Technology since the start of the pandemic has transformed multifamily operations at an accelerated pace—but for on-site teams, the gains haven’t come without growing pains.

Since 2020, an explosion of proptech solutions has helped streamline leasing, automate routine tasks, and unlock data-driven decision-making. But that also has layered on dozens of systems, logins, and workflows—leaving site teams to navigate a more complex, tech-heavy role than ever before.

The result, according to industry experts, is a balancing act: leveraging technology to drive efficiency and elevate the resident experience, while avoiding overload that pulls site teams away from their core mission—serving current and prospective renters.

With technology constantly changing, even sometimes on a daily basis, Clare says it’s important to find the tools that move the needle. “How do we help our teams, give them the best tools, but not exhaust them with all the technology?” she shares.

However, while technology might not be reducing the workload, it’s redistributing it.

Taryn Silva, vice president of learning and development at Mill Creek Residential, says 20 years ago, everything was manual.

“We’re shifting back to what matters most—people—while artificial intelligence (AI) handles the basic, introductory questions. That creates space for our teams to focus on more complex, meaningful interactions,” she says. “The technology is helping, but there are always areas for refinement.”

Balancing the Load
Multifamily leaders are cognizant of the site teams’ technology loads and are being thoughtful and intentional to help prevent overload.

According to Estrada, RPM Living is reformatting how its operations look so that technology is enabling the work and not making it more complicated.

In similar fashion, Wendover is leaning into its technology architecture this year with a goal of making the lives of its property management teams easier and better every day.

She says Wendover also engages in listening sessions, doing site visits, and understanding the pain points of new technology to see what the firm could be doing differently. Last year, the firm went through a hybrid organizational restructure, including moving from being decentralized across its communities to a business solutions hub, which is an extension of the communities around areas such as maintenance, operations, marketing, compliance, and human resources.

With so many new technology offerings on the market addressing different pain points, Clare says she has to be careful about what she selects so that she doesn’t overload the site teams with too much change.

Mill Creek also keeps an eye on its core mission of providing homes when evaluating new technology.

“We’ve always said that our industry, rental housing, is about people. Providing housing meets a fundamental need for people,” says Samantha Chalmers, innovation and integrations director at Mill Creek. “Yes, we can add tech, but we can’t lose sight of this core function. And we’re reaching a point in the technological evolution that it’s helping us strengthen this core focus.”

However, there are still improvements with technology that industry leaders would like to see.

“There are so many tools. I feel like pre-COVID, our industry really was behind in terms of technology. During that period, we progressed by leaps and bounds. We adopted a lot. We layered it in, tacked it on, and that allowed us to not only get through the pandemic, but also to make some really significant strides in evolving our operating model,” Estrada says.

But she says interoperability is still one of the greatest challenges as well as overlap and duplication of functionality with a lot of the platforms.

“Some of the systems integrate well, and some absolutely do not. So too often the site team is left bridging the gap manually, and I think that’s one of the clearest opportunities for multifamily today. It’s figuring out how to not just add more technology but really create a more connected ecosystem that will reduce that friction for our associates and for our residents.”

Thoughtful rollouts
A lot goes into the deployment of new technology solutions, including pilot programs, training, and valuable feedback loops, to make the transition as smooth as possible for site teams.

According to Karas, CAPREIT employs a full change management program before introducing a new solution.

“We literally start with the end in mind, and we say, ‘how are we going to train and support our staff to use this new technology? What are the outcomes that we are expecting? What are the KPIs that we’re expecting to know it’s working, and what would cause us to pull the plug on it?’ And we do that before we sign the contract to understand all of those items.”

For Bell Partners and Mill Creek, piloting is critical to make sure the thesis is accurate.

“One of the things that we do pretty well is pilot before we roll out. We spend time thinking about what is going to work and then we test it. We’re not necessarily first adopters. We don’t want to be the guinea pig, but if something seems to be working for others, then we’re willing to test it and see if it works for us,” says Clare.

Silva notes that associate buy-in is critical to successful innovation.

“When our on-site teams clearly see what’s in it for them, they’re more open to change, especially when it makes their jobs easier. If something adds work without meaningful impact, we’ll pause and revisit it at a better time. We’re also intentional about piloting during slower seasons to set teams up for success.”

To support implementation, Mill Creek pairs pilots with structured training and feedback.

Silva says, “We provide rollout training, implementation meetings, FAQs, e-learning, job aids, and continuous feedback loops so we can adjust quickly.”

Chalmers adds she wants to know the good, the bad, and the ugly about the technology solutions.

“When I get the bad and ugly, that’s my favorite thing,” she says. “We learn the most from that kind of feedback. It helps us make the product stronger, have a smoother implementation, and improve training materials, which increase our success rates.”

Chalmers and Silva also say the real-time feedback loops provide valuable information for their vendor partners.

“We’re helping refine this technology to make it better, not just for our customers, but for our residents and our organization. These things the associates are flagging are helping all clients of this vendor partner. I think that also helps our teams stay motivated because they’re seeing the impact of their work in the pilots,” says Silva.

Estrada adds, in addition to the feedback loop, ongoing training is critical.

ZRS employs both in-house and vendor training as well as a mentorship initiative.

“We approach this through vendor training plus internal enablement and ongoing refreshers. We also use power users or champions at the site and regional level so teams have real support, not just a one-time training session,” says Brown. “We also pair new team members with peer mentors so there’s a consistent person they can lean on during onboarding and rollouts.”

Chalmers adds when implemented correctly, developed appropriately, and trained effectively, that’s where you see the technologies give teams back time to invest in the human experience.

Next-Gen Simplicity
Overall, technology is moving the multifamily industry forward, and leaders are optimistic about what additional streamlining will mean for the site teams.

“I would like to continue finding ways to streamline with tools that are more intuitive and easy for our teams to use, both our site teams and our prospects,” says Clare. “Sitting in an office, doing all the paperwork is not where they add value. Being out on the properties, meeting with residents, making sure the properties look good—that’s where they add a lot of value.”

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