Why A Consistent Approach to Tech is Essential for Successful Property Management

Commercial property managers increasingly find themselves having to do more with less, as managing more properties with a smaller staff is an increasingly common challenge. 

Having the right technology is critical to delivering on a better experience for tenants and more efficiently managing properties. But with a seemingly endless flow of new products and technologies, how do property managers find the right solutions without becoming overwhelmed, or getting stuck with expensive tools that can’t actually do the job? 

This was the topic of a recent virtual event hosted by Commercial Observer Partner Insights and presented by Building Engines.

The event included perspective and insight from Jeff Thompson, vice president of product management at JLL Technologies, and James Hollins, executive vice president of property management at JLL.

Creating consistency

Hollins noted that creating a consistent approach across the tech stack is an essential aspect of any property manager’s job.

“My role is trying to consolidate the tech stack across all of our properties, and trying to create consistency while deploying programs like the certificate of insurance tracking tool Jones, HVAC and energy optimization platform Hank, and Building Engines for comprehensive property management software,” said Hollins.

But as Thompson notes, consistency can be difficult with a flurry of new technologies constantly being introduced, especially now that artificial intelligence is a factor in so many of today’s newest technological approaches.

“One of the main challenges right now, particularly with AI on the scene and with so many vendors pushing proptech, is that it’s a very noisy space, and it’s really challenging to keep everything consistent,” said Thompson. “Lots of people will find reasons to select something nonstandard, but you have to drive the idea of standardization and the advantages of making things consistent, because that’s what delivers efficiency.”

Hollins uses the example that engineers and managers can receive messages and work orders by email, text, Building Engines’ Prism platform, or a separate work order service.

“That complexity of trying to manage multiple different things makes it a challenge to be efficient on all of them,” said Hollins.

One key to effective property management is to ensure that your staff is working as a coordinated team, with effective communication and the ability to swap one staff member for another in the event of an emergency, a staff member absence, or a staffer busy dealing with one problem while another arises.

A consistent tech stack is essential for effective communication and coordination.

“If you have everyone familiar with the same preventive maintenance program and the same work order program and how they work, it makes the expertise across the organization much more portable,” said Thompson. “It’s a huge advantage if you can standardize.”

A recent Building Engines survey highlighted that 99 percent of property managers who responded will make either an identical or increased investment in technology in 2025. The survey also gave respondents a list of possible priorities for enhancing their tech stack, and “building operations/property maintenance” technology was the most popular at 68 percent.

These results drive home that while individual technology products can execute almost any specific property management function, finding unified products that can perform all of these key functions is the primary goal. Having everything in one place is the best way to increase efficiency.

Effective and simple onboarding – a key to success

The solutions to all this can seem basic until you realize how few companies implement them. The real key to widespread adoption is making learning and implementation as simple as possible.

“Each user will bring different experience — some are more comfortable with technology, some are less so,” said Hollins. “The technology should be simplified so that it’s easy for users of all skill and knowledge levels.”

He also said that companies must ensure that proper training is developed and put to use across the organization.

Thompson then laid out a few things to look for when talking with vendors to ensure that what you’re being sold will fulfill your company’s needs.

“Look for people that have learned enough about your environment to be able to speak meaningfully to what will benefit you,” said Thompson. “Listen for people that have done their homework — people who understand your data and your environment.”

Thompson also emphasized the importance of ensuring that the vendor has a well-thought-out plan for implementation, follow-up, and follow-through. 

“It’s not just a case of selling you a product,” said Thompson. “They have to have a delivery and support plan and the resources to make it real.”

AI’s piece of the puzzle

As for AI, Thompson views it as “critical” for companies to integrate operations information with a company’s financial information so that their AI has access to both. 

He also noted that too many companies that are now placing a high importance on the implementation of AI disregard the assemblage and use of well-organized and consistent data across their portfolio.

Thompson said that having data that is accurate and up to date across an organization can make the difference between success or failure in an organization’s AI implementation. 

“You want the data to accumulate as a byproduct of people doing their day-to-day work,” said Thompson. “You don’t want to rely on people trying to gather data after the fact and then pointing AI tools at it. You want to create an environment where the data is accumulating in an organized way. The more you do that, the easier it will be to get accurate and useful insights out of your AI-based tools.”

Develop a simple and unified tech strategy

Given the sheer number of tech options for property managers, having a clear purpose in mind will help determine which tools are right for your organization. 

Starting off with an eye toward tech that best fits your current methods of data organization, and ensuring they handle as many of a property manager’s day-to-day functions as possible in a simple and unified fashion is the best way to avoid the frustration that comes with employing the wrong tool for a task.