5 Steps to Streamline Work Order Management

If you're an apartment manager, you know that work orders are necessary for the job. They can be time-consuming to process and manage, but they don't have to be with the right tools.

This blog post will discuss five steps that can help streamline work order management in your business. These steps can help you save time and money while ensuring that your residents are taken care of promptly.

Why Is Work Order Management Important?

Work order management is vital for several reasons. First, it helps to ensure that maintenance requests are processed promptly. This is important because residents want to know that their concerns are being addressed and that they won't have to wait weeks or even months for repairs.

Work order management also helps to keep track of work order costs. It allows you to see how much you're spending on repairs and maintenance to budget accordingly. Work order management can also help improve communication between you, your tenants, and your team.

Finally, work order management helps to ensure that repairs are being made. It prevents residents from submitting the same request multiple times or waiting excessively long for repairs that should have been made weeks ago.

How to Streamline Work Order Management

Every apartment manager should strive to streamline work order management. By following a few simple steps, you can save yourself time, money, and headaches.

• Analyze Your Work Order Process

The first step to streamlining work order management is to examine your current process. How are work orders submitted? How are they processed? How are they completed? By examining your work order process, you can identify any areas causing delays or problems.

Your goal in this step is to find ways to make your work order process more efficient. One way to do this is to switch from a paper-based system to an online maintenance request system. Online systems are typically much faster and more efficient than paper-based systems.

Another way to streamline your work order process is to create a set of standard procedures that all employees must follow. It will ensure that work orders are being submitted and processed consistently.

Looking into these issues not only helps to improve work order management but also improves communication and overall workplace efficiency.

• Make a List Of Prioritized Work Orders

As the second step, you should list all the work orders that must be prioritized and completed. This will help you better manage your time and ensure that the most urgent requests are handled first.

For example, a repair causing a health or safety hazard usually precedes a cosmetic issue. Similarly, a repair that is likely to be expensive or time-consuming should be given priority over one that is relatively inexpensive and quick to fix.

By prioritizing work orders, you can ensure that the most pressing issues are addressed in a timely and efficient manner.

A property management software tool like ExactEstate can help you track work orders and prioritize them based on urgency. Without a system like this, work orders can easily slip through the cracks.

• Set Expectations With Tenants And Your Team

It is essential to set expectations with tenants and your maintenance team from the start. Tenants should know how long it will take to process and complete their work order.

If you have a policy of only addressing work orders submitted online, you should ensure that your tenants know this and let them know how long they can expect to wait for a response.

It's also important to establish expectations with your maintenance team. They should understand how you want work orders handled and what your highest priorities are.

Since you already have a list of prioritized work orders, you can easily assign each one to a member of your team. This will help ensure that the work is completed quickly and efficiently.

• Automate

Once you have analyzed your work order process and made a list of prioritized work orders, it's time to start automating.

There are many ways to automate work order management. As mentioned above, a property management software tool can help you keep track of work orders and automatically assign them to a member of your team.

Another way to automate work order management is to set up automatic reminders. Software solutions like ExactEstate can handle this for you automatically, reminding both tenants and your team of upcoming deadlines.

Investing in these automation solutions will save you a lot of time and money in the long run. The features and functionality of an online work order process will help streamline work order management and make your job easier.

• Adjust And Improve As Needed

The final step is to adjust and improve your work order process constantly. This is an ongoing process that should be revisited regularly.

You will likely find ways to improve your new system as you use it. For instance, you may want to add additional fields to your online work order form or change the way work orders are assigned to your team members.

Don't be afraid to make changes to your process as needed. The goal is to streamline work order management and make it as efficient as possible. By constantly adjusting and improving your strategy, you can ensure that you are always using the best possible system.

Bottom Line

Work order management can be a complex and time-consuming task for a property manager. Without a streamlined process, it can quickly become overwhelming.

Following the steps outlined above, you can streamline work order management and make your job easier. A property management software solution like ExactEstate can greatly simplify work order management.

The software includes powerful tools for making work order management easier.

With ExactEstate, you can quickly and easily create work orders, track progress, and communicate with tenants. As a result, you'll be able to spend less time on work order management and more time on other important tasks.

Contact us today to learn more about how ExactEstate can help you streamline your work order management process.