Melanie Dennis: Australia’s Top Property Manager

 

 

 

Domain Property Advocates is actively involved in supporting the community. Tell us about some of these initiatives and their importance to the business.

 

Domain Property Advocates currently supports three World Vision children – our company is a family company and the small cost for our company here is making a big difference to the lives of these children. As directors, we all have small children and feel blessed that we are growing them up in Australia.  

 

I personally travel to Fiji every year to do medical assistance with a team of doctors and nurses through the Hibiscus Trust Fiji. We travel to remote communities to take general medical aid to those who are not able to get to the larger towns where it is supplied more readily. The Trust is now focusing on women’s health and education. I love the education part of the job and working with the women and their families. It makes you realise what you have in Australia and how life really isn’t that hard!

 

Locally, we support schools and sporting teams – we feel it is important to support the community that is supporting our business. It is great to give back to the community and the events that are supported are great fun to attend as well!

 

 

On your website, you prominently display your organisation’s mission and culture, code of ethics and client service charter. How do you ensure your team consistently delivers to these standards?

 

Constant training with the team is important to deliver the level of service that is expected from the clients. Property Management is a lot about systems and procedures and our weekly training covers at least one procedure at each meeting.

 

We are constantly revising the procedure manual – if something has been missed or a task has been done more than once – we are revising as a team to make sure we all have input on how it should be done – then a procedure is produced!

 

We have an external audit of our staff and systems every three months to make sure they are keeping up our standards. We also send surveys to all our clients for feedback. 

 

The computing software program we use has many functions that assist us to manage the properties effectively. You can set tasks in advance, reoccurring to remind you of activities as they become due. The team have their set KPIs to ensure that the tasks that they are supposed to do get done.

 

I am actively involved in the Property Management department and this ensures that  we are all on the same path. To spot check and work in the business as well as on it is very important.

We have an open door policy so when one of the team needs me – I will be there to ensure they are delivering the service the clients expect.

 

The culture we have created is a caring and friendly team environment. It is not a you and us or yours and mine – what comes around, goes around – one team member may need a hand one week and another team member the next. We find it works best that way

 

 

What motivates you to keep on achieving personally and professionally?

 

My motivation is self – natural – not something that I have to keep pushing on I guess. I am never happy with sitting still and always thinking about things to make better and therefore striving to achieve more. I don’t think a job can ever be done – things can always been fine tuned and tweaked to make them better!

 

You are also dedicated to the industry in your role as Chairperson of the REIV Property Management Chapter and founder of the Property Management interest group at the REIV. What is your vision for the field of Property Management over the next ten years?

 

Property Management is a very complex field in regards to not only the system and procedures mentioned above but also the legislation requirements to keep it all together. It is important not to rest on your laurels and to know that you can never know it all.  

 

I would like to see the industry as a whole recognise the service that we supply needs to have a fair fee attached to it and I am always disappointed to see rates for Property Management that are helping a company lose money – perhaps just to get the business for the sales department (in case they sell in the future!) 

 

It would also be great to see the states get together to have one set of rules as combined – I am not silly enough to think this could happen in my life time, however!  I am sure those managing properties on the states’ borders would love this though!

 

This vision requires a collective industry-wide approach. What are some of the things you would encourage Principals and Property Managers to do in order to help achieve this future vision?

 

* Keep educating yourself – don’t wait for your boss to do it – but bosses, do it!!

* Realise that Property Management is a key function of the business and treat it with the same respect as the sales divisions.

* Updated equipment… not back of house anymore.

* Offering career paths within Property Management

* Continual education is something that both employers and employees need to be aware of to keep lifting the standards of Property Management.

 

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