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How to Measurably Stabilize a Building While Increasing Tenant Retention

What's one of the best ways to measurably stabilize your building while increasing tenant retention? Involve your tenants in the operation of the building and make them feel responsible for the direction of the property. A few months ago, my landlord had a messy problem on his hands. Everyday, someone visited the building and made 2-3 messes in the men's restroom. It was disgusting. Tenants complained. The landlord grew nervous. How could he stop this from happening? (At the time, our lease was up for renewal and we considered moving because of this problem.) The landlord tried to solve the problem on his own by checking the restroom during his free time.  The problem persisted.  He realized that if he could enlist his tenants to watch for the perpetrator, he might catch the individual. He addressed the issue with the tenants and asked for their input and help.  The tenants began talking to one another. They took an interest in uncovering what was happening and speculated as to who might be resonsible. Some talked about mounting web cams throughout the building to catch the person responsible for disrupting the building. Tenants began providing leads to the landlord.  He identified the suspect and uncovered that a new employee in the building was responsible for the repeated messes and that if he didn't intervene quickly, he stood to lose some great companies that were fed up with the situation. The landlord approached the employer and notified him of what transpired.  The employee was fired. The tenants thanked the landlord for taking action.  He benefited by keeping his building full and developed  tenants that are not only invested in the well-being of the building, but also tell others about how great an experience it's been working in the property. Are you challenged with tenant communication and interaction in your building today? If so, email me at Jeremy@Mansardcre.com with the words "Increase Tenant Retention" in the subject line.  Include your name, when you would like to be called, and the best number to reach you. I will contact you to schedule a time for you to invite me to your office for a free consultation.  If there's a fit, you may retain us to assist you in increasing your tenant retention by implementing our multi-point tenant retention plan we provide you.  And if there isn't a fit, we'll tell you we cannot help and will refer you to another firm that may be a better match. Get free weekly email updates of this blog. About the Author: Jeremy Cyrier, CCIM is the founder/principal of MANSARD Commercial Properties and member of the CCIM Institute faculty. He delivers thoughtful, large scale commercial real estate solutions to the individual challenges owners and tenants face. Jeremy Cyrier, CCIM was elected by Banker & Tradesman as one of its New Leaders in 2009. You may reach Jeremy at Jeremy@Mansardcre.com.