Customers must be at the heart of PropTech solutions, says white paper

The latest White Paper from the Institute of Residential Property Management (now part of The Property Institute) has called for customers to be at the centre of PropTech solutions.

IRPM, for its fifth Tech Insights White Paper - a series which aims to start a conversation around the future direction of residential block management - brought together a group of leading industry experts to discuss how technology can ‘foster trust and improve customer service in the property management sector’.

Centred around the customer, the ‘Building Trust: The Impact of Technology on Customer Service’ paper looks at how resident-focussed technology can deliver a better service whilst supporting property professionals in their roles.

What’s more, it explores the services which can be offered to residents using data that property companies already hold.

Currently, the paper claims, many existing digital solutions do not offer an ‘optimal service’ and the sector is ‘not capitalising’ on the data it has access to.

The latest White Paper comes hot on the heels of the January 2022 paper, Information Overload: Where to Start with Data?, which zoned in on data how we use it, our understanding of it and how this is impacting the property management profession.

The ‘Building Trust…’ White Paper points to events such as the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower, the cladding crisis (which the tragedy uncovered the full extent of) and the Covid-19 pandemic as reasons for why customer trust in property management professionals has been reduced. It claims that technology can play a major part in rebuilding this trust.

It added that good digital solutions have the potential to allow residents to undertake self-service, saving both residents and property managers time, but said this will depend on having better access to the large amounts of data at property manager’s fingertips.

Furthermore, it said that technology could help improve transparency around areas such as service charge accounts, a common cause of complaint among residents at present.

Some of the other key points outlined in the White Paper were: 

• Apps need to be streamlined to work for consumers, and with consumer needs in mind.

• Self-service technology such as face recognition and QR codes can help agents and residents, but they should be honest about their capabilities and not over-promise.

• Make customers a part of your digital solutions by asking them what they want and need.

The basis of the White Paper was formed by a July 2021 roundtable discussion between seven industry and tech experts, with speakers representing tech suppliers, managing agents and government-approved bodies. FirstPort, The Property Ombudsman, The Property Institute and Ask Porter were among those represented.

In addition, the paper was supported by The Red Foundation, an initiative established to make sure the property sector benefits from a safe, increased use of data in order to better serve society

The end of the White Paper set out a number of future targets in relation to technology and the sector, including: the IRPM wants to play a part in driving the use of helpful technology, by helping to set up pilot programmes to encourage sector collaboration; the standardisation and consolidation of platforms will be key to ensuring technology usage is seamless; the sector needs to pay particular attention to transparency around service charges. Technology can provide the solution here, rather than government regulation, it said.