High-Tech Meets High-Touch: How training shapes the customer experience 

Self-Storage Management

When Mini Mall Storage Trust was established in February 2020, creating a unique customer experience was top of mind. The self-storage industry is fragmented, and with that fragmentation often comes varying levels of service. Mini Mall knew they could set a new standard for the industry and worked to define a consistent customer experience online, over the phone, and in person. 

Over the last three years, Mini Mall has seen significant growth with operations throughout seven provinces, 15 states, and over six million square feet of storage space. With each new facility or market, the company has recreated its seamless experience by taking an omnichannel approach with comprehensive training and technology. 

Hubs and Spokes 

Mini Mall operates on a hub-and-spoke model, which means that in every market, its facilities are no farther than a half-hour drive from a management centre. Even with self-serve, unmanned facilities, customers who want an in-person interaction can request someone to be on-site quickly.  

This mix of in-person and digital operations is possible thanks to state-of-the-art technology that enhances security and automates administrative tasks, allowing customers to find the right unit, get a quote, sign a lease, and move in through the website or call centre. Facility staff are there to offer support if there are questions or challenges — or if the customer just prefers to interact face-to-face. And in those situations, staff have easy access to information and guidelines about a range of scenarios.   

“Our goal is for any one of our Mini Mall representatives to be able to access the information they need within three clicks,” says Tadek Sampson, Director, Operational Training. “We want to make things easier for our staff because when we have a happy team, they’re able to make sure we have happy customers.” 

People Skills are Key 

For Mini Mall, adopting innovative technology is only part of the story. While customer relationship management software, security systems, and interactive apps have transformed the self-storage landscape in recent years, people skills are still a vital piece of the customer experience. Onsite managers must be both tech- and people-savvy to ensure they can develop customer relationships and effectively solve problems. The automated, online experience must match seamlessly with the in-store, in-person experience — and that requires training. 

Onsite managers have traditionally been responsible for bringing new staff up to speed, but with such significant growth the company saw the need for a standardized program to help managers and their staff quickly understand policies and procedures. The MMSP training program is designed to support customer service employees across both in-person interactions and technical software. It also takes into consideration frequently asked questions and most-often-encountered scenarios.   

“We learned pretty quickly that our best resources were the people working on the front lines, with our customers,” says Tadek. “In some cases, these people have worked at a location for years — decades, even — and they truly know their customers.” 

Tracking Outcomes 

There are many factors at play when measuring the effects of training. Mini Mall reviews how employees are performing in training modules so they can optimize the program to best fit the team’s needs while simultaneously bolstering customer satisfaction levels. The training team assesses staff during their first 30 days, and again during ongoing refresher training. The goal for 2022 was to bring the average score of 76% during onboarding to an average of 85% in refresher training. Today, the current scores exceed that goal, tracking well above 90% for staff in service and sales refresher training. 

As the company has progressed, the team has also found ways for employees to share their experience and insights. Top performers are invited to join the panel in a bimonthly webinar, where they can share stories of their successes, their learnings, and their best practices. “We’ve found that by giving employees a platform to lead their peers, we get better adoption from the field than if managers or trainers share that information,” says Tadek.  

Continuing to Evolve 

As technology advances and customer demands continue to change, the self-storage industry will continue to evolve, and Mini Mall will adapt to meet those needs. Innovations in technology may mean some of the heavy lifting becomes automated, but there is always a need for personal interactions, in every demographic. Mini Mall plans to continue to support managers and its team of storage concierge specialists with training programs, tools, and knowledge sharing to ensure everyone has the skills to navigate a high-tech environment and provide an industry-leading high-touch experience.  

This commentary and the information contained herein are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities or related financial instruments. This article may contain forward-looking statements. Readers should refer to information contained on our website at https://avenuelivingam.wpenginepowered.com/forward-looking-statements for additional information regarding forward-looking statements and certain risks associated with them. 

Investing and Connecting with a Community: Wetaskiwin Mall’s New Mural

Wetaskiwin Mall

Inclusivity can take many forms — the people who make up an organization’s team, the causes they support, and the principles they operate under. But it can also take the form of representation in other ways like in the case of Wetaskiwin Mall, an exciting piece of original art, painted by a local, renowned Indigenous artist.  

As property owners and operators, we know our investments have an impact on the people who live and work in the communities in which we operate. We invest in spaces — multi-family homes and commercial space — that people develop deep connections with. The mural at Wetaskiwin Mall aims to showcase the culture of the community and evoke the theme of “Healing Medicine.” 

Collaborating with a Local Artist 

Painted by distinguished Indigenous artist Lance Cardinal, the 50-foot mural in the north wing of the mall symbolizes many ways of healing: ceremonial, medicinal, cultural, and healing through dance — a fitting subject given its location right outside an Alberta Health Services office and the Care Gateway Clinic. Cardinal painted the mural over ten days, with the help of an assistant.  

Cardinal, from Big Stone Cree First Nation, is an artist and entrepreneur on the rise. In 2022, he collaborated with the Edmonton Oilers to write and produce the team’s new land acknowledgement and design their Turtle Island logo, which helped raise funds for Edmonton charities, while being one of the most popular and beloved alternate designs in the team’s history. His shoe collection with Kunitz Shoes, an Edmonton-based company, is set to launch this year and is currently on display at the Royal Alberta Museum.  

Wetaskiwin, Alberta, which is 70 km south of Edmonton, is a community of around 13,000. The city is located on Treaty Six territory, bordered by two of the four Maskwacis First Nations — the Ermineskin and Samson Cree Nations — and serving two others — the Louis Bull Tribe and Montana First Nation. Wetaskiwin has rich Indigenous history; its name (which means “the hills where peace was made”) is a direct reference to the outcome of a battle between the Cree and Blackfoot. 

Bringing People Together 

Our strategy with Wetaskiwin Mall has always been to create a “community hub,” a place that provides customers with the essential services they need all in one place. In addition to national retailers and locally-owned stores and services, the mall is also home to Alberta Health Services, a pharmacy, medical clinic, optometrist, and more. Avenue Living has invested in Wetaskiwin for over a decade, with a presence that includes 401 multi-family units and 158,000 square feet of commercial space. In keeping with a key tenet of our strategy as an active manager, we have developed a deep understanding of the market and its residents.  Since acquiring the shopping center in 2017, Avenue Living has carefully curated a roster of retailers and services that reflect the needs and wants of area residents.  

“You don’t usually see local art in a retail environment like this,” says Slava Fedossenko, Director, Commercial Asset Management for Avenue Living, “but we wanted to create something that reflects the culture of the community.” 

Avenue Living is immensely proud of our partnership with Lance Cardinal and the finished mural. While it is one of the first projects of its kind for us, we have plans to ensure it is not the last, and we look forward to working with local artists in other communities to showcase the places our residents and customers call home.  

Read more about Lance Cardinal and this exciting project in The Wetaskiwin Times. 

This commentary and the information contained herein are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities or related financial instruments. This article may contain forward-looking statements. Readers should refer to information contained on our website at https://avenuelivingam.wpenginepowered.com/forward-looking-statements for additional information regarding forward-looking statements and certain risks associated with them. 

International Women’s Day 2023

International Women's Day

International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the progress made toward gender equality — and the work that still needs to be done. 
We believe every employee should have the opportunity to reach their full potential and are committed to creating a culture of respect, inclusivity, and diversity. By providing equal opportunities for all employees, we’ve created a business that’s stronger and better positioned to serve our customers and communities. 
Hear firsthand from our team about how they’ve navigated leadership roles and fostered inclusivity.

Harvesting Alpha in Canada’s Agricultural Heartland

Investing in Canadian Farmland

For investors seeking to diversify away from the public markets, the case for investing in Canadian farmland is all too clear. And with our sights set on Canada’s breadbasket, it’s an opportunity that’s been growing for over half a decade. 

“We launched the Avenue Living Agricultural Land Trust in December 2016,” says Gabriel Millard, SVP, Capital Markets – Equity & Research at Avenue Living Asset Management. “From its inception up to now, it has performed well for our investors, and we’ve seen a significant and increasing demand for the strategy.” 

Harvesting returns 

Since 2016, the fund’s portfolio has grown to 83,000 acres of farmland across Saskatchewan, with historical annual returns consistently above 10%.  

“Within the farming community, a lot of operators look for opportunities to expand. They often don’t have access to the capital required to acquire neighbouring parcels when they come up for sale. Others are looking to exit, and don’t have heirs or successors to buy them out of the business,” Millard explains. “We leverage our considerable capital resources to acquire productive, arable farmland in Saskatchewan, which we rent to farmland operators and help them to expand their businesses.” 

The Avenue Living Agricultural Land Trust has a fixed sunset date within the next two years and we’re looking to replicate its success with our new fund, Tract Farmland Partners LP.  

“We wanted to give investors a way to keep benefitting from our experience with Saskatchewan farmland, as well as our active management capabilities in the agricultural space,” Millard says.  

Our approach to farmland is led by Leif Snethun, the CEO of the Avenue Living Agricultural Land Trust, and Tract Farmland Partners LP. Snethun comes from a proud tradition of Canadian farming. His father was the youngest of five boys raised on a farm in east-central Alberta. That farm was homesteaded by Snethun’s grandparents, who immigrated from Norway. With help from his wife, Snethun owns a cow-calf operation west of Stavely, Alberta and helps his younger brother operate the near-by family farm. 

Sowing seeds for future alpha 

“The average urban person can’t imagine the size of the farmland parcels we deal with in the portfolio. 83,000 acres equates to almost 130 square miles,” he says. “With that said, it’s easy to understand why our farmland managers can’t possibly know the specific nuances of the portfolio of land the way our tenant-operators do.” 

To maximize alpha, Snethun and his team actively encourage tenants to come forward with land improvement ideas. Through investments in land reclamation and remediation, and the construction of strategic grain storage facilities, we add direct value to our portfolio and improve tenant farming efficiencies. These improvements mean the tenant is able and willing to pay increased rents. 

“We’ve earned a great reputation in the community,” Snethun says. “I believe that there’s no other form of real estate where the tenant and the landlord are so aligned. Our tenants are financially motivated to look after the land like it was their own as that is how they maximize crop yields.” 

According to Millard, the new strategy leverages the same economics that makes farmland appealing, along with our proven management capabilities and reputation in the agricultural space. 

“Over the six years we’ve spent running our Agricultural Land Trust, we’ve developed a track record of being able to close land acquisition deals on time with farmers, which provides important liquidity for them,” he says.  

Returns generated through our farmland model have the potential to be boosted through a judicious use of leverage. Despite having similar soil characteristics as farmland in neighbouring provinces such as Alberta and Manitoba, Saskatchewan farmland trades at over a 30% discount. 

“With the Federal government’s interest in food supply and security, farmers in Canada benefit from added stability through crop insurance,” Millard adds. “This creates a layer of protection for our tenant-operators in case they suffer adverse weather conditions or other occurrences that negatively impact their crop yields.” 

Favourable tailwinds 

Globally, the case for investing in farmland is gathering strength from several macroeconomic tailwinds. Urbanization is playing a part in the depletion of farmland acres. Over the decades, arable farmland area has shrunk from 5.6 acres per capita in 1961 to 1.2 acres per capita as recently as 2016 (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States (FAOSTAT), 2021). 

There’s also pressure from the growing global population, which officially topped eight billion last year.  As more countries enter a period of economic prosperity in the coming decades, the World Bank forecasts an increase in the average daily caloric intake among developing nations, with citizens’ dietary preferences shifting toward higher-value, more calorie-dense foods such as meat.  

Because of limited supply and the prohibitive cost of meat products, import-dependent markets may turn to pulse crops – including legumes such as lentils, peas, and beans – as nutritionally equivalent alternatives. The Canadian Prairies stand as the largest exporter of lentils, peas, and chickpeas in the world today. Within Canada, around 90% of lentils and 50% of pea production originates from Saskatchewan (Government of Saskatchewan, 2021). 

“According to the Government of Saskatchewan, the province accounts for more than 40% of the cultivated farmland in Canada,” Millard says. “It’s a critical piece of Canada’s food production capacity, and critical to helping fill the growing global food supply gap.” 

Historically, farmland has proven to be a strong inflation hedge, with annual returns outpacing gains in the CPI over the past 30 years. That trend is set to continue as demand grows and a breakdown in supply chains throws the world into a new commodities supercycle. 

“Increases in commodity prices tend to correlate with revenue increases for farming operators as well as generating more investor demand for farmland. As the price of each acre of farmland increases, so does the value of the asset,” Millard says. “Even in years where CPI is negative, we’ve historically seen positive farmland returns.” 

Investing in farmland also provides diversification, as its return performance is generally uncorrelated to other asset classes. Saskatchewan’s expansive terrain encompasses a variety of weather patterns, allowing Avenue Living to capture a wide continuum of crops and crop yields. 

“Right now, our farmland ownership is scattered throughout the arable portion of Saskatchewan,” Snethun says. “We’ve witnessed a massive change in people’s awareness and interest in the agricultural space over the past three years, and we’re very excited to be part of that wave.” 

References  

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States (FAOSTAT). (2021). FAOSTAT. Retrieved from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States: https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#home  

Government of Saskatchewan. (2021). Saskatchewan Agriculture Exports 2021. Retrieved from Government of Saskatchewan: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/business/agriculture-natural-resources-and-industry/agribusiness-farmers-and-ranchers/saskatchewan-import-and-export-information/resources-for-importers/trade-statistics 

This commentary and the information contained herein are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities or related financial instruments. This article may contain forward-looking statements. Readers should refer to information contained on our website at https://avenuelivingam.wpenginepowered.com/forward-looking-statements for additional information regarding forward-looking statements and certain risks associated with them. 

Continuous Improvement: How Focusing on Customer Satisfaction Also Boosts Employee Morale

“In everything we do, we focus on our residents and customers first.” This is a common phrase used by Avenue Living’s Chief Investment Officer, Jason Jogia, and a sentiment that reverberates throughout the organization. This laser focus on the customer drives our investment strategy, our approach to service, and our operations as a whole. 

Since 2006, we’ve learned that superior customer service requires ongoing adaptation from our team. Employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction are uniquely linked; when a process is smooth and easy for our leasing specialists, maintenance associates, or regional portfolio managers, it usually means it’s convenient for our customers.  

“We centre our operations around the customer and employee experience. We want to make tasks easier for everyone,” says Winford Rader, Vice President of Continuous Improvement. “Creating efficiencies means doing our research, evaluating the tools we’re using, and aligning our teams to best serve our customers.” 

Avenue Living’s Continuous Improvement department develops better processes for our team and customers. Officially formed in 2019, the group of almost 20 includes business analysts, data analysts, and operational efficiency experts. They break procedures down and examine how each component can be streamlined. And sometimes, they uncover simple, time-saving solutions to a host of challenges. 

The property management industry is in the middle of significant change, as new technology and changing customer needs push managers to consider how to attract and retain residents. The Entrata 2022 Renter’s Report notes that 62 per cent of renters surveyed prefer interaction with a real person — and it builds greater trust. Renters listed responsiveness, ability to give feedback (renter input), and face-to-face interaction as the top items they wanted their property manager to improve. 

For Avenue Living, delivering industry-leading customer service has been a key differentiator from the very beginning. Providing a positive experience means re-examining our processes and adapting, whether it’s improving our response time to maintenance calls (99 per cent of which are fully resolved within 1.85 days) or making showings, rental applications, or the leasing process easier. 

Sometimes the solutions to our biggest challenges lie in the smallest details.  

Using data to drive improvement 

The Continuous Improvement department looks at data from numerous sources, such as Google My Business, and Yardi Voyager to consolidate one “curated, validated, and trusted source of data.” With this one source of truth in hand, teams across the Avenue Living platform can begin to see where processes are performing well and where improvements can be made. 

“It’s easy to get hung up on how we’ve historically done things,” says Winford Rader. “But sometimes asking the right questions and understanding the end result can help us arrive at an improved destination sooner.” 

Humanity + Technology 

The insight we get from front-line interactions between our residents and our Regional Portfolio Managers (RPMs), leasing specialists, and maintenance associates has led to simple solutions that can have a big impact. For example, improving the outcome of the leasing process by tailoring appointments to times when potential residents are most available, or creating tools that allow a smoother application and signing process. 

The Continuous Improvement team works in tandem with business units across the organization to arrive at solutions, rather than prescribing them. The team gathers data and provides analysis that allows each group to determine a feasible endpoint. This collaborative effort creates greater buy-in and personal investment in the results. 

Smoothing out these processes often has reduced costs by eliminating redundant efforts. Innovation that allows our team to save even minutes a day has a significant impact throughout the calendar year. Coupled with responsive customer service and a focus on retention, it has helped us create value for our investors, today and in the future.  

The Continuous Improvement team allows us to think strategically and see how our end-to-end customer service processes work together. As the market evolves and resident demands change, we’re able to respond more effectively and work toward a shared vision that serves our customers, employees, and investors.  

This commentary and the information contained herein are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities or related financial instruments. This article may contain forward-looking statements. Readers should refer to information contained on our website at https://avenuelivingam.wpenginepowered.com/forward-looking-statements for additional information regarding forward-looking statements and certain risks associated with them. 

This Year’s Most-Read: Our Top Content in 2022

We’ve gathered the blog posts, articles, and white papers that garnered the most interest from our readers last year. They cover a diverse range of topics, from our partnership with the Canada Infrastructure Bank to the complexities of the private rental housing market, but they all come back to one thing: understanding the real estate investment landscape. As investors seek opportunity in a changing market, it’s important to explore and analyze the fundamentals that impact our industry to refine our strategy and provide value for our residents, our investors, and the communities in which we operate.

PRESS RELEASE:  

CIB COMMITS $120 MILLION TO AVENUE LIVING — THE FIRST REIT ADDRESSING MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL RETROFITS AT SCALE

This announcement is the next step in our commitment to ESG — one we officially started when we began a relationship with PRI (Principles for Responsible Investing). Our partnership with Canada Infrastructure Bank will allow us to undertake capital improvements that reduce our carbon footprint and provide comfortable homes for our residents, without compromising affordability.

WHITE PAPER:  

RE-EXAMINING A HEDGE AGAINST INFLATION: Multi-family Residential Real Estate 

This paper examines the effects inflation and rising interest rates have on affordability, and how investors may find opportunities in multi-family real estate. 

PEER-REVIEWED WHITE PAPER: 

PRIVATE RENTAL TARGET MARKETS: A COMPREHENSIVE SPECTRUM 

Our founder and CEO, Anthony Giuffre, collaborated with the University of Regina’s Dr. Grant Wilson on this examination of the North American rental housing market, identifying the lifestyles, demographics, and value propositions that make up six major groups in the housing spectrum. The peer-reviewed paper was published in the International Real Estate Review in April 2022. 

WHITE PAPER: 

DIVERSIFICATION WITH AND WITHIN REAL ESTATE  

This white paper explores how diversification in real estate portfolios — across asset types and markets — can enhance value for investors, helping them minimize risk and maximize the potential for returns. 

BLOG:  

WHY WE SEE OPPORTUNITY IN THE WORKFORCE HOUSING MARKET 

We examined factors that make the workforce housing market an attractive investment opportunity and  why it’s the focus of our multi-family strategy.  

This commentary and the information contained herein are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities or related financial instruments. This article may contain forward-looking statements. Readers should refer to information contained on our website at https://avenuelivingam.wpenginepowered.com/forward-looking-statements for additional information regarding forward-looking statements and certain risks associated with them.