15 Jun 2023
At PMG, we strive to be a property partner of choice by developing long-term mutually beneficial relationships with tenants, as well as looking at ways to foster continual business improvement. It’s particularly important in the current environment, where industries face unique challenges that are changing at a much faster pace than ever before; from increasing construction costs, supply issues through to inflation, maintaining great relationships ensures we can stay ahead of those changes too.
Our GM Property, Jamie Reid recently shared some insight into how we work to do this.
“Great relationships aren’t built in a day, great relationships are built daily.” It’s an old adage and could apply to any type of relationship but it’s an integral part of how we view relationships with our tenants at PMG.
Generally, tenant and owner relationships are viewed as purely transactional, owners only get in touch when a tenant’s lease is up, and tenants only contact owners if there is a problem that needs to be fixed.
Starting at Day 1
Like in life, most of us like to make a good first impression and for property management this starts at the negotiation stage. Developing good relationships is about arriving at a result that is beneficial for both groups, not about negotiation at all costs. Both tenants and owners should leave the negotiation table feeling like they’ve got a fair deal.
Developing a positive ongoing relationship following a negotiation when one side has purely focused on a win/lose frame of mind becomes much harder, so our philosophy is that the ultimate outcome is to have good quality long-term tenants - and that’s a relationship worth developing for investors, so that starts right at the beginning.
Great relationships are about anticipating needs
Unless you’re keeping up a connection with tenants, it’s hard to know what’s changing as well as what opportunities might exist; whether that’s expanding or contracting with the organisation or even how their spaces could be better utilised.
As an investor and owner of property there are advantages that only an experienced property manager with scale, expertise and systems can provide. This could be as simple as adjusting a carpark configuration, identifying signage rights, working alongside tenants to accommodate growth or a complete property re-positioning.
A benefit of a large portfolio allows us to offer a range of options for tenants if their needs change as they cycle through different levels of growth.
Expectations from tenants are continually evolving particularly in premium spaces and amenities such as end-of-trip facilities, like showers and bike storage, which are now becoming an expected part of the workplace experience.
It’s also about staying close at all points on the tenant journey not when they move in but through onboarding and beyond.
At what point should we know how well a space works after a fit-out and how often does a tenant like to be contacted?
Having people on the ground that can connect locally is something we are continually building upon and working within the communities of the properties we manage is incredibly important.
Great relationships are about doing the right thing
The commercial properties under our care range from large-scale industrial parks to ‘green-star’ rated office buildings and smaller mixed-use office and retail properties throughout New Zealand.
Being a leader in the sustainability space is not purely about symbolic gestures like beehives on the roof, but about having sustainability integrated throughout the whole building; incorporating EV chargers, ensuring that there are recycling options, installing solar panels, and reducing costs to tenants by using less materials.
Our tenants appreciate that sustainability is part of our ethos, which builds trust that we do the right thing, and an imperative part of building great, enduring relationships.
Learn more about our in-house asset and facilities managers and how having an expert team on hand enables us to build long-standing relationships with our stakeholders, and deliver value to our investors, on our Property Management page.
