There’s an expression that’s popular at Western National Property Management: “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” To help associates connect and empathize with current residents and prospects, Western National provides training to help them recognize and adapt to the personalities of various residents. The company teaches associates that they must first understand what their strengths are in order to effectively adapt their style to connect with customers.
To achieve this goal, Western National designed the Care & Connect program, a training course in which each employee completes an Everything DiSC profile.
Everything DiSC is a training program that uses online prework, in-person training, and online follow-up to create a personalized learning experience to teach associates how to read the styles of their customers. By examining the individual results of their profile, employees become aware of their personality type and in turn are able to identify others’ types, too.
After completing the DiSC profile, associates receive 16 hours of in-person, classroom-style training from the experienced executive team. Additionally, employees are provided a four-hour annual refresher course. At the in-person training, associates are able to examine their individual results in depth and practice their skills through role-play exercises. For example, associates may practice adapting to their most challenging customer and complete an interaction plan for working with that customer.
The training program helps community managers face daily challenges, says Rashelle Nye, Community Manager of Western National’s 500-unit Villa La Paz in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. “I am not only able to connect with prospective residents when they come to our office, but also find that I can use the training to assist with how I respond to our residents,” she says. “For some, quick facts are the answers they seek, while others want to share the story of their challenge and really just need to have the chance to tell it to someone who really does care.”
Laura Khouri is President of Western National Property Management, based in Irvine, Calif.