Finding The Right Manager

Find the Perfect Fit
Hiring the Right Manager for Your Self-Storage Business

by Jennifer Jones, JKJ Marketing

Your facility manager is the face, heart and soul of your business, which means finding, hiring and training the right person is key. While that perfect fit will differ from store to store, it’s important to take your time to hire for the position. “Take the time up front to look for the perfect fit,” says Tristina Volesky with Lockaway Storage, San Antonio. “It will be time worth spent. Rushing to hire someone can sometimes cause more time and money down the road if you find out they are not a good fit.”

“It’s beholden on all of us, who own stores or who are in the industry, to elevate the profile of the staff we hire, not just through training, but also through coaching,” says Bob Vamvas with Storage Revenue Solutions, Richmond. “We may need to pay them differently. You need to ask yourself: Do you want a gatekeeper or an expert? Where are you going and growing? Make sure the person who represents your business is someone you are proud of and a professional in the industry. By hiring the right person, tremendous things happen in stores and portfolios.”

Job Description

You need a good job description so you know what you are looking for and attract the right candidates. “A job description is important in two ways: for candidates to understand what they are doing and for legal reasons,” says Mike Gately with Daughtry Properties, San Antonio. “If they think they will be in an office and you ask them to clean up a unit, and they balk, then you have a problem. For legal reasons, if you have an issue and you haven’t completely explained the job and have to terminate, then you may have to pay an unemployment claim.”

The job description will also help you narrow your focus. “The criteria we look for in a manager can differ for different sites,” says Volesky. “If we have a facility that is in lease up, then we need a manager who is strong in marketing. If we have a facility that is a busy location then we need a manager with energy and a can-do attitude to get things done. If we have a facility with storage, truck rentals, and mini offices then we need a manager who can multi-task.”

Job Posting

“Expand your resources in searching for a new manager: different job posting websites, use signage, ask for trustworthy referrals,” says Volesky.

Gately also advises to put the word out to current employees and suggests Craigslist. “We’ve tried other things, but have had the most success with referrals and the information we keep on file from past people who were looking.”

Vamvas adds, “A manager who’s a high performer will refer someone who is like them. They won’t refer someone who won’t put in the same effort they do.” He also suggests using Indeed.com.

Experience

While some prefer to hire someone with self-storage experience, others prefer different skill sets. Gately says the best managers are: motivated to help people, friendly, good listeners, enjoy the work they do, have an entrepreneurial spirit with a strong work ethic, and welcome responsibility.

“I look for someone who has worked in a managerial capacity that proves they are a hard worker,” says Vamvas. “Boutique fast food restaurants like In-and-Out Burgers are good for showing that. I also look for community involvement.

“I also like people with marketing backgrounds who aren’t afraid to get a little dirty by spraying for weeds and sweeping out. They tend to be more outgoing, customer-service driven and articulate. People who have worked as a recruiter or at a staffing agency make good self-storage managers as well as people who have experience in apartment leasing and are involved in the community.”

“I believe that to be successful, first and foremost, a great self-storage manager must possess superior customer service skills,” says Stephanie Skinner with Seguin Self Storage, Seguin. “This is a service industry, why wouldn’t one strive to provide the absolute best service possible to their customers?”

Gately recommends, “Hire for attitude even more than experience. Within a few weeks or months, you can train people to learn the skills, but attitude is not a trainable item. There will be a certain way they conduct themselves with the public. If they have a down-beat attitude, you start with a deficit you can’t overcome. Determine if they welcome new challenges.”

Since we need customers to survive, “We look for candidates who have had longevity,” says Volesky. “If they do not have self-storage experience, then we are looking for someone who has customer service experience. Someone with management experience is also a plus. We also make sure they have basic cash handling skills and computer skills.”

The Interview

“Set up multiple interviews before you hire,” says Gately. “Depending on logistics, have one of your senior managers interview at the site, or at your corporate office. Have two to three different interviews. Note if they get there on time. Have them interview with different people in addition to you. I may think they are a great fit, but a manager or marketing director has different perspectives, which improves the chances that we will have a good hire. We each have our own biases and someone else may be able to pick up on something I miss.”

“Interview more than once, so you have spent more time with the candidate(s) that are potential new hires,” says Volesky. “Be organized in the interviewing process: review resumes, ask the right questions, ask the important questions, and ask the same questions.

“We are sure to ask questions that help us figure out if the candidate is going to be a good fit for our company and the culture we have created. We also ask questions that help us get a good idea of their work history, why they feel they will fit our position, how they work with others, and how they present themselves professionally. Some of our interview questions are:

Name two accomplishments in your last position.
What specifically about your past work experience makes you a strong candidate for this position?
What specifically about our open position interests you?
Tell me something you have accomplished as part of a team.
What motivates you?
Name a time that you wow-ed someone.
What techniques do you use to keep yourself organized?
What does good customer service mean to you?

If Volesky interviews a candidate that has self-storage experience, then she asks questions that will let her know how much experience they actually have. Some example questions:

What size facility have you worked, sq. ft, and number of units?
What did a normal day of work look like?
What did you do to market the facility?
What did you do to bring in more income to the property?

Gately adds, “A good prospect is interviewing you as much as you are interviewing them. If you are taking calls when you are interviewing them then they may not want to work for you. It’s a two-way street. Every candidate deserves respect and your undivided attention. Also, if you get a good candidate, then move fast, because you will lose them if you don’t.”

Characteristics

When interviewing, Vamvas has a variety of questions to find out what characteristics a candidate has:

Describe for me your closet? How do you hang your shirts?
Where do you keep your car keys?
Where do you keep your tools? Would I have a hard time finding a screwdriver? Hammer?
What did you do the last two weekends? When did you plan those?
Describe an adventure you’ve had.
Would you be embarrassed to have someone come to your home right now? Why or why not?
What was the biggest failure you’ve ever had on any job?
What are/were the strengths/weaknesses of your last boss?
Explain a way you sought a creative solution to a problem.
What MS Office products do you use?

As the candidate answers, Vamvas looks for the following characteristics:

Adventurous – from renting units to selling ancillary products to marketing, I look for someone who doesn’t mind trying.
Self Sacrificing – for superior customer service look for someone who wants to help.
Refreshing – when you walk into this person’s office you can feel their positive attitude; they never have a down day.
Self Reliant – someone who requires little hand holding.
Faithful – one who won’t quit on me.
Leader – one who will take charge but not be bossy; one whom others gravitate to.
Productive – someone who likes to be busy and will find ways to do so during the slow times of the month. Also, they will want to work on all managerial responsibilities, such as cleaning the inside of a storage unit and wiping doors down just to make sure the climate control building is spotless. They’ll take the initiative to prepare for the oncoming leasing season by putting together packets. We want a person who will find ways to stay busy and not sit around watching YouTube videos all day.

Training

Depending on your facility, training may look different from one to the next. However, it’s a must and there are a number of things you can do to help your new hire integrate into your business and set them up for success.

Gately and Vamvas suggest buddying up your new hire with an experienced mentor manager. “I recommend two weeks of training, four if your new employee doesn’t have storage experience,” says Gately. “An experienced manager who is doing the same thing day in and day out will be in an excellent position to show your new hire the ropes.”

In addition to pairing up the new manager with another manager, Gately recommends giving managers the big picture. Include them in financial reviews and ensuring they understand owner goals, why decisions are made and why each lease matters.

“Empowering the manager to solve problems for the customer and be responsive so that each customer has a pleasant experience is something we can offer over the REITs,” says Gately. “We take our smaller size and make it an advantage by allowing the customer to deal with a decision-maker. For example, if a customer has three units and wants four, then your manager will come back with a price. The customer may decide it is too much for their budget. The manager may opt to cut them a deal because they understand that the customer is valuable and will make money for the facility over time.”

“Managers need the ability to make decisions on their own,” says Skinner. “Giving a manager the authority to make decisions based on what is best for the customer, as well as the facility, speaks volumes. Empowerment creates leaders on every level. Lastly, I believe a truly great self-storage manager must be humble, have integrity, and maintain the highest level of accountability at all times.”

Vamvas uses the following training checklist:

Send a formal welcome email to staff.
Review and signature of business controls.
Conduct one-on-one training with an experienced manager (takes 3-5 days).
Partner new manager up for another 5 days with experienced manager.
Cover the following:

Summary of key contacts

Owner, other managers and staff

Summary of technologies in place
Login into and using site management system
How to get callers off the phone and into the store
Renting a unit
Controlling delinquency
Tracking information
Review and signature of other business critical information (responsibilities, marketing, safety and environmental)

No matter the size of your facility, or how many you have, hiring a manager who runs it like it’s their own is the holy grail of managers and may seem like a hard task. But, taking your time to find, hire and train the right person will pay off in spades over the long term.

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