Property Management Training…All By Telephone! ^©

by Ernest F. Oriente, The Coach

According to a study completed by MCI in 1998, a typical face-to-face training program for 20 people requires an investment of $26,000, which includes airfare to a central location.  While in-person training will always play an important role for property management professionals, 1999 technology will allow you and your company to provide training programs more frequently, in a more timely fashion and for a fraction of what it costs to bring a group together for in-person training.  Ready for a new training model?

What is a TeleForum?  A TeleForum combines the use of a regular telephone with a state-of-the-art conference call system to link together 20-150 property management professionals who are geographically dispersed.  A TeleForum is cost effective because no one has to travel to a central location for training nor be gone from their apartment community or family for days at a time.  A TeleForum is time efficient, as each call is generally 60 minutes long.  A group can easily meet once or twice per month and calls can be scheduled during the slowest time of the day for your property management team or even the hour before each property opens its leasing offices.  A TeleForum is successful because of the rich content that can be shared by the trainers in your company or a powerful presentation shared by an industry expert.  A TeleForum builds team spirit because everyone gets to participate during a call and your property management team will value this additional communication in-between your annual in-person training programs or meetings.   

Tip From The Coach:  Wondering if TeleForums will give you and your property management company a return on your investment?  According to the Public Personnel Management, Winter 1997 Issue, ”training alone increased productivity by 22 percent and training plus ongoing coaching increased productivity 88 percent”.  IBM's San José Programming Center says, “Telephone meetings are substantially less expensive than live meetings. The participants generally do not have to leave their offices, so there is no travel time or expense”. 

What is covered in a TeleForum?  Once you have reserved the conference system for your TeleForum training, the range of training or meeting topics can be as varied or diverse as the following:  new leasing/sales training, a sharing of marketing ideas, secrets from industry experts, a discussion on vendor issues, new technology or computer training, a question-and-answer period with the President of your company and hiring/interviewing skills, just to name a few.  For each TeleForum you also have a rich selection of pre-call preparation and post-call follow-up with your team, for example:  A workbook can be mailed to each participant prior to a TeleForum, an outline can be faxed or E-mailed before each call, a special presentation can be given at your company website, a summary of the notes from each TeleForum can be sent by mail/fax/E-mail as follow-up, or the TeleForum can be recorded and can be accessed at a later date and time by telephone, for those who cannot make the original presentation.

Tip From The Coach:  As an added bonus, TeleForum training can be launched in 30 days or less and they allow for a quick turnaround if the focus of your training is revised or changed.

Who is hosting TeleForums?  According to the U.S. Department of Education, more than 50 percent of American colleges and universities offer distance education and training programs, including courses at Harvard, Penn State and UCLA.  Within the property management field CallSource^® has been offering free TeleForums since January 1998 with world-class presenters, such as:  Dorothy Gourley, Lisa Tosien, Cathy Otterbine, Anne Sadovsky, Kate Good and Terri Norvell. CallSource^® has also been using this TeleForum model to help train their new property management clients, in a cost efficient and information-rich 60 minute call.  In addition, leading apartment property management companies, apartment locator services and corporate housing companies have been meeting since 1996 using this same TeleForum format.   

Tip From The Coach:  Here’s a great story on distance training:  Budget Car Rental in 1996 trained 667 new counter staff at a cost of $2,000 per person…just for travel and expenses, but not including wages.  Using a TeleForum model and computer-based training for real-time interaction between student and trainer, the cost to train this same counter person is now $156 per student. In addition, they are able to train a much higher percentage of their new counter staff who previously were not able to travel due to family commitments or other personal constraints.

Want to hear more about this important topic or join a free monthly CallSource^® “Forums For Success?” Fax a note on your letterhead to 435-615-8670 or send an E-mail to ernest@powerhour.com and The Coach will fax/E-mail you a free TeleForum invitation.

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