Dan Oltersdorf | Student Housing Blog

What is your purple goldfish?

2010-06-09T06:56:00.000-07:00

Thanks to @barrymoltz, I just read the @9INCHMarketing ebook: “In Search of Your Purple Goldfish*,” by Stan Phelps. It is brief (only 38 pages), and it is worth the read.

Unlike my "Puking Baby Policy", the concept of a Purple Goldfish is something that CAN be proceduralized. In fact, that is a key ingredient. A Purple Goldfish is something every customer gets...

I won’t try to give you the entire concept (read the book, and add your ideas to the Purple Goldfish Project!), but in essence, the “purple goldfish” is something above and beyond that you consistently give to your customer that sets you apart. Think of Southwest (your bags fly free), the "baker's dozen," the warm cookies you get every time you check into a DoubleTree hotel, or for those of you who have ordered from Zappos, their VIP upgrade with free overnight shipping after your 2nd order.

Phelps contends there is no such thing as ‘meeting expectations,’ in customer service anymore. We either fail to meet expectations, or we exceed them. Meeting them is a thing of the past and it is NOT ENOUGH.

Read the eBook, (see some ideas starting on page 28) and think about what your purple goldfish are. Here are some ideas from some Campus Advantage properties to get you started:

Move-ins… Having cold water and snacks in the apartments for people as they are moving in. Having a dedicated staff member during the move-ins whose job is simply to hand out ice pops on a hot day.
Door to door package delivery… instead of making residents come to the front desk, we deliver packages to them at their room or apartment
Milk & cookie carts during finals week.
Every team member, from CA to porter to GM provides a friendly greeting 100% of the time to any person we encounter on a property, prospect or resident.
Concierge booklet at the front desk with everything from pizza delivery numbers to who to call if you are struggling in your physics class.

These are just a few to get you started… ask yourself, what will stand out? What will people tell stories about?

What else are you doing that qualifies as a “purple goldfish?” What else SHOULD you be doing that will make you stand out?

Do you have a puking baby policy?

2010-06-08T19:06:00.000-07:00

My family is sick. The stomach bug has hit. Hard. It started Friday with Grace, my 3.5 year old, then hit my wife and 1.5 year old (Lydia) today. Today, I left work early to take the girls to the doctor.

I have been trying to find a part to fix my lawn sprinkler system, but the place that carries them is a commercial outlet that primarily serves contractors and isn't open on the weekends. Since it is a Tuesday, and I had left work early, I decided to stop by with the girls on the way to the doctor. I showed up at DBC Irrigation Supply with both girls in tow. Grace was crying, and I held Lydia in one arm as I waited for the staff member to find the replacement solenoid valve I was looking for.

Just as the staff member came back to the counter with the replacement part, Lydia started to throw up on me. It started small, then turned into something out of the exorcist. Thankfully, my shirt caught pretty much all of it, and the floor was spared. This is where my customer service story starts.

Immediately, 2 different employees came toward me with towels to help clean Lydia (and me) off. Another one went to wet some paper towels. Then, yet another employee asked my shirt size and went into a back room, returning with a T-Shirt.

I left with my solenoid, but more importantly, I left as a raving fan and evangelist for DBC Irrigation Supply.

So, what's the customer service takeaway here? Most of you won't have vomiting children in your place of business on a regular basis (I hope). This type of customer service is different.

Today, I experienced a type of customer service that can't be proceduralized. This was an industrial outlet, and I can almost guarantee I was the first person who ever walked into this supply warehouse and had a baby puke all over him... yet the employees responded with more initiative and empowerment than I would expect in many high class establishments.

This is a type of customer service that can't be planned for. You can't create a puking baby policy. This type of customer service requires employees who are empowered to make decisions on the fly that reflect your core values, your ethos as a company.

Have you trained your employees to do whatever it takes to serve customers? Do they feel empowered to give away a tshirt?

At Campus Advantage, we have a philosophy that empowers each of our employees, whether they are student staff or corporate team members to do whatever it takes to serve our customers well.

Get together with your team today and discuss your Puking Baby Policy.

PS... If you are ever in need of irrigation supplies, you know where to go.

How to make angry customers happy

2010-03-12T08:05:00.000-08:00

In a previous post, I shared my negative experience with ATT after they initially refused to work with my dad, who has Parkinson's. This one obviously hit close to home (I was MAD), so I blogged, tweeted and facebooked about it... as I mentioned in that post, I became "that guy."

This is a long-overdue follow-up to my original post, with how ATT made the situation right.

So, what does it take to make an angry customer happy? What does it take to make an angry customer turn into a fan? ATT succeeded in making this happen.

In this post, I'll share what ATT did to turn this situation into a positive one, what I believe they could have done to avoid it in the first place, and what we can all take from this situation.

After my dad having no luck at the ATT store, and receiving no help by calling ATT's customer service, my social media campaign began. I started by Facebooking about it. I was just venting at that point, but I was joined by many friends who had less than stellar opinions of ATT. Within a very short amount of time, a dozen of my Facebook friends had commented about how bad they thought ATT was.

I then wrote my blog post about the situation and sent it to @ATTCustomerCare.

After I sent my previous post to @ATTCustomerCare and @ATTtina, I received a direct message followed by a phone call within hours from @ATTtina, a customer service manager in Baton Rouge. She immediately identified an existing policy at ATT that provides exceptions for disabilities. She emailed me with the form, and followed up to ensure that my dad's situation was taken care of. They provided an exception for him (existing policy for disabilities), including not only activating his service on the new phone, but providing free 411 and voice dialing for him.

So, what can we take from this?

1) Ensure you have the training & communition in place to prevent misinformation in the first place.
2) Empower your front line people to find solutions and satisfy customers.
3) You will have slip-ups. Be willing to clean up the mess and work to fix it, like @ATTTina did for me

ATT, you probably could have avoided this with better broad-level training on existing policies, but at the end of the day, you made this angry customer happy. Thanks!

Stopping to thinking about the big picture. Strategic vs Tactical

2010-03-12T06:48:00.000-08:00

About 7 years ago, I was running my own business operating ResidentAssistant.com, providing consulting services in the student housing world, and providing speaking and training services focused on student housing and student leadership.

I wanted to find ways to expand my reach, and increase my impact in the world, but had no idea how it would happen. Within a few short months, I my business in as part of Campus Advantage, one of my consulting clients.

7 insane and exciting years later, we still operate ResidentAssistant.com, we are the largest provider of student housing consulting services, and I have had the chance to reach out to thousands of people through my speaking. Through our student housing, we have served over 100,000 students. We have over 900 employees and 30,000 residents.

The reason I include that narrative in this post is that I have realized lately more than ever, that my role has been shifting from the tactical to the strategic. When it was just me working from a home office in Aurora, CO, I was a one man show. There was certainly strategic aspects to what I was doing, but my hours were filled with tactical moves. I was operating the inner workings of the machine.

7 years later, I am forcing myself to focus much more on the strategic, bigger picture. It's not easy. On a daily, almost hourly basis, I find myself asking "is this what I should be focused on?" I sometimes find myself "slipping" away from the big picture, and out of habit, I begin to get involved in details and tactical initiatives. At times, this is necessary, but the lesson I am learning is to raise a flag every time this happens, and ask myself a few questions:

Is this absolutely necessary for me to do? We have an amazing team of people, each of whom come armed with different talents, skills and abilities. I am not a one man operation anymore. If I am unnecessarily spending time doing something that distracts from areas I should be focused on, it detracts from the entire team... the entire company.
How does what I am doing now related to our Mission, Vision & Purpose? I have my primary areas of focus written on my giant whiteboard in my office. Each of these fall under our company mission, vision and purpose:

PURPOSE: Our purpose is to serve and inspire our employees and residents to achieve their full potential.

Mission: We are on a mission to lead the world in creating financially successful communities that excel in providing rewarding living, learning, and career experiences.

Vision: We envision a world where more people are leading successful and enriched lives.
What have I done in the Strategic Realm today? The reality is, I have plenty of "tactical" things that must be done on a daily basis, but if I allow it to reduce the effectiveness of strategic thinking and big picture initiatives, the returns are diminished.
Is this on my "do not do" list? In addition to my "to do list", I have taken the advice of Mike Peter, our CEO and created my Do NOT Do list. These are areas that I know I tend to engage in that are not a part of my primary areas of focus.

Whether your role is focused on the tactical, the strategic, or a combination of both, take some time today to analyze how you are spending your time and resources. Where do you want to be? Will what you are doing RIGHT NOW get you there?

Are you joining the Customer Service Conversation?

2009-11-23T10:05:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: AT&T did a fantastic job responding to my issue after I used Twitter. Will post a new entry with details soon.

This weekend, I became the upset customer.

The one who believes your company has bad customer service and is going to tell the world about it.

Yeah. I became that guy.

Here's the story...

My dad has Parkinson's disease. As it relates to the issue at hand, part of the effect of the disease for him is that he has difficulties with a phone that has small keys, due to his tremors and also he has some cognitive challenges with new and complex tasks. It's part of Parkinson's, a degenerative, neurological disease.

He previously owned a PDA with a similar interface to my AT&T Windows Mobile based phone, and having a large screened phone that would sync his schedule and contacts with Outlook is exactly what he needs as a part of the suite of tools he uses to live with Parkinson's.

One problem. ATT says that if you have a smartphone, you must buy a data plan. Even if you don't need one (which he does not). Financially for AT&T, I would understand if it applied only to customers signing a contract on a phone that was being subsidized via said contract, (ie, "sign for 2 years and get a $500 phone for $50") but for those who already own a device or pay retail for it, this policy is simply bad customer service.

The point of this post isn't just to vent about AT&T. What I want to point out here is that this conversation could be (and probably is) happening about your company. There might be a policy in your organization that doesn't make sense. There may be a staff member who is poorly representing your services. You might have a legitimate or perceived (just as important) problem going on right now! Do you know about these conversations?

I posted a little rant about this issue on Facebook, and received a number of replies about how bad the customer service at AT&T is. I wonder how many of these people actually shared their concerns with someone at AT&T. I wonder how many of their concerns were actually heard by someone who could do something about it? (Edit: I did call AT&T with no luck other than a policy being recited to me with no explanation. I also reached out on Twitter.. will keep you posted).

Conversations about your customer service are happening every day. They are occuring internally and externally. They are happening on the phone, face to face, and online. In student housing, I would argue that these conversations are happening even more frequently due to not only the nature of our tightly knit student population and the communities we build, but also the fact that students are one of the most vocal groups in the online social media world.

So, regardless of whether you are in student housing or elsewhere, what are you doing to join the conversation?

Here are a few tips for ways to join the customer service conversation:

1) Ask questions. Whether done formally using survey tools, or informally as a question consistently added to every customer interaction, ask your customers to tell you what you can do better, and what they think of your customer service.

2) Create mechanisms across the organization for your team to communicate customer concerns and issues to those who can do something about it. Ensure your team not only understands you have an open door policy, but that they are empowered to take steps to improve customer service.

3) Join the conversation online. Any company needs to be strategic about establishing a social media presence, and even more strategic in how they approach their online social media strategy. Regardless of the method you choose, whether it's a very hands on approach like @comcastcares, or a less resource intensive presence in the social media world, you need to be there and at the very least, be aware of what is being said about your company.

4) Commit to doing something about it, and letting customers know that a) they are heard, and b) what they say carries value. Sometimes that is all it takes.

Join the conversation!

Bed Bug Resources for Student Housing Operators

2009-09-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

"Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite." ~ unknown

This phrase never meant much to me until I entered the world of student housing and found out what a nightmare bedbugs can really be. Bed bugs are a real problem, and can quickly escalate to a major crisis. Contrary to common belief, this issue can and does affect anyone. Bed buds are not restricted to "nasty, filthy unkempt buildings" (or residents). Bed bugs are brought in on individuals and belongings and can cause a problem anywhere.

This post will provide a repository of information, tips, links and resources for education, prevention and response to bed bugs in student housing. Please reply to this post with resources you would recommend and tips you have. I will compile these and continue to edit this post. (I have a plethora of resources I will add, but figured I'd throw it out there first to see what you all would want to share!)

Links:

Response Protocol (I may break this into different posts shortly)
Thanks to Steve Johnson at Central Washington University for allowing me to share the following information that he has compiled:

Topic – Bedbugs and the Procedures To Prevent Infestation and/or Eliminate Infestation

Protocol for new bedbug infestations

The discovery of bedbugs should lead to a concisely orchestrated effort as follows.

All bug bites should be reported to the Housing Office and the warehouse crew will be notified for an immediate inspection of the room. If no bedbugs are found, the room will be re-inspected and monitored each week for the next three weeks by both our warehouse crew and Willard Pest Control. If something other than bedbugs are found, the room will be treated by Willard Pest Control with the appropriate chemical. At the end of the fourth inspection, if no bedbugs are found, the room will be declared bedbug free and return to normal status. No tenants will be moved if no bedbugs are found during the inspection period.
If bedbugs are found during an inspection after bug bites are reported, the tenant/tenants of the room will need to follow the procedures listed below and professional staff will need to initiate and make sure all procedures are followed one hundred percent correctly.
All involved individuals must meet with staff and review this protocol and any special circumstances should be discussed before any action is taken.
The appropriate steps will be decided upon and clarified in this meeting. Parties involved will include tenants, staff, warehouse leads, building maintenance personnel, pest control personnel, and the Facilities Manager from Housing.
All items must remain in the room initially to keep bedbugs contained.
The tenant/tenants in the infested room will gather up whatever clothes they need for a three to five day stay at the clean room located at Kennedy Hall. These clothes should be washed in hot water and dried in a dryer at 130 degrees or higher for one hour. The tenant/tenants will then remove the clothes they are wearing and put clothes on that have just been laundered and place the clothes they were wearing back in their rooms. No other items should be removed from the room. Any other items needed for the three to five day stay should be purchased at a local store (save receipts). At this time, the lock shop will be called and the lock will be changed. The only access to the infested room after this point will be through warehouse employees and under their direct supervision.
If properly heat-treated and inspected a few necessary personal items may be transported to the clean room in Ziploc™ or other re-sealable containers. These few personal items are to be “cleared” through the Housing Facilities Manager or Warehouse Leads.
All remaining items left in the infested room will be packed up and taken to a fumigation trailer to be fumigated. This would include clothing, computers, books, bedding, all furniture (including built-in and free standing), electronics and shoes. The fumigation process takes 36 hours and has no adverse effect on whatever is being fumigated with the exception of killing anything that is living, including plants.
While the fumigation process is underway the room will first be thoroughly vacuumed in all areas including all cracks and crevices, (after each use, the vacuum bag should be discarded in dumpster), steam clean every square inch of room, including behind shelves, bookcases, molding, drapes and closets. After steam cleaning, all cracks and crevices should be sealed and the room should be treated with the appropriate chemicals. The final step in the process is to seal the bricks with an appropriate brick sealer (three coats) and apply two coats of hard wax to the floor. This seals in any eggs or bedbugs that the vacuuming, steaming or spray missed. Follow up inspections; sticky traps and spraying are required to make sure all bedbugs are dead. If the floor is carpeted they will need to be steam cleaned.
The whole process should take between five to ten days to complete and then the room can be re-occupied.

Who is responsible for what:

1) Hall Staff

A) Notification
B) Postings
C) One on One with students and parents
D) Counseling

2) Housing Office

A) Notification
B) Postings
C) Re-assignment

3) Housing Facilities Manager

A) Coordination of Procedures
B) Notify Pest Control Company
C) Notify Fumigation Company
D) Notify Maintenance Department
E) Notify Warehouse Crew of any special concerns or needs
F) Follow up on everything

4) Warehouse Crew

A) First inspection
B) Make sure all involved parties are following all procedures
C) Steam clean items before removing them from room
D) Taking cloths to Laundry and deliver back to students
E) Take items to Fumigation Trailer
F) Call Lock Shop for room re-key
G) Steam clean every inch of room
H) Restore furniture in room
I) Call lock shop to re-key room back to room key

5) Maintenance Crew

A) Remove built in furniture upon request from Pest Control Company
B) Seal Bricks
C) Re-install everything that needs to be re-installed

6) Laundry

A) Wash and dry Bedbug infested cloths

7) Custodial Crew

A) Wax hard floors and/or steam clean carpets

8) Pest Control Company

A) Inspect Rooms
B) Cracks and crevice seal
C) Heat treat rooms
D) Spray and dust rooms
E) Follow up inspections, spray and dust

9) Lock Shop

A) Re-key infested rooms
B) Re-key rooms back to room key

10) Fumigation Company

A) Fumigate trailer
B) Exhaust trailer

Re-occupying a room:

After the room is cleared and released for reoccupation it should start with a bedbug-conscious setup.

All clothes should be hung in the closet or stored in sealed plastic containers “bug proof” containers.
All bags and items used on a daily basis should be set on tables and shelves and not left on floor or around the bed.
Bed should be isolated—legs kept on glue boards and spaced away from walls and furniture.
Additional glue boards should be installed and checked by tenants occasionally. These should be placed at head and foot of bed and behind each adjacent piece of furniture.
Brief, but frequent inspections (2 min) of headboards and bedside furnishings will take place over the next four to five weeks.

Preventative Measures

It is crucial to follow these steps for anyone involved either directly, through relationship to the primary victims, or proximity to the infestation. These steps also pertain to previously non-infested rooms moved into in response to the infestation.

Interior Crack and Crevice Treat with insecticide (Demand™, Phantom™) and void dusting (DeltaDust™,Drione™) rooms that have been moved into in response to bedbug discovery.
Monitor these rooms with sticky traps (head and foot of bed and behind adjacent furniture).
Treat (and monitor if appropriate) in the same fashion, all common rooms listed below that apply. (Don’t forget to post mandatory notifications in advance!)
Maintain clutter free rooms, especially around the bed. Do not store cardboard boxes or other items under or around the bed.
Cover mattresses and box springs with high quality allergy prevention covers (strong and durable with tightly sealing zippers) intended for dust mite control. The cheapest ones tear easily and help little.
Keep all newly washed and dried clothes and other miscellaneous items within the room in tightly sealable plastic bins or bags leaving the containers sealed tightly after each use. These are “quarantine containers” that may be considered “bug-free” if appropriately maintained.

Procedural Guide for Bedbug Control in Large Multi-resident Establishments

Areas to be treated:

Each infested room
Adjoining and adjacent rooms
Halls and stairways
Elevators
Common rooms
Laundry
Custodial and Maintenance closets
Other rooms visited often

Items most commonly infested

Mattress
Headboard
Wall fixtures near bed
Beneath baseboards
Behind wallpaper
Chairs & Couches
Items under and around bed
Dressers
Electronics including clocks, phone, TV especially near bed
Desks
Clothes
Suitcases, bags, backpacks, purses
Boxes of miscellaneous items
Books

Student Housing Resources for H1N1 (Swine Flu)

2009-08-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

As an operator of around 30,000 beds of student housing, we @campusadvantage are very aware of the potential impact of Novel H1N1 Flu or Swine Flu on college and university campuses around the country. Student residential environments are particularly susceptable, due both to the proximity of living arrangements and the fact that H1N1 seems to be hitting young people particularly hard, unlike regular seasonal flu, which tends to impact the very young and the elderly. According to this blog post, the CDC has actually recommended that those under the age of 24 get vaccinated.

We have been preparing since Swine Flu first hit the headlines in April, and have been anticipating the surge we are already seeing as students return to school. Our focus is now on both prevention and response, as we have 6 cases thus far.

In this post, I will attempt to bring together as many resources as possible to assist other student housing operators in continuing to prepare and provide effective response and education to residents and parents.

Please reply to this post if you have any additions, suggestions or comments. I would also be happy to share other information such as the letters we have sent out to residents at the community where we have identified confirmed cases.

Campus Advantage Resources: We have put together an internal resource page at http://www.campusadv.com/h1n1. This includes useful links and other information that may prove to be good reference information.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

H1N1 Home
CDC information for Schools, Colleges and Universities

Preparing for the Flu: A Communication Toolkit for Institutions of Higher Education: This toolkit includes informational posters, sample letters, sample text messages, fact sheets, frequently asked questions and answers, as well as resources and materials related to H1N1.
Social Media Toolkit - This page includes widgets you can use on your webpages and blogs, as well as RSS feeds, podcasts, links to Twitter and Facebook, and mobile resources.
Widgets: You can find useful widgets at the department of Health and Human Services site, and at the CDC site. (See one of the widgets at the bottom of this post)
Detailed guidance from the CDC. Their information about self-isolation is particularly relevant to those in student housing.

Student Housing Specific Resources:

H1N1 posts on the ACUHO-I blog
ACUHO-I blog post with links and resources including sample pandemic plans

Other resources specific to Higher Education:

American College Health Association Website for H1N1
Paper-Clip Communication Resource Site (includes free PDF downloads)
Paper-Clip's Swine Flu Education Blog

H1N1 Higher Education Widget. Flash Player 9 is required.

Ready or not, here they come!

2009-07-28T16:53:00.000-07:00

Millions of students are about to return to campuses all over the United States.

Those of us in the student housing world have been busily preparing since the day our residents walked in the door last year. Currently, last minute details are being finalized, rooms are being prepared, staff are being trained, and opening details are being finalized. As one student who worked for Macy's previously pointed out to me, this is our "holiday season." This time of year will shape the rest of the year, for better or for worse.

Are you ready?

Do you have a plan in place to build a sense of community among your students?
Will you have a smoothly orchestrated move-in that leaves students feeling excited and parents reassured?
Are your service levels up to par with the high expectations of today's students (and their parents)?
Do you have a plan for helping your residents to engage with their academic institutions?
Do you have social, educational and developmental events, activities and resources ready to go?
Is your staff well-trained to effectively build community, handle crisis, connect students with the unique resources and services they need?

Hopefully, your answers to each of these questions are each a resounding YES! If so, you have set the foundation for success this academic year and beyond.

Good luck!

Setting Goals... and Reaching Them

2009-07-08T06:50:00.000-07:00

When was the last time you took a look at your short, medium and long-term goals? When was the last time you revised them? For the past 10 years, I've had the opportunity to speak to thousands of college students and other college leaders about leadership. Much of what I share centers around a topic I'm very passionate about, the topic of "VISION."

Part of having a strong vision as a leader is being intentional about operating within that ever-refining vision, and working to make sure that what you are doing today is moving you closer to where you want to be tomorrow.

That brings up some key questions:

Do you have a broad vision that is guiding your goal-setting? Setting goals without a broader guiding vision is pointless
Based on your guiding vision, have you set key goals for the short term, mid term and long term?
How often do you review these goals, and are you defining, taking and tracking action steps to accomplish them?

Find 1 hour this week to visit your goals and honestly ask yourself what you are doing to further them. Are you treading water? Are you running in place? Are you just shadowboxing, or are you actually getting somewhere in accomplishing your goals?

Fast-Forward, Rewind: Approach to decisions in crisis

2009-05-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

We deal with a lot of crises in student housing. As the point person for the Campus Advantage Rapid Engagement (CARE) team, I am often one of the first people to respond at a corporate level to crises.

When making decisions in crisis, having sound and well-thought out policies and procedures are essential, which is why we do a lot of planning for every crisis type we can think of.

There are also several keys to consider when making decisions in crisis, and I thought I'd share one here that I think about every time I deal with a crisis now.

I call it my "Fast-Forward, Rewind" approach to decisions in crisis. I find that surprisingly, some people tend to err on the side of under-reaction in crisis, when at times, the opposite approach is warranted.

I have started to apply this technique as part of my thought process in making decisions in crisis, and find it often creates clarity.

First, "fast-forward" to potential ramifications of the action(s) being considered. Consider the potential results of taking action (or inaction, as the case may be). Think worst and best-case scenarios.
Now, "rewind" to the decision at hand. Consider how this decision would look in hindsight given the potential outcomes you considered in step 1.
When possible, run your decision by someone who is not directly involved in the crisis at hand.
Finally, I believe it is best to err on the side of over-responding in crisis.

When combined with following pre-determined procedures and policies, this can help guide you in making on-the-spot decisions in crisis.

Remember, when it comes to crisis, there is no substitute for advanced planning and preparation, but hopefully this technique can add to your "toolbox" for making quick decisions in crisis.

IF MOM CAN’T NAVIGATE IT, NEITHER CAN YOUR PROSPECT

2009-05-11T08:46:00.001-07:00

Here's a great article from @Eric_Urbane about website design: IF MOM CAN’T NAVIGATE IT, NEITHER CAN YOUR PROSPECT.

The premise is this, Have you clearly defined want you want your prospects to do once they visit your web site? ASK MOM, IF SHE CAN’T NAVIGATE IT, NEITHER CAN YOUR PROSPECT When is the last time YOU visited you own web site?

No matter who your audience is, this is a good reminder.

Posted using ShareThis

Who to follow? #studenthousing

2009-05-05T08:58:00.001-07:00

Who should student housing folks be following on Twitter? This post and the Student Housing twibe are an effort to compile a good list of folks to follow on twitter for those of us int he student housing world. Join the Twibe, and post your replies here to create a list in the reply thread.

Think individuals in the industry, publications, companies... let's build a great list!

Publications for Student Housing Professionals?

2009-05-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

@jonathanbove and I are putting together a list of publications useful for student housing folks. He started this via twitter, so I thought I'd create a post on it here. Please add to the list below by replying to this post.

Talking Stick (ACUHO-I)
Chronicle of Higher Education
UNITS Magazine
MFE Magazine
JPM the Journal for Property Managers IREM mag

Be sure to check out the resources post for additional online publications, associations, and blogs.

Student Housing Industry Resources #studenthousing

2009-05-04T14:11:00.001-07:00

Student Housing Resource Links:

Blogs & Groups:

Employment:

Resources:

Associations:

ACUHO-I (Association for College & University Housing Officers)
NAA (National Apartment Association)
NMHC (National Multi-Housing Council)

This list is just starting up. Please add to it!

@starbucks w Lydia

2009-05-02T08:47:00.000-07:00

Testing out the phone/blogger connection. Sent this via email from my phone. Pretty cool.

Crisis: Opportunity Riding on a Dangerous Wind

2009-05-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

I recently wrote on this blog about the true purpose and vision of @campusadvantage and was reminded of it again yesterday. I had a Friday full of crisis. We had to activate our CARE (Campus Advantage Rapid Engagement) team to provide extra support to the staff and students at one of our communities at which a crisis was unfolding. It was a crazy Friday. Our team was amazing.

As I went through our planned procedures for dealing with the situation at hand, I consciously stepped back and thought about the human impact of the situation and was reminded that the best policies, procedures, tools and response mechanisms are all in place simply to better serve PEOPLE. This is what we are about.This is what we do. We serve students. We strive to make a difference in their lives by the way we operate, the communities we build and the opportunities we create.

This mindset can be easily lost, especially in the midst of crisis.

I've been told that the Chinese symbol for crisis is translated as "opportunity riding on a dangerous wind." Usually when it comes to humans in crisis, this opportunity is to step in and make a difference.

What is the opportunity in the crisis you are facing today? Think about it.

Nothing has changed except for the tools.

2009-05-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

Since no one else with a blog has ever written a post about social media or social networking, I figured I'd step up.

OK. I lied. There are over 80 million Google results for the term social networking. There are countless self proclaimed "gurus", free ebooks, expensive twitter seminars, and dummies books about the topic. I go to a conference without hearing about social media mastery, Facebook 101, or how social media is changing the world of student housing. I've even presented some of these sessions, yet...

I call bullsh!t.

Nothing has really changed except for the tools. Most of the "gurus" understand the tools, but many miss the point.

I admit, I am a bigger geek than most. I get excited about the newest Facebook feature, the shiny new Twitter app, and the next real time social media application. I just checked in on Brightkite. This blog entry will automatically turn into a tweet. My runs are mapped and logged by my phone and recorded on Facebook through MapMyRun.

I get excited about geeky stuff, but at the end of the day, these are just new tools for an age-old principle. People want to connect. People want relationships. People need people.

What does this mean? I learn a lot from these gurus, and so should you. You must keep up with the latest social media strategies. Look at the cool stuff being done all over the industry. You must innovate. You must keep up and keep others chasing you down. But you must not miss the point. Don't miss the relationship. Don't forget things really haven't changed. From telegrams to twitter or pigeons to Pidgin, the need for connection is constant. The tools are just helping us get there in different ways.

Running a values led business

2009-04-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

When I joined Campus Advantage almost 6 years ago, I was drawn by the contagious enthusiasm of the founders, who have a true passion for serving students. Of the owners, the majority of us started out as RAs. This aligned perfectly with my vision and values, so I joined Campus Advantage, bringing my RA website and speaking under the umbrella of this brand new organization.

Fast-forward 6 years. Campus Advantage was just named to the Inc 5000 list as the 541st fastest growing privately held company in 2008. We have nearly 1,000 employees and manage over 30,000 beds of student housing. I have had the opportunity to work with students now numbering in the hundreds of thousands, and to train thousands of student leaders.

Back to the title of this post... Running a Values-Led Business. Campus Advantage was founded and is run with a strong set of values and a dual bottom line of putting Students First and being financially successful as well.

Today, as I reflect on the past 6 years, I am determined more than ever to keep the core vision and values of Campus Advantage live and well at every level of our organization, from the student staff to the senior leadership of the company. As we grow, this core sense of purpose becomes increasingly important yet increasingly difficult to maintain, but it deserves every ounce of energy we can pour into maintaining our core ethos and working to make this set of values play out in our every-day business operations.

I am currently preparing to conduct a couple of Students First res life conference calls with our site staff. I have to honestly ask the question, "do our team members understand this vision we have of making a difference in the lives of students? Are the folks who are working directly with our residents truly "bought in" to the bigger vision of Campus Advantage?" I plan to pose that question on these calls, and I will never stop asking that question. This is what makes us who we are and what we can become.

These are the folks who are arms and legs of our vision. Without them, we cannot be successful, let alone make a difference in the lives of our residents, which is truly the core of how we desire to do things at Campus Advantage.

"With a clear vision of what we can become, no difficulty is too great. Without it, we rarely step beyond our current boundaries."

How is your vision?

How is the vision of your employees?

Being willing to honestly ask is a good first step.

Find out where the vision has not reached.

Bear the torch and get it there.

Advice for Employers from Neil Howe

2009-04-27T08:09:00.000-07:00

A conversation with Neil Howe: This is the last in a series of three posts from a conversation I had with Neil Howe, who is a recognized expert on generational issues.

Part I: Changes in the workforce | Part II: Misconceptions about Millennials | Part III: Advice for employers

Dan Oltersdorf: With very few exceptions, American workplaces are very diverse in age. What are some of the best ways you have seen companies make adjustments to cater to Millennial workers while still meeting the needs of Generation X, Boomers and the Silent Generation?

Howe: That's complicated and depends on the generation you are dealing with. Workforce participation is going up in the older brackets and will continue with Boomers still working and blocking advancement for the poor Xers.

You are going to see changes in each generation. Boomer issues of finding meaningful careers with corporate culture and workaholism will age into the 60 and 70 something phase of life, and xers with their pragamtism will become the midlife generation in charge and cast a very different tone to the eonomiy as the leaders of businesses.

Dan Oltersdorf: Do you have any other advice for managers and employers as they work to harness the potential and address the challenges of today's multi-generational workforce?

Howe: Look around; when it comes to young people, stay interested int heir world. A lot of Boomers and even some Xers have given up taking any interest in young people. They think they've figured it out and everything else is a continuation of that trend.

If you aren't interested in young people and don't have an open mind, looking at their world and taking some curiosity to it, you won't realize that every generation turns a corner and never does what the last generation did.

Each generation solves new problems and finds a new point of departure.

Remain curious. A lot of benefits would come from this change in attitude.

See Books and Multimedia offered by LifeCourse Associates

A Conversation with Neil Howe | Part II - Misconceptions about Millennials

2009-04-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

A conversation with Neil Howe

Part I: Changes in the workforce
Part II: Misconceptions about Millennials

It's not just a function of age.

During my conversation with Neil Howe, I asked him what misconceptions he hears about Millennials and generations in the workforce. He said the biggest misconception he hears is that generational issues are simply a "myth." People attribute differences to age rather than generational differences.

Howe states, "people in midlife and even veteran people in the workforce always complain about anything new. No one likes to change. We like things to remain as they were, so older workers have always complained about younger workers."

Despite this fact, Howe does see changes in what people are complaining about.

"The things people complain about with millennials are very different than what they complained about 10 to 15 years ago with generation X."

"The complaints used to be that Gen Xers had no commitment, no trust, and an extreme amount of mobility. There was a free agent mentality as well as an attitude."

Howe finds that "with millennials, people don't complain about attitude, they complain about these workders being over programmed, not being able to take risks, not being able to accept failure."

This is almost the opposite of the complaints about Generation X, where "people felt they expected failure, which was almost a problem. With millennials, they are the opposite, expecting success, and they seem more teachable."

Basic Work Skills Training:

Howe has recommended that campuses start offering more courses focused on filling a gap in "soft skills" necessary in the workforce such as punctuality, attire, business communication, etc. The reality however, seems to be that most institutions of Higher Education are not doing this consistently, or if they are, the complaints from corporate America would seem to indicate it's not working.

I asked Howe if he believes companies should start offering remedial soft skills training as a part of orientation and whether he has seen this happening?

Howe states that while institutions or even institutes should be doing it, they aren't.

"Many Millennials in college don't have much work experience other than quasi-jobs in college. In general they aren't working very much. College and pre-college employment is "no longer regarded as fruitful." Also, "Boomer and X-er parents haven't taught them any of these skills."

The good news for employers when it comes to training in these areas is that Millennials "are extremely teachable."

I mentioned to Neil Howe that some of the articles I have read about Millennials indicate there is very little concept of loyalty to a company anymore, which can negatively affect a company's retention efforts. I asked him his perspective on this:

Howe's answer was more balanced than some of the perspectives I've read about. He explained that it "may take a while for loyalty to develop. Loyalty is earned. Blind loyalty is just dumb! You will move in if there is no opportunity with a job. The difference in orientation is that millennials will job hop when they have to, but their ultimate goal is to find a long term path and if they can find one company that does it all for them, they will stay. The surveys on this point are unambiguous. They want one job that will give them what they want. They will not job hop for the sake of job hopping."

Howe continued by talking about Xers, who he says "more legitimately had this reputation. (of job hopping). They had much more of a situational ethic. Typically when millennials to jump jobs, they are looking for the long term."

Howe believes this is a disconnect that happens between employers and young workers: "Typically older people don't talk to millennials about the long term, then they react with dismay when they quit."

The next post will continue with more information focused on "Advice for Employers."

Conversation with Neil Howe:

Part I: Changes in the Workforce

Part II: Misconceptions about Millennials

Be sure to check out Howe's books and services at Lifecourse Associates

A conversation with Neil Howe | Part I - Changes in the workforce

2009-04-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

When it comes to experts in generational research, history and trends, Neil Howe is at the top of the list. Howe is a best-selling author, consultant and national speaker. He is a renowned authority on generations in America.

Having known of his work for years, and having seen his name cited in articles since grad school, I was excited when Howe agreed to a phone interview.

Over the course of the next few posts, I'll share more of my conversation with Neil Howe in three sections:

I) Changes in the workforce,

II) and Misconceptions about Millennials

III) Advice for employers.

For the purpose of this post, I'll focus on conversations we had about changes in the workforce.

In Millennials Go to College, Howe points out that as more Millennials leave college and enter the workforce, "employers will start using different recruiting techniques--and reorganizing working environments--to attract and retain them."

I asked him to expand on what changes he is seeing.

"A lot of changes are already being seen. Employers don't necessarily understand the issues, and instead more trial and error is being used."

More teamwork in the workplace.

"One of the things you are seeing is a greater effort to accommodate and facilitate teamwork in the office and in the workplace with this new generation because employers didn't take long to realize millennials work well in groups."

Instant Messaging (IM) is a prime example of this. "When people first started doing IM, employers prohibited it. Then, employers realized these workers were helping each other using IM." There is more of a collaborative approach to work, contrasted with older generations who was coworkers as competition.

Looking at the long term:

Another thing Howe says that employers are now observing is that the Millennials are planners. "They like to plan ahead and there is a greater emphasis on longer term employment within the company." Generation X was asking 'what do I get this year?' 'What can I cash out with now?' while Millennials are taking a longer term perspective.

"We are beginning to see increasingly young people come in and ask long term questions; 5 years down the road, where can I grow in this company? This was not necessarily the case with Gen X. There is also a greater emphasis on bonding within an institution. Some companies ae actually having camps and retreats where they immerse people into living with one another 24/7 (like Accenture), learning the lore of the company. This would not have gone will with Gen X. This would have caused a riot with the Boomers, and Gen X simply wouldn't have been interested."

Bring on the helicopter parents:

Yet another factor Howe sees is that the helicopter parent is now looming over the workforce. Out of necessity, employers are placing more of an emphasis on sheltering and doing more outreach to parents.

"Employers hate the parental presence, but it is now extending into the workforce," Howe states. "Excessive parental involvement was originally the single biggest complaint among teachers several years ago, then it predictably moved into colleges, and how it is becoming a pervasive issue in HR departments with parents doing everything from helping fill out applications to actually coming to their children's interviews."

Many employers are working with this trend. Howe says that "employers are now working on co-marketing to parents. Enterprise now has a completely separate employee orientation just for parents of new employees."

What are your thoughts on these trends?

The next posts from my conversation with Howe will focus on
II. Misconceptions of Millennials,
then
III. Advice for Employers

I'll share more in upcoming posts from my conversation with Neil Howe. Be sure to check out his books and services at Lifecourse Associates

Welcome to my blog!

2009-04-24T04:25:00.000-07:00

For quite some time, I've been meaning to start my own blog, focused on student housing management. I've done some blogs for fun like MileHighBuzz... some blogs for Campus Advantage, including a "green blog". I also have a family blog, which I'll occasionally post pics from here, but until this point, I've neglected to create my own blog.

That changes today. :-) The focus of my blog will be Student Housing. It's my career. I love it. I've been doing it for 11 years now. WOW. Thanks for reading!

Twikini - twitter app for Windows Mobile

2008-05-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

I don't have an iPhone. I admit, I get iPhone envy on a fairly regular basis, but I have an AT&T tilt, and am going to wait on the iPhone purchase for a while.

In the meantime, I've been looking for a while for a good Twitter application for Windows Mobile, and finally found one that really works well! Twikini: http://www.trinketsoftware.com/Twikini

Here is a screenshot. I must add a disclaimer that I DO NOT follow Britney, Ryan or Kim. This is from the Twikini website.

Disclaimer aside, (please believe me... I really don't follow them)... this is a great app. :-)