At Concert Properties, the success of our communities starts with the people who make them thrive. This month, we sat down with Kerri Jackson, Senior Vice President, Property Management, to learn more about her dedicated 115-person property management team and the pivotal role they play in delivering exceptional experiences for our tenants and residents.
In your own words, please describe what your team does.
Everyone plays an important role in managing the day-to-day operations of both our residential rental and commercial buildings. This includes fulfilling maintenance requests, renting residential suites or commercial spaces, collecting payments and communicating with tenants, residents and contractors. It also involves implementing preventative maintenance programs, conducting regular inspections and completing building improvements.
How does Concert Properties differentiate itself in the competitive rental and leasing markets, and what role does your team play in achieving that?
Concert Properties is known in the market as a landlord who cares. We collaborate to ensure tenants and residents receive a quality experience, sharing best practices across our portfolio. On the occasion we fall short of expectations, we’re quick to accept responsibility and resolve the issue quickly.
What initiatives has your team introduced to improve the experience of residents of rental properties?
Our team has worked hard to make the rental process easy and consistent for our residents . Among various improvement initiatives, over the past three years we have:
- Digitized lease agreements in Yardi, our property management software.
- Implemented SuiteSpot to capture maintenance requests, support work orders and track inspections.
- Launched a prospect and resident portal:
- The prospect portal allows interested renters to seamlessly complete the leasing process online.
- The resident portal provides residents with the ability to submit and track their requests, communicate with our resident services team and manage their rental payments and correspondence electronically.
What initiatives has your team introduced to improve the experience of tenants of commercial properties?
Our team meets regularly to address operational challenges and improve efficiencies. Recently, we identified a best practice from one property and successfully implemented it across all regions. Now, each region operates with a centralized maintenance request database, ensuring issues are triaged and actioned more efficiently. Additionally, the databases are identical, which allows a more streamlined data analysis, enabling more informed decision-making and proactive maintenance planning.
How do you approach building a sense of community among residents and tenants?
Every property hosts at least three resident or tenant appreciation events each year. While many events are similar across properties, each on-site team tailors the food, games and experience to suit their residents or tenants—from ice cream socials and pumpkin carving contests to candle making classes and seasonal BBQs. This not only increases turnout and participation, but also strengthens a sense of security and belonging.
How do you ensure properties are maintained to Concert Properties' high standards over time?
We have strict preventative maintenance programs in place for every building, customized for the specific equipment in operation, to ensure our systems run well beyond their expected lifespan.
In addition to training our maintenance technicians, we ensure our managers understand system requirements. Property managers also play an instrumental role, conducting regular inspections and recommending improvements that add value to the property.
How does your department support the growth and skill-building of its team members?
My focus is to empower the front line. We provide formal training to ensure our teams have the technical capabilities required to perform their day-to-day operational tasks and exceed customer expectations.
By developing their leadership and management skills, we’re creating a pipeline of talent ready to fill critical roles as our portfolio grows. We have promoted numerous team members to higher-level positions within the organization. It's been immensely rewarding to see team members succeed and grow their careers at Concert Properties.