As the property management landscape evolves, it is vital that specialist knowledge and expertise is demonstrated across all areas of service – giving clients assurance that every interaction, from mobilisation to on-site service delivery, reflects deep knowledge and professionalism. At FirstPort, we embed training and upskilling at the heart of everything we do, to ensure our service meets our clients’ every need.
Empowering teams through continuous learning
The government’s target of delivering 1.5 million new homes by the end of the parliament means developers and property managers will play a critical role in shaping sustainable communities. Large-scale organisations like ours are expected to lead the way – not just in compliance, but in delivering exceptional service underpinned by industry-leading knowledge.
Jessica Farrell, Director – Developer Account Management at the FirstPort Group, explains:
“It’s important that clients understand where we, as a managing agent can add value – both at strategic decision points, such as design stage, but also by ensuring our teams know what is important to clients and that they have the training they need to meet requirements in this changing environment.”
Key training modules driving change
From an account management perspective, we work closely with clients to ensure our service matches their needs and expectations. With changing requirements being placed on developers – including obligations which remain in place long after construction is complete and the site has been handed over – it is important we are equipping our colleagues to ensure all areas of our service remain relevant and compliant.
We’ve already launched several modules designed to address key areas as the industry evolves:
- Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG): Helping clients to meet requirements on new-build developments, from early engagement to training site staff for longer-term delivery – in some cases, meeting tangible targets for up to 30 years post-build.
- Energy Act Compliance: Ensuring our teams understand the implications of energy legislation – including the introduction of a regulator into this part of our sector and new consumer protections – and can guide clients effectively.
- Resident Management Companies
It’s essential that colleagues understand the full process of how RMCs are created and the important role managing agents need to play in guiding the transition process from developer to resident control.
This training helps colleagues understand what they inherit and how to manage RMCs effectively throughout this transition and beyond.
Keeping training relevant
As regulation and legislative obligations continue to evolve over the next few years, it is important our training is regularly reviewed and refreshed, to ensure our teams can stay ahead of change and maintain compliance.
We will shortly be introducing new modules to cover the New Homes Quality Board (NHQB), the New Homes Quality Code, and Section 106 agreements, ensuring we deeply understand our clients obligations so in turn can support them in delivery.
We’re also exploring opportunities to support client education, to ensure their teams can also understand the challenges and intricacies involved in property management, particularly in customer-facing areas of operations. For example, many homeowners still lack sufficient understanding of service charges.
Jessica explained:
“When we speak to clients, there’s a clear consensus: customer knowledge about service charges needs to improve. The solution starts at the beginning – with sales and customer service teams – ensuring they’re informed and able to provide clarity and transparency for a smoother customer journey and the continued efficient running of developments.
“By working with clients to feed into their internal training programmes, we can help to deliver consistent messaging to staff and customers from the outset.”
The bigger picture
Our goal is clear: to create an industry-leading workforce, making greater use of the specialist teams and expert individuals that we have at our disposal. By channeling this expertise, to ensure our teams are trained with client priorities in mind, we can deliver consistently, scale sustainably, and position ourselves as the trusted partner developers need.
