2018 Vision Conference

2018 Vision Conference

Highlights from this year’s Vision Conference in Scottsdale

At the 2018 Vision Conference, multifamily trainers from all over the country (and Canada!) came together to learn from each other and other industry specialists so they could return home refreshed, rejuvenated and armed with the knowledge to strengthen their training programs.

Highlights:

• Grace Hill CEO, Dru Armstrong, announced that Grace Hill has acquired The Strategic Solution. She and Kendall Pretzer, CEO, and Founder of The Strategic Solution explained the benefits to performance and compliance that companies can expect from integrating their policies and procedures with their training.
• Grace Hill Product Director, Tami Criswell, presented the 2018 Grace Hill Power Users with their superhero capes. Power Users are an elite group of Vision Administrators with extensive technical expertise who leverage the features of Vision to their fullest extent to challenge the status quo of their organization’s training program and deliver a best-in-class, engaging learner experience. While covering Grace Hill’s future product roadmap, Tami also made the exciting announcement that Grace Hill is in the process of making the foundational Fair Housing course two hours instead of three!
• A session on improving webinar engagement led by Grace Hill Director of Sales Operations, Christi Dobbins, and Account Manager, Melissa Feliciano, had attendees excited to try out new strategies like pairing two presenters with different energy levels and presentation styles, using impromptu polling to bring up low energy or decide on a different content direction and implementing live how-to videos. They also answered important webinar questions such as:
  • When technical difficulties can’t be overcome, is it okay to reschedule? (Yes)
  • Is Q&A time essential? (Yes!)
  • Should you hold questions until the end of the webinar? (No)
  • What is the best webinar length? (45 minutes)
• Rebecca Rogers Tijerino led a session on hiring and retention that was loaded with valuable tips like: be sure to do applicant discovery so you can promote the specific qualities of the company and position that align to (and don’t conflict with) the candidate’s priorities. Also, check in with new hires in the first 30 days to make sure they have a friend on the job (particularly millennials). If they don’t have a friend, they’re not fitting in and won’t stay.
• In a session on training culture, Grace Hill Director of Account Management, Maj Roembke, and Account Manager Yvette Evans recommended incorporating more optional training in your curriculum in order to foster a more self-guided learning environment and improve engagement.
• Jen Picotti of ManagInc delivered the results of ManagInc’s 2018 Multifamily Employee Engagement Study, revealing compensation, annual raises that keep up with inflation and benefits as the top priorities to multifamily employees. Another survey finding of note is that the industry is not doing enough to support and develop the “rock stars,” steady employees who are great at their jobs but don’t necessarily want to rise to new positions.
• Jenny Carll of Wasatch and Grace Hill Sr. Account Executive & Implementation Specialist, Dawn Ramey, walked attendees through the process Jenny used to achieve an impressive reversal in Wasatch’s compliance rates with specific reports, a revised alerts strategy, higher assignment scrutiny, and positive motivation. Session attendees shared tips for overcoming challenges such as non-tech-savvy learners (set them up with a mentor) and non-existent motivation budget (awards, days off, lunches).
• At a special awards banquet on the final evening of the conference, top trainers were presented with trophies recognizing their remarkable achievements in categories like Compliance Excellence, Outstanding Integration and Dedication to Training. Hearing what these trainers had been able to accomplish, often with a very small team, was an inspiration to everyone. Congratulations to the 2018 Award Winners! Compliance Excellence: Katie Wrenn of WRH Realty; Dedication to Compliance: James Simers of WinnCompanies; Outstanding Integration: Nicole Moss of Lincoln Property Company; Super Star Students: Cai Mailhes of Cardinal Group Management; Invested in Learning: Monica Blankenship of Milestone Management; Dedication to Training: Charee Colledge of Apartment Management Consultants; Awesome Awards: Carrie Ann Mosser of Harbor Group International; Train the Trainer: Chris Aiello of Bernstein Management; Grace Hill Great: Carrie Ann Mosser of Harbor Group International

This is only a taste of the great learning and collaboration that went on at this year’s conference. At every point, attendees could be overheard sharing stories about their experience and offering advice – and making plans to meet up again at next year’s conference at Disney!