Property management has come a long way. (Insiders Outlook).

With tenant vacancies up, tenant retention has become just as important as building security for today's third-party property manager. In order to achieve the commercial property owner's proforma leasing goals and financial objectives, "tenant retention" has become the key.

One of the ways that OVA Williams has chosen to effectively retain its tenants is through improved tenant communications utilizing state of the art technology via Internet-based Tenant Response Software (TRS).

Before property management companies had Internet technology, the planning, management and administrative procedures required to manage a portfolio of millions of SF of commercial office building space was a manual process. Property management will always be a challenging proposition, but now with Internet-based software it is a highly manageable one.

Organizing property information, planning staff activities and reports, responding to tenant requests, creating and tracking PM work orders, inventory replacement and controlling equipment maintenance costs is time consuming, given the extensive amount of documentation involved. At GVA Williams we now use computerized tenant requests and preventive maintenance management software to organize and centralize maintenance activities and expedite tenant requests.

Our Internet-based software documents property information and engineering staff activities and improves performance by reducing equipment downtime, repair costs and reporting time. Selecting the right TRS service provider is the key to efficiently managing real estate portfolios--of any size.

Software programs to monitor maintenance, repair and operating applications is not new to sophisticated property management companies. Early software programs kept track of equipment and parts and, when a change or repair was needed, the program created a purchase order that could be faxed or phoned to a supplier. As technology advanced, service providers began developing internet-based programs that could manage and maintain buildings as well as control preventive maintenance. The next logical step was to develop a better more immediate way to service tenant requests.

Since the Internet connects the world in an instant, it makes sense to use the Web to connect tenants to property managers for emergency and standard requests. We have found that our project management portfolio receives tremendous benefits by using an Internet-based system to manage facility operations. At GVA Williams, we manage a portfolio of about 20 million SF and our tenant request software has improved our ability to manage workflow between properties, management staff, tenants and owners. This software approach has allowed us to establish benchmarks for our managed properties and makes us more effective at delivering services to our clients. The bottom line is that improved tenant communications has resulted in improved tenant retention.

Choosing a tenant request software vendor is a detailed process. Property managers need to examine their current accounting management systems to confirm that billing for extraordinary tenant requests is automatic. For instance, we found that a Windows-based system was the most user-friendly to our staff members. We also considered expansion potential. And we evaluated the extent of support services that the vendor could provide. In the end, it came down to cost as the major deciding factor because good TRS systems are expensive. The costs we evaluated included user licenses, transfer software, hardware, on-site consulting, program maintenance fees, help desk service and management throughout the facilities we manage.

After reviewing a number of software systems, we decided on two highly qualified systems providers; Toronto-based Angus Systems Group Limited and the Atlanta based iTendant Systems. These Web-based products are elevated to a new level by making communication to on site engineers wireless.

They are designed to control work order generation, speed distribution and improve management notification throughout the facilities we manage.

The Tenant Request Software allows our tenants to connect with GVA Williams' management staff in numerous ways. For example, tenants can use the Web, e-mail, fax or phone to submit a request. Our experience' is that, after six months, over 60% of all/tenant requests are over the internet. Submitted requests are assigned a confirmation number, which allows tenants to track their request's history throughout the process. When a tenant submits a request, the system automatically notifies GVA Williams' property administrators. After a property administrator identifies appropriate staff, it dispatches the request via a two-way wireless messaging devices (we use BlackBerry). Depending upon the severity of the request, e-mails are also generated to our district; regional and executive staff as well. For most 'hot and cold' calls, the system can automatically dispatch directly to the assigned engineer.