintenance costs the company close to $5 million annually. Has eZ helped lower those costs?
Across the board, eZ has had a profound effect on maintenance costs. For example, with the upkeep of 2000 units, the costs of replacing something as simple as carpeting ($1000 per unit) or repainting (about $400 per unit) can easily run into the millions over time. In the past, the central office would often approve such requests "sight unseen" because it wasn't worth the time to travel to the complex.
Now, eZ has made it simple for property managers to substantiate their requests with photos of needed repairs and to instantly meet online with central office to get immediate approval. What we've found is that requests have dropped in half. Many property managers were just blindly asking for re-paint or re-carpet jobs when a tenant moved out. In many cases, spot cleaning or painting was all that was needed. This has also freed up on-site maintenance crews so that they can focus on higher priority repairs. Estimated savings: approximately $250,000 annually.
9. Do you still rely heavily on e-mail, fax and the phone for communication?
We've seen a substantial drop in the volume of all three. eZ has greatly eased the back and forth of e-mail and faxes and there is less telephone tag.
Let me give you an example. Remember those monthly status reports from our property managers? Central office would receive, review and mark them up with concerns and questions and send them back to the property manager, who would then respond in writing or by phone. The back and forth of that process has been eliminated.
With eZ, central office receives the report, schedules a phone meeting with the property manager, and together they review the report and any issues and concerns online. Everybody's on the same page at the same time. Someone marks up a document or design, and everybody can see that mark-up instantly so they understand exactly what she or he means. No one has to ask for permission to mark up something. They just jump right in. If someone says, "Why is this repair costing three times more than what it cost at another complex?," the specs and estimates from the less costly repair can be brought up with a mere click of a button for comparison. You can share virtually anything on your computer with anyone.
I particularly like eZ's ability to share other documents simultaneously. With a button click, I can show a side-by-side comparison of the progress on the collection of let's say delinquent rental payments for one complex with that of ten or more other properties. It's a wonderful little tool for really driving a point home.
In fact, because virtual meetings are so easy to have we are gathering our property managers together more frequently to really focus on certain issues that need scrutinizing beyond our monthly Managers Meetings. What we call "rental rolls" or delinquencies in rental payments is one such area. If we get that situation under control, we believe we can save the company about $145,000 to $185,000 annually.
10. So you believe that virtual meetings can be as productive as face-to-face interactions?
In most cases, absolutely and even more so. I find there is a lot less sideline chatter with virtual meetings. Everyone is more focused on the issues because the numbers are simply sitting there right in front of them on their computer screens. And, there's nothing complicated in terms of using eZ. We also used to cram everything into our monthly Managers Meeting. eZ has now allowed us to spend more time focusing on certain issues, and many unforeseen issues as they arise, instantly. The net effect: property managers are beginning to bond more by learning from each other's successes and mistakes. Overall, there is a more cohesive team environment.
11. But don't you think for real teamwork that people need face time with each other?
Before eZ, I operated under this belief for the most part. But, the past six months have taught me otherwise. And, it's all quite simple. The more we meet, the more we share, the more we understand, the more we learn about each other and rely on others for advice. Sure, I think it's important on occasion that we all gather physically, but it's not necessary for building the type of teamwork that really drives a company to success.
12. Are you taking any steps to build on the accumulated knowledge gained from more information sharing and collaboration?
We've begun to build case histories and establish certain benchmarks, particularly in the area of maintenance, where in the past it has been difficult to "policy and procedure" every detail. The real benefit here is that we won't have to re-invent the wheel so much. It will also bring new employees and property managers up-to-speed much faster.
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