Strata’s high-performance metrics, and what’s driving them
Since 2006, Macquarie Bank has been tracking and monitoring the strata industry’s performance and, according to their 2019 Strata Management Benchmarking Report, things are looking good.
Macquarie’s 2019 report, which uses data surveyed and gathered from the end of 2018, gives a national snapshot that strata businesses are experiencing good growth with strong revenue and profits. Underpinning such success, on the whole, is engaged staff, above-average productivity, and a focus on customer service, with one in four strata businesses achieving exceptional revenue growth.
With the industry doing well, it begs the question: what are the top performers doing that others aren’t, and what needs to be addressed to keep the momentum?
According to Macquarie, high performing strata businesses have mastered three key areas which are set to keep their successes going as their performance tactics continue to capture the increasing number of strata properties.Here are 3 factors that contribute to the strata industry’s high-performance metrics:
- They are retaining talented staff
- Using technology to create better experiences for property owners
- Delivering performance by investing in brand value
They are retaining talented staff
Strata, like many industries, is being impacted by staff turnover and talent retention issues. Across the sector, strata has experienced a 23.7% turnover within the last 12 months alone, with the strata manager having the most churn, followed by administration and support staff.
Such high churn places substantial pressure on a business’ ability to grow. Significant turnover not only increases recruitment costs but creates chop and inconsistencies with client relationships, shrinks the brains trust, and leaves the company vulnerable to loss of intellectual property.
The top performers, however, are preventing turnover by addressing employees’ two most important workplace requirements of 1) a positive, supportive and fun culture, and 2) flexibility in when and where they want to work.
The top performers, whose churn rate was 50% lower than that of other businesses, saw better productivity, more profitability, and better property owner satisfaction.
Using technology to create better experiences for property owners
The strata industry has been slow to invest in and adopt technology. The reason strata has been so slow to treat technology as an enabler is because of the relatively high and consistent levels of profitability. Without financial stress or squeezing, the industry hasn’t had to play in the competitive game of continually refining operational efficiency as much.
However, the tide has started to turn, increasing churn-costs along with a slowing construction sector are boosting the need for technological investment. Businesses are now using online service hubs, information systems and cloud platforms as a way to drive the customer experience and increase staff efficiencies.
What’s more, technology shouldn’t be something strata managers shy away from or fear. Top performers have shown technology isn’t disrupting the industry in the same way it has other sectors. Instead, technology is offering an opportunity for managers to expand their skillsets, reduce administration by increasing automation, and increase revenue by assisting to diversify their offering and address owners’ needs.
Delivering performance by investing in brand value
The top strata performers are producing results with a combination of quality talent, performance-enhancing technology, and brands that have broad value propositions. The crème de la crème of strata organisations are offering more than strata. They are providing everything that property owners need concerning community living that is not traditionally provided by the strata industry.
Supporting property owners with everything from insurance to sales and cheaper energy is building confidence with the end-users and genuinely making life more convenient. By developing brands that adhere to best practice and focus on the property owners’ needs, they are morphing from ‘strata’ to all-round and trusted property advisors.
Through our local branch network, the PICA Group continue to do their part in making a difference for their staff and their offerings to be one of the strata industries top performers.
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