Effective Resident Retention Leaves No Room for Vacancy

How to Keep Members in the Co-op

 By Valerie Hall

Glenburn Green Cooperative, located in Huber Heights, Ohio, struggled three years with a 20-25 percent vacancy rate. As part of a marketing effort, the board of directors, and management began a resident referral program. The program offers a member a one-time carrying charge deduction for the referral of a friend or relative who becomes a new member. For 2000, 42 percent of Glenburn Green’s new leases resulted from this program. The program acknowledges the co-op’s trust in the members and the desire for each and every one to be an active participant in the co-op. If the member is willing to participate in this program, then they must be very happy with their home. That is after all the goal--to make the member feel at home with the co-op. 

Do you want to know the secret to having members feel this way and desiring to stay in the co-op for a lifetime? And what if management could keep the co-op full with a waiting list because the members loved the way the co-op appreciated them? Through the combined efforts of management, board of directors, site staff, and cooperative members, it is easy to develop a powerful, successful resident retention program by creating security, building community, having fun, recognizing special occasions, generating involvement, soliciting feedback, rewarding participation, and searching for lost members. 

Create Security 

Feeling at home is directly related to feeling safe, and providing a blanket of security in the co-op creates that environment. Unfortunately, professional security services are expensive; however, affordable alternatives are available. For example, community and neighborhood watch programs and volunteer-based public safety programs use member participation and cooperation with local law enforcement. Local law enforcement will be glad to attend annual meetings of members and help those interested to learn more about and become involved in these programs. A good way to keep your police department involved with your community is by documenting and reporting any incidents and disturbances. Many times a co-op can get local police to patrol within the co-op by signing a form, inviting them onto co-op private property.  

Build community 

The number one amenity residents are looking for is a “sense of community,” according to the National Apartment Association and the National Multi-Housing Council. This can be achieved by keeping the members informed about their co-op. One way to carry this out is through a community newsletter.  Lakeview Terrace Cooperative, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, produces the quarterly newsletter, The Cooperator. The newsletter updates and informs members about the co-op and includes a call for suggestions. Subsequently, member feedback is always available to assist in modifying the newsletter and providing suggestions for the next issue.  

The cooperative newsletter also presents an opportunity to introduce new members, announce cooperative members’ birthdays, new births and marriages, cooperative graduates, and membership anniversaries. Newsletter articles can describe upcoming events, discuss capital improvements, and inform members about the most prevalent member issue with regular updates on progress.

The site staff also can take photographs of summer poolside events and outdoor activities to fill the newsletter with images of residents having a great time. As a result of the co-op taking the time to keep members informed, the members feel important and appreciated. Member appreciation is essential to the resident retention program. 

Have Fun

The board of directors and member volunteers should be encouraged to plan and organize activities such as a mini-festival or picnic in honor of the members. Serving up food and beverages, providing door prizes, games, music, children’s activities, lots of great company, and smiling faces are only a few examples of the benefits. For instance, Troy Manor Cooperative in Indianapolis, Indiana, hosts a community picnic each summer.  The picnic has become a “ritual” for the long-standing members for the last 10 years and something to look forward to for new members. The resident retention programs are always successful if the members remain happy. 

Recognize Special Occasions

Everyone loves to receive a birthday card on that special day. The co-op can send members personalized birthday cards with kind words thanking them for being valued members. Individual emphasis personalizes the relationship with the members. On the topic of birthdays, the co-op has a birthday each and every year as well.  What a great opportunity to publish a special newsletter with a birthday tribute theme, documenting the co-op’s accomplishments since the previous birthday. A committee, requesting the support and involvement of other members, could announce plans and goals for the upcoming year and provide highlights from the year’s events involving members.

Informative newsletters, fun picnics, and warm birthday cards are definitely worth talking about. Good news travels fast and so will the sterling reputation the co-op earns with the residents. 

Generate Involvement

Nothing reflects satisfaction and pride like member involvement. Spring and summer time provide the perfect weather for outdoor activities. Since members take pride in their individual flower gardens, a committee could organize a flower decoration contest and reward the winner. The members of the committee could photograph all contestants with their flower gardens for display in the co-op’s office and for publication in the next newsletter--a definite indication to the member the co-op is proud of their hard work.   

Solicit Feedback

 The co-op has a responsibility to seek out information from the members about their standard and quality of living in the co-op. A method to gather this data is via a simple member survey, targeting both maintenance and management areas.  To encourage participation, the survey could include a self-addressed stamped envelope and a friendly cover letter that emphasizes the importance and the serious nature of the survey, and stresses that the “author” may remain anonymous if they wish.

The co-op should acknowledge that the resident retention program always can be improved, so management staff should conduct exit interviews by sitting down with the vacating member and exploring their reason for moving. Members should be able to grade their overall experience with the co-op.  

Reward Participation

The co-op’s sincere and genuine “thank you” places the bow on the resident retention package because members know their active involvement is considered above and beyond. The co-op’s efficiency is directly related to the members’ ability to remit carrying charges in a timely manner. Why not reward those members who continually pay early? After all, remitting carrying charges early is not an obligation. The management could start an “early bird” special and monthly place the names of all early payers in a drawing for a specific prize, such as a unit improvement, the installation of a ceiling fan, or even a carrying charge gift certificate. The management could send all members who enter the drawing a thank you card, so everyone feels like a winner. Three Fountains Cooperative, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, achieves a 95 percent collection rate by continuously offering early bird specials. Currently, the co-op has a partnership with the local Pizza Hut and sends all early payers a free pizza coupon.

Holiday seasons are another great occasion for demonstrating thanks. For example, during the entire month of November, Glenburn Green Cooperative in Ohio distributed 2,000 flyers throughout the property advertising a Thanksgiving dinner valued at $55. Several members participated in the raffle, and the winner sent a personal thank you card to the co-op. In exchange for the dinner donation, the local Kroger grocery store placed several coupon ads in the site office. 

Search for the Lost

            The co-op should attempt to recover lost members. Studies indicate that within the first 30 days of move-in people will decide whether to stay long-term in their new homes. That study also applies in the reverse, so former members might be recaptured if management follows up with former members with incentives, such as offering to pay for their move, utilities hook-up, or security deposit as evidence the co-op values their business and welcomes them back.

Resident retention is all about making the members feel “special.” When the co-op creates security, builds community, has fun, recognizes special occasions, generates involvement, solicits feedback, rewards participation, and seeks after lost members, the co-op is practicing the effective art of resident retention that once mastered, leaves no room for vacancy.

 Valerie Hall is assistant property manager for Kirkpatrick Management Company, Inc. in Indianapolis, Indiana.