Built to Last: Training that Withstands the Test of Time
A solid foundation of training enables Corcoran Management Company to withstand the test of time.
By Alison G. Pomerantz
Corcoran Management Company isn’t in the business of managing buildings, but enriching lives.
Since 1951, Corcoran Management Company of Braintree, Massachusetts has honed a reputation as one of New England’s leading residential management companies by not only providing property management services to its clients, but creating environments for people to make their homes and raise their families. From Massachusetts to Florida, Corcoran is a company with a portfolio boasting more than 8,000 apartments and condominiums and 250,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. The company’s commitment to excellence is supported by superior customer service, exceptional quality standards, and the uncompromising dedication of the professional Corcoran team who has built positive relationships with owners, residents, developers and governmental agencies.
In the people business
One of the largest family-owned and operated real estate development and management companies in New England, Corcoran acknowledges one very important fact—property management is a service, and a service is only as good as the people rendering it. Recognizing people as one of its greatest assets and the key to successful growth played a role in motivating Corcoran President, Peter Blampied, to call Christine Gatti, principal of CRG ASSOCIATES, seven years ago. A consulting company that brings a systems approach to identifying and meeting an organization's training and development needs, CRG ASSOCIATES believes in beginning with a situation and needs assessment before offering specific, business-focused recommendations for results.
Embracing a plan for aggressive growth over the course of the next five years, including the addition of one to two new communities per year, Blampied recognized the importance of strengthening the already successful firm’s foundation for a continued healthy future. While the average tenure for managers at Corcoran Management is more than five years, Peter identified the need to ensure the right person would be matched to the right job. As the seasoned staff continues to age, the importance of “growing leaders” was ever more important.
Working in partnership with CRG ASSOCIATES, the first goal was to establish consistent training throughout the company. Standardizing the training across all levels of the company by creating uniform training modules and offering a comprehensive, informative orientation, resulted in everyone from property managers to maintenance technicians with a more in-depth understanding of the business model, who does what and an overview of out-of-state properties they may never otherwise visit in their employment with Corcoran Management.
“After attending the half-day training event,” Nancy Gaudet, Senior Manager of Corcoran, explained, “people leave saying, ‘I’m really glad I work here".”
Fanning the Flames
Igniting a love affair (or a crush anyway) between a company and its employees may sound rather lofty until one considers that surveys, while varied, show that up to 90 percent of Americans do not like their jobs. Many people who are very good at their jobs do not like what they do, according to Thomas A. Schweich, author of Staying Power, 30 Secrets Invincible Executives Use for Getting to the Top—and Staying There.
In a Gallup Management Journal article, “Getting Personal in the Workplace; Are negative relationships squelching productivity in your company?” author Steve Crabtree defines three types of employees as: “Engaged: employees with passion who feel a profound connection to their company;” “Not-engaged: employees who are essentially ‘checked out’ or sleep walking through their workday;” and “Actively Disengaged: employees who aren’t just unhappy at work, but busy acting out their unhappiness.” In a 2001 Q1 Gallup Management Journal survey, found that, of all U.S. workers 18 and older, about 22.5 million—or 17%—are actively disengaged. Gallup estimates that the lower productivity of actively disengaged workers costs the U.S. economy about $300 billion per year. The Gallup Study provided strong evidence that linked engagement to business outcomes such as retention, productivity, profitability, customer loyalty and safety.
In an effort to develop a more engaged workforce, Corcoran Management embarked on an important management training and development initiative, which included specific skills training development, multi-source feedback for the leadership subjects, and forms of measurement in place to enable the organization to identify and quantify progress and skill improvement over time.
As part of a company-wide initiative to improve leadership skills, increase employee satisfaction and to improve employee retention rates, Corcoran Management Company requested an organizational assessment process. CRG ASSOCIATES designed and administered an organizational survey, consisting of 12 customized questions designed to elicit information about employee morale, perception of leadership skills, the current culture and opportunities for employee growth.
Results from the initial assessment identified some areas of concern. CRG called together 32 leaders from Corcoran and facilitated a process using the survey results that created beneficial dialogue across leadership levels. Three organizational priorities were identified, agreed upon and formed the basis for three project teams currently in place. They focused on: Career Development, Communication, and Manager Roles. Since 1999, CRG ASSOCIATES has provided an array of services to Corcoran Management, including Business Workshop Design, Trainer Development, Management Training, 360 Degree Feedback Process, Organizational Assessment and other personalized consulting as needed.
In an attempt to gather some measurement of how far the organization may have moved in terms of improvement, Consultant Christine Gatti used her assessment software to gather data prior to, and following, the implementation of the priority initiatives.
Challenge #1:
The goal was to develop a strategy that would address the developmental needs of an initial group of targeted managers through a process of assessment, development, and ongoing support. The overarching initiative was driven by huge organizational growth, ongoing turnover, increasing competition, and a concern that the employee population was becoming less committed due to a drop in morale and a perceived need for more “involvement” in the business.
Challenge #2:
Senior leadership believed it would also be important to assess the organizational “climate and environment” as it related to morale and the satisfaction level of staff members on topics such as: career development, management style and support, effectiveness of communication. With high levels of turnover in the industry and increasing competition, he wanted to “raise the bar” for everyone in the organization.
Outcomes:
- Managers report that they are being given more authority, respect
- Senior managers are receiving the feedback that they are more effective
- Data indicates a significant percentage of Senior Management has improved in the specific skill areas of: coaching, giving feedback, modeling values through actions
- Team Results:
- A new mentoring approach is being piloted for employees
- Several decision-making processes have been de-centralized, putting more authority and accountability on managers
- Data shows a consistent improvement in nearly all categories:
- Outlining a clear career path for employees shows an 18% increase
- Management concern for well-being of employees improved by 17%
- Management modeling organizational values on a daily basis increased by 13%
- Focus on development of managers/business professionals demonstrated a 10% rise
- Decision-making being done by best person to do so stepped up 9%
- Employees report that they see changes, new steps being taken to develop and support their needs
- They see the effort and change beginning to take hold
While just the beginning, the results pointed to the positive upward direction that Blampied had in mind when he originally contacted Gatti and CRG ASSOCIATES. Having this data reinforced the efforts of the management team, and motivated and inspired them to continue focusing on the number-one asset that so uniquely set Corcoran Management apart from the more impersonal competition—their people.
“I think the training really elevated us to a different level than where we were,” Gaudet admitted. “We have been able to hire and retain better managers as a result of our improved training program.” Corcoran Management Company even invests in taking corporate veterans back through refresher courses to keep their skills sharp and revitalize their enthusiasm and investment in the success of the organization. She pointed out the importance in providing opportunities for employees to become more vested in the organization through better job fits, clearer paths for promotion, or intrinsic rewards for performance.
Employee feedback was resoundingly positive following the training and skills enhancement workshops. One attendee commented, "I learned how to structure a presentation and how the different tools available can impact the program. I feel more confident about facilitating, preparing and presenting."
Follow-up quarterly assessments were later scheduled to determine the impact of the work to date. Gaudet anecdotally notes that retention has increased since starting the training. In addition, the strongest compliment may be seeing competitors’ employees walk through their doors in hopes of joining a company that “values its people” so highly—something so starkly missing from many corporations today, especially in the fast-paced, competitive field of real estate.
From this day forward
Gatti stresses the importance of hiring for talent and why good leadership is vital to an organization. Many employees confess that their decision to stay or leave a company is largely due to the quality of the leader or manager. It is often the key to them becoming an engaged or disengaged member of the team and ultimately will determine the company’s ability for growth and profitability.
“Most managers have become managers because of their technical knowledge,” she explains. “Yet what is required of a strong manager is the whole human.”
With employer/employee loyalties at an all-time low, Corcoran Management views training in the way many couples should probably look at marriage counseling—a positive preventative measure to stay together rather than a reaction when discontentment arises. Fostering collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust with its staff may just be the real estate company’s secret to the elusive “happily ever after.”
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