Sometimes, “Better” Starts With Asking, “Why Are We Doing It This Way?”

NYC co-op front desk staff member receiving a large delivery of packages in an elegant residential building lobby

When our new board took over our co-op, we had a lot to fix.

“Take over” might actually be understating it. We organized a coup.

The new board wanted to evaluate the building from top to bottom, where we were spending money, where we were inefficient, how decisions were being made, and, perhaps most importantly, how we communicated with the people who actually lived in the building.

Improving transparency and communication was an immediate priority.

This was more than 15 years ago, and technology was beginning to offer some interesting new ways to manage buildings. One of the obvious places to start was communication between residents, management and staff.

We found software that could help us do several things in one place:

• Communications: Give residents a more consistent and efficient way to receive building information, notices and updates. It also allowed for residents to contact management with the click of a button. 

• Maintenance requests: Allow residents to submit requests electronically and give management and staff a better way to track them from submission through completion. It also allows for the board and management to detect systematic problems, like the F line seems to have an increase in sewer line problems or there has been an increase in leaks reported in the A-line. 

• Package tracking: Create a system for recording incoming packages and notifying residents, rather than relying entirely on handwritten logs, slips of paper and memory. This was a huge hit with the staff who no longer had to try to find a delivery that the last front desk person forgot to mark down as picked up. 

It wasn't revolutionary technology.

But it was a better way of doing things.

Within a few months, we had the system up and running.

And that experience taught us something that has stayed with us ever since:

You don't have to wait for something to be broken to look for a better way to do it.

The search for better doesn't stop

Technology has changed dramatically since those early days.

So have buildings. So have residents' expectations. And, importantly, so have the tools available to Resident Managers and Front Desk Staff.

At The Folson Group, we're constantly looking at ways to improve the way buildings operate. That means evaluating systems, processes and vendors, not simply accepting that because something has always been done a certain way, it is still the best way to do it.

And we don't like evaluating things from a brochure.

Whenever possible, we test systems and vendors firsthand, either in our own building or in observing one of our clients' buildings.

Sometimes that's because we're brought in before a board makes a decision.

Other times, a system or vendor is already in place when we arrive. That's actually useful, too. We can talk to the board. We can talk to the Resident Manager. We can talk to the Front Desk Staff, the people who actually have to live with the system every day.

Because that's where you learn the truth.

A system can look great in a sales presentation. The real test is whether the person sitting behind the front desk on a Tuesday afternoon thinks it's making their job easier.

The package problem

One area we've been looking at recently is package tracking.

Anyone who lives in a NYC co-op or condo knows what that means.

And with the holiday season approaching, or, as we like to call it, Package Season, the volume of packages can become a serious operational issue.

Our goal wasn't simply to find a system with more bells and whistles.

It was to find one that made life easier.

We've now partnered with a much-improved package tracking system that has reduced the amount of time our Front Desk Staff spends entering packages by approximately  75%.

That's a meaningful improvement.

But the number that matters just as much is the reaction from the people using it.

The response from the staff has been overwhelmingly positive.

And that's exactly what we're looking for.

Because the Front Desk Staff are often the most adored asset in a building. They're the people residents see every day. They know your names. They know who's coming and going. They know which apartment has a package waiting. They help with the little things that make a building feel like home.

If we can give them a tool that eliminates repetitive administrative work, that's not just an efficiency improvement.

It's an improvement in quality of life.

For the staff.

And, ultimately, for the residents.

What if the technology gives you back some time?

This particular implementation was refreshingly simple.

The onboarding was seamless. Hands-on training was quick and easy. And residents didn't have to do anything.

That's important.

A new system shouldn't create a new project for everyone else.

The best technology should quietly make things easier in the background.

And if reducing package-entry time by 75% gives the Front Desk Staff a little more time to help residents, deal with other building needs, or maybe even grab you a cab on a rainy day. That's a pretty good return on investment.

The lesson for boards isn't really about package tracking software.

It's about how you think about running a building.

When we organized that original “coup,” we weren't trying to change things simply for the sake of changing them.

We wanted to understand how the building worked, identify inefficiencies, improve communication and make better decisions.

That philosophy hasn't changed.

We're still asking questions.

We're still testing new ideas.

We're still talking to the people who actually use the systems.

And we're still looking for better ways to run buildings.

Because sometimes the biggest improvements don't come from a major capital project or a six-figure savings.

Sometimes they come from looking at something that everyone has been doing the same way for years and simply asking:

“Is there a better way?”

There usually is. 

Want to see what we found? 

Demos will be on a first come-first served basis starting this fall. If you want your staff to thank you for an easier package season, get your name on the waiting list now!