Data Gathering to Streamline Operations & Technology – Case Study – Greystar
A case study on streamlining operations and technology through data gathering in the real estate services industry
Data gathering as a key to achieving corporate goals
Upon receiving anecdotal feedback from employees about the fast and frequent pacing of roll-outs of new technology, Greystar decided to dig deeper on these sentiments by embarking on a data gathering initiative. The company knew that collecting and transforming these insights into actionable findings would require expertise in data gathering and analysis. After reading about Stegmeier Consulting Group’s experience in this area, Greystar’s Senior Managing Director of Legal Services reached out to us seeking assistance in accomplishing their objectives.
When making large scale business decisions, the ability to see the bigger picture is essential. This is what the corporate team had in mind when they decided to deploy new technological tools and products for on-site teams. Their intention was clear and sincere—to set employees up for success by equipping them with better technology.
But Greystar also recognized that there are intricacies that are better understood by employees on the frontline. Wielding enough sensitivity to the voices of on-site teams, leadership acknowledged that their vision may not be aligned with the actual needs of these employees.
“Our corporate teams view their roles as identifying and implementing the best technologies and tools, but we’re not sure that we are doing a good job of identifying a business need or opportunity before we decide which areas need new tools and prioritizing so that we aren’t overwhelming our on-site teams,” said Greystar’s Senior Managing Director of Legal Services. The corporate team saw the importance of viewing the hurdles they learned through the lens of the ones who were directly experiencing it.
In 2019, Greystar launched the Operational Excellence Initiative to identify operational and technological roadblocks to efficient management of their properties. As an international real estate developer and property management firm headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, their ultimate goal was to elevate customer experience by improving the service provided to the residents in their properties.
To achieve this goal, the company sought to help on-site teams increase their effectiveness in their roles. SCG was brought in to engage individuals from two job roles: community managers and leasing professionals, and collect useful feedback so that Greystar could take the necessary corrective actions.
Engaging employees in an intensive data gathering process
Working in conjunction with Greystar’s Executive Director of Real Estate Development, SCG kick-started the data gathering process by developing a comprehensive survey called the Operational Excellence Feedback Survey.
This data-gathering instrument was fully customized according to the client’s specific needs and objectives. It was decided that in order to yield information that would ultimately help Greystar better understand and support on-site teams, the survey questions would focus on five key categories: technology, corporate initiatives, training and onboarding, communications, and work/life balance.
Our consultants made sure that launching the survey would be done in an organized and timely manner. While putting great value on the client’s input and ideas, SCG took charge of organizing survey related schedules, as well as drafting communication materials that would be sent out to respondents. In a span of 10 days, the survey was administered to 1,493 community managers and 2,259 leasing professionals.
The information-gathering procedure did not end there. Taking the process one step further, SCG created a framework and schedule for onsite focus group sessions. Employees from 3 representative locations, namely Dallas, Denver, and Philadelphia, were invited to participate in these meetings. The objective was to capture ideas as they candidly flow in a goal-oriented discussion.
Dialogue in the facilitated sessions centered around trends and themes that came out of our initial analysis from the survey output. This sequential method of using different mediums for data capture is a tactic we recommend to clients. A survey allows for granular data to be captured, enabling us to validate or further expand upon an organization’s initial hypothesis.
Focus groups then position us to get clarification from end-users on why certain trends may seem to be happening within an organization. The face to face interaction allows for our team to, additionally, get a pulse on the more qualitative aspects of a change or problem our clients are running into.
By observing body language, we can truly get a feel for the magnitude of an issue. Our skilled facilitators pride themselves on asking poignant follow up questions in our focus groups, something that we can do in real time, as opposed to (usually weeks after the fact) with a more structured survey format.
In conducting various data gathering exercises, an organization also has a tremendous opportunity to engage its key stakeholders in the process. Involving end-users at multiple junctures of an exploration gives them a chance to share their voice and ensure they feel valued by the organization.
Our focus groups with Greystar revealed vital information about what employees experienced on a day-to-day and week-to-week basis. These sessions, which were done with anonymous polling technology, encouraged the participants to divulge their honest thoughts and pain points about the support they were receiving in terms of technological resources. The onsite, facilitated discussions were particularly informative, bringing professionals with the same job functions across different regional properties together to meet and share both challenges and ideas.
Analyzing data from surveys and focus groups
At the conclusion of the data gathering process, SCG’s consultants poured over collected data, seeking to identify common trends and the most critical needs across locations and highlighting practical, employee-generated ideas.
The results were valuable, opening Greystar’s eyes to what’s working and what’s not. Employee feedback allowed SCG to uncover some of the technological and operational inefficiencies that significantly impacted the ability of on-site teams to perform tasks on a daily basis.
In a comprehensive final report that included our own suggested action steps, SCG presented these findings to Greystar. As a company that relied heavily on emails to disseminate information, one of the issues that surfaced was the increased likelihood of employees to miss out on important announcements due to an oversaturated inbox. To address this concern, SCG gathered suggestions from employee groups and offered our own recommendation which is to reconfigure the organization’s corporate email methods.
While focusing primarily on general technology, our team also learned about challenges concerning specific platforms used by employees. Due to the lack of sync features in these platforms, unnecessary work duplication happens which leads to increased likelihood of errors. As such, SCG’s recommendation included streamlining and syncing the technology available to properties. Re-examining property and employee performance measurement was also suggested to identify variables that may be preventing employees from getting a fair evaluation.
Another major trend highlighted in the engagement were operational interruptions mainly caused by residents, and vendors or package delivery issues. SCG offered steps that could be taken to reduce these daily detractions.
Data gathering expertise for streamlining your company’s operations and technology
To streamline business operations and technology, it is important to listen to the voices of employees who are on the frontlines. Acknowledging stakeholder feedback can be done through a systematic data gathering process. If this sounds like a good fit for your corporate goals, get the process of talking to us started by filling out the form below.
