Digital Transformation: An IT Feat in Multifamily Real Estate

Keeping pace with evolving technology proves a consistent challenge for leaders in the multifamily industry. To combat this challenge, CARROLL's IT team works to enhance processes both on- and offsite to create a better experience across multiple fronts. These processes aim to streamline communication and practices for four CARROLL customers: equity partners, employees, prospects, and residents. Through the implementation of new, modernized technology and services, CARROLL actively seeks opportunities to remain at the forefront of the digital transformation in the multifamily industry.

Enhanced Equity Partner Experience

CARROLL's digital transformation starts with an enhanced equity partner experience, primarily in two ways: consistent practices and accurate reporting. Collaboration between CARROLL's IT and accounting teams proves vital to ensuring both accuracy and proficiency for every partner. Through online resident rent payments and business as usual invoices, CARROLL minimizes human-error in accounting practices, ensures timely results, and tracks payments seamlessly.

With paperless payment systems in place across the entire portfolio –94 communities and growing– CARROLL's teams work seamlessly to generate thorough reporting that provides consistent, reliable results. This reporting allows CARROLL to easily and confidentially share pertinent information, providing our partners with a superior experience.

Enhanced Employee Experience

From onsite teams to corporate teams, the introduction of innovative tools, like our Service Desk, helps expedite the processes needed to provide excellent service to both residents and equity partners. With the addition of better software for team members comes the simplification of application and leasing processes.

Through the adoption of tablet technology, onsite teams are enabled to quickly and efficiently start and renew applications. Additionally, with these streamlined processes comes a system for tracking the status of work orders. The Siteplan platform allows employees to easily monitor maintenance requests both open and completed via the platform’s operations suite.

Through enhanced software and hardware, our teams are able to provide better, more efficient, and reliable service.

Enhanced Prospect Experience

Every interaction that prospects have with the property management side of the business is saved electronically. From the moment, a prospect submits a lead through one of our sources, those interactions are logged, whether email, phone call, or SMS. Previously, guest cards and lead forms were logged on paper in the leasing office. Once a prospect decides to apply to live in a CARROLL community, they’ll fill out the application online. By partnering with vendors to help track communication, CARROLL is able to provide better service and close on the lease.

Enhanced Resident Experience

Upgrades in the day-to-day lives of CARROLL's residents come in many forms. Most recently, CARROLL adopted a “Going Green” payment policy, which moved all rent payments electronically. CARROLL also added an online resident portal, through which residents can view lease information and submit maintenance requests 24/7.

Across the portfolio, CARROLL is actively piloting several smart apartment additions. The majority of assets in the CARROLL portfolio were built prior to 2000. This provides a large opportunity to add value for residents. With these enhancements, residents’ homes transform with automated home devices like Google Fiber that enables a carefree living experience.

The decline of retail stores alongside the growth of ecommerce has produced a pain point at many locations onsite. With the addition of Luxor and Amazon Hub package rooms at communities the benefits are twofold. Not only do package lockers provide residents with ease and security, but they remove the pain points of previous systems. Residents can get their packages on their own timetable – not when the leasing office is open. This provides our residents with an easy to use and smooth process — ultimately a better experience.

Striving to remain at the forefront of the evolving digital space, CARROLL's technological advancements offer a fresh experience from both a consumer and business perspective. Eager to provide an enhanced experience, CARROLL's IT team consistently aims to advance processes across the board, revolutionizing the apartment living and working experience.