Growing Pains But no company is without faults. Realty Management has become a mid-sized company that still functions like a mom and pop. It doesn’t have a Web site, making it difficult for the general public to find out about the properties it manages. By purchasing an ad in the Apartment Shoppers Guide, the company also receives an online ad on the Guide’s Web page. However, through this online ad, prospective residents can only request additional information about a community. Its communities also have Web pages through Apartment.com ads, however, they are hard to find unless you know the names of the properties.
“Upgrading and integrating technology is a top priority for the company and is the most important factor for our future growth,” says David J. Miskovich, CFO of Realty Management. “We need to make sure we have the systems that best fit this company.”
Ross knows the company needs a Web site. But she doesn’t want to post one until the company resolves some management issues that would affect how the Web site is done. “We’ll muddle through [without it] a little bit longer,” she says.
Realty Management is looking to centralize as many functions as possible. It wants to take away the paper headache from on-site people through the use of software applications, explains Miskovich. Remote access for key individuals of the organization also is on the to-do list, along with the automation of weekly account sheets and developing a corporate Intranet. The company is developing a laundry list of technology initiatives.
The wish list of changes isn’t stopping Realty Management from taking advantage of its size. It recently purchased the opening gatefold ad of the local Apartment Shoppers Guide for the first time. And it took out a full-page ad in The Washington Post, listing many of its communities. “When you are dividing cost among 55 communities, it’s much more affordable to do larger ads and spreads,” she says. “It’s exciting for us to get the names of the communities out in as many venues as possible.”
Realty Management also is using its size to exert purchasing power for its communities, says James Kostyk, vice president residential management operations. It has centralized functions such as service contracts to reduce costs and gain better control. “This also allowed our field people to concentrate more on customer service,” says Kostyk.
And, it makes perfect sense. Because at the end of the day it’s all about serving the customer – the resident and owner. “We don’t promise what we can’t deliver, we’re honest, and we consistently follow up,” says Kostyk. “They pay the way for us to be in business and achieve our goals. And we need to do everything possible to meet their goals.”