Best Practices for Reducing Administrative Burdens

Running a successful firm demands more than great ideas or processes but you probably weren’t expecting that your admin responsibilities would be a full-time job. Like any other type of business, the property management industry is subject to a growing list of requirements and expectations that govern the business world. As companies grow and evolve, we find we must spend more time on tasks that don’t add value to the business, but which must be done.

The paths that businesses have taken to address this challenge are as varied as the business world itself. However, about 173,000 businesses have solved this by finding a partner who can own the administration of payroll, benefits, HR, taxes, and regulatory compliance for them.

In this article, we will spotlight how the unique nature of the property management industry makes the value proposition of partnering with an employer organization especially advantageous.

The main value driver is that property management firms are managed as both distinct properties - locations operating on their own P&L, and as a corporate enterprise holding the whole thing together. This challenging management contrast is only made more complicated by the different administrative burdens presented in each location – for example, city, county, or state requirements.

Property managers have described four results achieved through aligning with a professional employer organization that are especially valuable to them:

1. Operational efficiency & workforce optimization. Property management firms are freed to grow more efficiently through the ability to acquire new properties anywhere; have the on-site employees onboard in minutes; enroll in the company’s benefits plans, sign their company agreements, get a handbook, etc. all through a single, unified platform.
2. Liability reduction. Because a PEO takes on the federal tax liability, provides Employment Liability Insurance, and stabilizes Workers Comp & ESD/L&I rates across properties and geographies the result is an overall liability reduction across all areas.
3. Cost reduction. Leveraging a larger footprint to scale employee benefits (retirement &/or medical) management costs & premiums.
4. Service, knowledge, expertise, & guidance are consolidated in a single resource regardless of the distinct areas where property managers are doing business. A good partner will dedicate specific experts to your company for HR, payroll, benefits, and even legal matters.

There are a lot of paths to resolving how to manage the busy work of running a business, but some key results stand out. Small businesses that work with a partner that provides comprehensive HR solutions grow 7 to 9 percent faster, have employee turnover that is 10 to 14 percent lower and are 50 percent less likely to go out of business.

The return on investment, in cost savings alone, is 27.3 percent. To be sure, other value propositions are in play – like scaled procurement, operational efficiency, and revenue growth, but for property management firms, a partner’s ability to treat each location independently while simultaneously servicing the whole enterprise delivers the big win.

Ken Kloeppel is a Regional Vice President for Resource Management Inc.