“The best part of my job is when you make a difference to someone and they say thank you,” says Dawn Toop, who manages a retirement community in Poole, Dorset. At Homelake House, an independent living development, she is responsible for everything from keeping the buildings in great condition to the happiness of residents.
“I love the job because it’s so diverse,” says Toop, who has worked for the property management company FirstPort for nine years. “No two days are the same. I could go from doing a detailed risk assessment one moment to helping a recently bereaved man with his washing machine the next. As well as ensuring that everything is safe for residents, we also do so many little things that affect their lives in a big way.”
Toop is one of FirstPort’s 3,250-strong workforce. Between them, they manage 196,000 residential properties across 3,900 developments in the UK.
Such a diverse scope of work calls for an equally varied staff base – and FirstPort is proud of the way it offers careers to people with all kinds of backgrounds and experience. There is no set route to follow to become a property manager, and it’s often those who least expect it who become the business’s most promising rising stars.
Managing the properties and communities can be something of a challenge, but a hugely satisfying one. John Bain, a development manager for leasehold flats, freehold houses and commercial units in London, relishes his responsibilities, which include safety. He carries out regular checks on everything from fire alarm systems to emergency lighting, and arranges inspections at three-monthly intervals to examine the condition of buildings.
Like his colleague Toop, he’s also there for residents on a day-to-day basis, ready to deal with whatever comes up, whether that’s coping with noisy neighbours or advising on home improvements. “I used to manage a hotel, and this is very similar, except the residents never leave!” he says. “It’s great to help people improve their surroundings, and to be able to forge the kind of long-lasting relationships that you only get in jobs like this – we really are part of our customers’ everyday lives.”
The role also offers something else that Bain values highly: independence. He says that one of the best things is having the freedom to manage his own diary, plan his day and be flexible. For those managing a home and family of their own, this can be invaluable.
It’s all made easier by the use of technology – a big feature of life at FirstPort. The company has already embraced a range of digital communications to help staff work smarter, as part of an ongoing digital transformation programme to modernise and streamline the complexities involved with managing buildings.
The Your Property Online service allows managers and residents to communicate easily about matters such as repairs and payments. Documents and pictures can be uploaded, and managers can quickly contact all the residents on a development if they need to. FirstPort’s teams across the country stay in touch with each other using Yammer and Microsoft Teams – social networking tools for business – and through FirstPort’s own intranet.
The company offers plenty of scope for career development. Rhys Brown began working at FirstPort as a cleaner, doing just three hours a week. He took every opportunity to drive his career forward, working his way up to supervisor, then assistant manager. Now he is a development manager for the Park 25 community in Redhill, Surrey, as well as the neighbouring Foxboro Business Park.
“I’ve done plenty of on-the-job training,” he says. “I’ve been to different sites, shadowing different managers. FirstPort is keen for all colleagues to train up in-house and has been really supportive of me as I’ve done so. For example, I wanted to do a leisure centre manager course and they set that up for me. If you bring something to them, they’re happy to help you develop.”
The company has gone out of its way to make staff development easily accessible, in everything from leadership to resilience, as well as in technical skills such as Excel. Employees are encouraged to improve their knowledge and build their skills through professionally recognised industry qualifications by, for example, taking the Institute of Residential Property Management exams.
Peter Moore, one of the company’s learning and development specialists, spent five years in operations so he knows first-hand the challenges faced by managers on the ground. And he’s not alone: much of FirstPort’s senior leadership team has experience of practical roles, and staff in management positions take a hands-on approach to supporting and mentoring their teams.
Making sure that continuing professional development is effective, Moore says, is all about keeping content up to date and learner-led to ensure everyone gets the most effective learning experience. “The company encourages us to come up with ideas – from new processes to boost productivity, to community activities. At the same time, it offers the reassurance of tried and tested skills across its national portfolio.”
Along with career development, FirstPort prioritises mental health and wellbeing. This includes a programme to train employees to be mental-health first aiders, each able to provide a non-judgmental listening ear for colleagues who might be feeling down.
“We’re very aware that this can be a demanding job – and we have many remote workers and lone workers,” says Callum Austin, FirstPort’s internal communications manager. “Property management is a dynamic career choice, with colleagues taking on a lot of responsibility and making big decisions. We wanted to make sure that there’s always an option to reach out, particularly at a time when a lot of people are going to be feeling anxious.”
In the past few weeks, he has created a dedicated website using SharePoint that collates relevant Covid-19 information, updates and policies, aiming to help the workforce feel supported and informed. Alongside all of the internal information, FirstPort has supported staff by making sure all customers have been kept up to date with regular communication and FAQs relevant to their development.
That support makes for a great place to work, says Moore, who previously worked for companies such as Phones 4u and the electrical retailer Powerhouse. “It’s a friendly environment, and it’s been very welcoming for career changers like me – as long as you can talk to people, we can show you the rest! And whatever you put in, you’ll get out threefold.”
