We might be biased, but working in a site-based role with a managing agent can be a rewarding and fulfilling career. You get to make a difference to the community you work in, build relationships with residents and help to make places people are proud to call ‘home’. But while the world of hotels and hospitality is well known, site-based roles in residential property management are not always understood. As a result, it’s often not seen as a viable or exciting career path.
Yet it should be. Residential property management combines the best bits of hotels and hospitality: direct customer engagement, solving problems and making a difference. And that comes without some of the downsides, such as transient customers, meeting sales targets or unsociable hours.
We might be biased, but working as a site-based team member can be an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling career. You get to make a difference to the community you work in, building relationships with residents and helping to make places people are proud to call ‘home’.
The proliferation of large, complex estates – with extensive resident amenities, landscaped areas or mechanical and electrical plant – often require site-based personnel to ensure they are operated successfully.
As you would find in a hotel, a large residential development might have a concierge team, cleaning and grounds maintenance operatives, and facilities managers or security personnel – all depending on the physical attributes of the development. A building or development manager might lead this diverse team and oversee the resident experience, just like a general manager would at a hotel.
Working on the front line and dealing with residents directly, these roles are integral in helping to make places feel safe, accessible, pleasant and vibrant.
The cost of funding site-based roles forms part of the service charge – a fee paid by the residents of an estate to fund shared systems, amenities, spaces and communal benefits, such as on-site concierge or maintenance.
As a result, it’s important these teams are properly supported and managed, so they bring residents real value for the service charge they pay.
At Encore, support is provided through our dedicated Estate Operations team who specialise in looking after site-based teams. They work in close partnership with our Property Management team.
Each estate with a site-based team has an assigned Encore Operations Manager who will ensure the team has the training, tools, support and motivation to be their best – delivering for the residents and communities they serve.
To extend the hotel analogy: imagine each site is part of the same hotel brand. The Operations Manager is responsible for ensuring that each location operates at a consistent, high-quality level and is fully compliant.
Attracting and retaining brilliant site-based people who can shine in their roles is an important part of what our team does.
While providing the right environment and conditions is important, as Jason Grieve - Head of Estate Operations here at Encore – explains, we also know from experience that career development and progression opportunities are what really inspire people:
“Within Encore we take a great deal of pride in seeing our people progress within their careers. Whether they’re obtaining vocational training or earning a promotion, supporting these aspirations is all part of our goal – and that goes for our on-site teams just as much as our estate management people. Helping each other achieve our full potential is great for our employees, and that’s great in turn for our clients and the residents we work with – because it means they have brilliant, driven experts looking after their often most-valuable asset.”
Traditionally, site-based roles have been stereotyped as not offering real prospects of progression or career success. And that’s put a lot of ambitious, driven people off - despite the fact they may be a great fit for one of the many varied jobs.
But as the complexity and facilities at some developments has increased, so too has the requirement for talented people to operate these places.
A key part of how we operate is to treat the site-based teams as any other member of our office-based team. That means providing support, training and career development opportunities to help fulfil their career aspirations and realise their potential.
Take Peter, Yaseen, Katie, Sean, Kem and Daniela for example.
Peter - embracing a new Resident Relations Manager role
When Encore took over management of the development where Peter was a site-based Estate Manager, his dedication and hard work were immediately clear. He’s a professional who strives to provide the very best for residents. But he was also keen to further his career.
Seeing Peter’s potential, we developed a unique progression matrix for him using the Encore Academy (our in-house training programme) to give him the tools he needed to succeed.
Eighteen months after joining Encore, Peter gained a founding role in our team at a new luxury development in East London. As Resident Relations Manager, Peter’s new role has been introduced by Encore to evolve concierge services into a more modern and efficient offering – an exciting prospect for a professional who continues to be committed to delivering the very highest standards.
Yaseen – becoming Head Concierge
With Peter in a new role, we reviewed the Estate Manager position and modernised it to ‘Head Concierge’. Yaseen was already the Deputy Estate Manager at the development but, as with any job at Encore, we focus on the skills needed to fulfil a role. We don’t use a title to automatically qualify someone for a promotion when a position above them becomes vacant.
Our career progression matrix lays out what is required for a candidate to obtain a role they aspire to. Yaseen was keen to gain the promotion and, using this matrix with the support of the Encore Academy, he’s since been able to establish the prerequisites for the role.
Since becoming Head Concierge, Yaseen has made a huge impact. Our client aspired to having a real ‘front of house service’ for their development and Yaseen has delivered on that vision. He’s quickly made the role his own and gained the respect and support of his team and peers alike.
Sean - a new, fulfilling career with fresh challenges
Sean’s career with Encore tells a similar story of progression. Sean was employed as Head Concierge at a highly-sought-after development in Midhurst. A converted hospital with listed status, the development has large areas of open space with both managed and natural landscaping.
Encore has managed the estate since it welcomed its first residents, with our small, but brilliant, on-site team ensuring the smooth running of the development and providing bespoke services for residents.
Sean joined us following a prestigious career in the armed services, and quickly gained the confidence and trust of residents - reflected in many positive reviews. As we looked to establish more local control for the development, we created the additional position of a Building Manager. Sean was the right person for the job. Supported by our client, we have embarked on a dedicated training programme for Sean to support his transition into this new and exciting role.
That fully funded programme sees our Academy, additional resources from the Institute of Workplace and Facility Management (IWFM) and NEBOSH Health and Safety level qualifications, all supporting Sean to success.
Katie – finding a rewarding and challenging site-based role
Career success doesn’t always mean climbing the career ladder, however. It can also mean finding a fulfilling role that you can thrive in.
For Katie, it’s been key for her to be in a role that’s challenging, making full use of her extensive customer service expertise and property management knowledge, all whilst allowing for work-life balance.
A site-based role as Estate Manager at an award-winning high-rise London development, has offered just that. Managing a large team and a building that requires a broad range of skills and competencies, Katie delivers an exceptional service – she’s an asset to the Encore team and her development.
Kem - staying at the forefront of industry changes brings new opportunities
For Kem, career success has meant continually developing his skill set and knowledge, particularly in response to current industry challenges.
An experienced Building Manager of a prime development in Regent’s Park, Kem brought with him a drive to always be at the forefront of the industry - having always kept abreast of legislative changes and updating his own training needs.
At Encore we wanted to further aid this development by supporting Kem to achieve his NEBOSH General Certificate. He also recently received a distinction in his NEBOSH Fire Certificate.
But we haven’t stopped there: we wanted to ensure there were clear career progression opportunities for Kem. Given Kem’s willingness to support his colleagues, alongside his knowledge and experience, he was an ideal candidate to take on a Lead Building Manager role at a further development.
The benefits of this new role are two-fold: Kem’s been able to embrace the career development, along with its benefits and status. But we’ve also been able to provide a cost-effective solution for two respective clients, which may not have been achievable were they not partnered with a forward-thinking managing agent.
Daniela – growing her career at a landmark capital development
Starting as Assistant Building Manager at a high-rise, luxury London development with extensive communal amenities, Daniela flourished in the role supporting the community and delivering an excellent service.
Complementing her hard work, the Encore team committed to helping her progress. The Encore Academy helped to solidify and broaden her knowledge, whilst mentoring from our Operations, Training and Estate Management teams gave Daniela the opportunity to tap into expertise from across the business. A clear progression pathway was established, with one-to-one sessions agreeing milestones and opportunities to review Daniela’s growth and progress in her role.
Her goal, to become Building Manager, has since been achieved and she continues to establish excellent relationships with colleagues and residents. But Daniela’s journey doesn’t stop there: she’s now enrolled on the IWFM Level 3 Course in Facilities Management, funded by Encore.Daniela’s expertise and knowledge continue to grow. We’re delighted she’s a part of the Encore team.
We hope the examples we’ve provided show how on-site roles are perfectly suited to ambitious, talented people – who maybe don't get a ‘buzz’ from an office-based job. Or how they can be a great fit for professionals with excellent customer service skills, which they want to put to great use in a challenging and varied role.
Ultimately, site-based careers make a real, positive difference to where people live. If you’re looking for a fulfilling job, where you see, every day, the impact you make, then be sure to explore the opportunities available in site-based roles within property management.
And reach out to us at Encore if you’re looking for a career that can grow with you; we’re dedicated to helping our people learn, grow their knowledge and achieve the career goals they have their sights set on.
Get in touch with our recruitment team to find out more, careers@encoregroup.co.uk
