Overview: See what took place at the Spring Connection Meeting for housing authorities in Charleston, South Carolina this past May

The Spring Connection Meeting took place in May this year in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina, and was a huge success! The SMConnection team is happy to announce that we were able to gather individuals together from similar areas of expertise, create dynamic and informative Housing Authority peer groups, and facilitate this group of talented professionals.

How did this Connection experience impact participating organizations? Continue reading to learn key points from the time spent in deep discussion and resolution.

Highlights From the May 2022 Housing Authority Peer Group Meeting:

As usual, SMConnection strives to gather individuals together from similar areas of expertise, particularly those in the housing authority industry. “Connection” is a time of learning, growth, and innovation – an opportunity for experts to identify, discuss, and resolve industry-specific problems that might otherwise go overlooked.

In May 2022, we were able to conduct our annual Spring Meeting in Charleston, South Carolina and facilitate a group of talented Housing Authority professionals. Let’s consider key highlights of this experience, and the impact on participating organizations.

Personnel Strategic Plan

• Implement core values that your team can embody, to create a positive work culture
• Create a space for your employees to share their ideas on what is and isn’t working, in real time
• Conduct meetings that inspire and drive goal completion by recognizing talent and giving credit
• Revisit and revise the processes within your organization that are not working

File Storage

• Do not rush your software conversions! Plan to convert your paper files into electronic versions within at least a year
• DocuStart is a tool to maintain company files, however it does not have a workflow process and is not automated
• Laserfiche can assist with your employees working remotely, as they can upload any documents on the spot while storing client information in their individual profile

Learn more about Laserfiche here.

Show & Tell

This was an opportunity for PHAs to showcase new processes they had implemented to streamline internal processes from submitting work orders to tracking day-to-day productivity across departments.

• One PHA implemented a new app for employees to submit work orders and keep leadership informed on their schedules
• One PHA started a daily, morning meeting with their teams and placed a supervisor in unit on turnovers to increase efficiency
• One PHA developed a fillable PFD form for teams to complete along with a list of instructions and examples of the form to track productivity day-to-day
• One PHA has 76 new duplex and triplex units over 20 acres in development for tenants to move into within a few weeks
• One PHA is working with the Department of Mental Health to open a facility focused on challenged individuals

Future of Housing Authority Industry

• The difficulty of building trust as a large PHA was discussed and resolutions must be made to ensure that they can make lasting connections as an outsider
• Outsourcing can be beneficial, especially to oversee employee transitions, an alternative to using HUD
• Implementing a succession plan for your leadership team is necessary for the success of your organization

Boosting Morale and Handling Turnover

• Restructure your teams around their strengths and weaknesses, create an environment where they can thrive
• Take your stay interviews outside the office to break barriers of communication and receive better actionable feedback
• Consistency builds trust and your team will follow your lead, the payoff will be worth the wait

Retention

• Accessible managers = happy employees
• Schedule regular meetings to identify, discuss, and resolve issues
• Recognize talent and award accordingly

Employee Types

• Train your managers to observe their team individually at how they handle their tasks
• Give the appropriate attention to engaged employees to avoid them feeling overlooked
• Nearly engaged employees are not always a “bad employee” but need to be identified and brought back

Employee Compensation

Transparent compensation conversations between managers and team members builds trust and removes the unknown when it comes to compensation

Base your incentives on the performance of the employee and make it clear you are doing so to make them feel like their compensation is tied to their performance

Set realistic goals for your managers and provide training for them to do the same with their team

Conclusion/Recap:

• Provide quality training within your organization
• Set realistic goals and stick to them
• Recognize talent and provide positive feedback
• Lead by example and the desired employees will follow
• Build trust and relatability by providing organization outings and scheduled days off for your employees

PHAs feel you could benefit from joining a peer group? Our next meeting is November 9th & 10th in Las Vegas visit www.smconnection.cpa to learn more! NPO we are launching our first NPO group January 11th & 12th, 2023 in Riverside, California visit www.smconnection.cpa to learn more!