Swift Bunny Releases 2020 Multifamily Employee Engagement Analysis

Augusta, GA, March 3, 2021 — Swift Bunny, providers of Ingage by Swift Bunny™, the apartment industry’s first event-triggered, year-round employee lifecycle feedback system, today publishes an analysis of their 2020 Swift Bunny Index based on multifamily employee engagement surveys conducted last year.

The analysis encompasses results of confidential employee satisfaction surveys conducted on behalf of multifamily employers. Survey topics were positive statements and employees were asked how much they agreed with each as well as how important the topic was to them. The results of the two-dimensional survey approach and correlation analyses reveal drivers of employee engagement and disengagement. Employers can use the analysis to identify specific factors that interfere with employee engagement and retention.

The data show various employee groups have different concerns. Here are some of the noteworthy findings:

• Among all position categories, leasing professionals had the lowest overall engagement scores, followed by community managers.
• Maintenance associates’ lowest-scoring topics include that benefits offered do not meet their needs and issues are not responded to within 24 hours.
• Leasing professionals’ lowest-rated topics include not being notified of advancement opportunities and not understanding career and/or promotion paths available.
• On-site managers report the lowest scores for the ability to complete their work on time, indicating that they are overburdened and overwhelmed. This group also reports that issues are not responded to within 24 hours.
• All on-site community team members, regardless of position, express dissatisfaction with compensation and incentives.

Download the complete 2020 Swift Bunny Index Analysis: Issues Impacting On-Site Team Engagement report here.

The apartment industry experiences an annual employee turnover rate of 32.7% according to data from CEL & Associates, Inc. as reported by the National Apartment Association. This figure is almost double the average for all U.S. industries according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s Customized Human Capital Benchmarking Report. According to the Work Institute, each employee departure costs about one-third of that worker’s annual earnings, including expenses such as recruitment and replacement costs, temporary workers, and lost productivity. Reducing employee turnover can have a major impact on multifamily employers’ bottom line.

Joe Bailey, Swift Bunny’s Chief Executive Officer, observed, “Excessive employee turnover is expensive for employers, no doubt about it. It also costs multifamily firms in other ways. When you are short-staffed, you can’t deliver good service to your residents and prospective residents. Employee morale suffers when the remaining team is overworked. Your company’s brand reputation can take a major hit making it harder to attract new residents or employees in the future. That’s why paying attention to what’s driving dissatisfaction, and taking pains to curb it, is critically important for property management leaders.”

Members of Swift Bunny’s leadership team led a discussion of the findings in a complimentary webinar on Thursday, February 11, 2021. A recording of the webinar can be found here.