December 4, 2025 by John Krukowski

Why A Service Culture Makes All The Difference In Multifamily

Photo: Pexels/Mikhail Nilov

Participating in a webinar on the multifamily market, Ariana Rasansky, JLL vice president of regional operations for multifamily property management, was asked a question that is doubtless on many landlords’ minds as 2026 approaches: What do today’s renters want?

Considering the head-spinning trends multifamily has experienced in 2025, it wasn’t a surprising question. Owners are feeling more bearish about the economy, while resident retention continues to fall short of landlords’ goals. Meanwhile, renter expectations grow.

Rasansky answered that amenities, location and “elevated finishes” all continue to be important to residents, particularly those in Class-A properties. But the main motivation to renew their leases is often much more nuanced and personal, she said.

“People want to feel comfortable at home, and they want to feel proud to come home, be a part of their community and have a management team that is approachable,” Rasansky said.

This suggests that as technology and new amenities get the lion’s share of attention, multifamily operators should keep the human element top of mind, too. Operators need to create a building culture that is empathetic to residents’ needs and focused on genuine value creation.

“Multifamily assets are designed to serve people,” as JLL put it in a recent guidance document. “By listening to resident needs and understanding emerging lifestyle trends, multifamily owners and developers can deliver thoughtful, thriving and forward-thinking properties.”

Bisnow spoke with Rasansky, U.S. Head of Multifamily Property Management Lela Cirjakovic and Regional Leasing and Marketing Director Elizabeth Pilgard about how JLL works to give residents what they deserve.

Cirjakovic said JLL's multifamily property management services combine the personalized attention and agility of a boutique firm with the deep resources, technology and market intelligence of a global real estate leader. The goal for these properties is to foster a service-oriented culture in which “resident-focused thinking” guides operational decisions, she said.

“We actively seek opportunities to exceed expectations, address challenges proactively and create meaningful interactions so that residents feel genuinely valued and cared for,” Cirjakovic said.

Greater Expectations

In a postpandemic era when many renters report feeling isolated, property managers would be wise to take notice. Connected and content residents are likely to stay longer. 

A RealPage study found that multifamily residents were more likely to renew their leases if they felt a connection to others in their building. Another study says the average renter was nearly 50% more likely to renew if they knew seven or more of their neighbors.

Residents also expect more from the people who run their buildings, Cirjakovic and her colleagues said. If residents have a concern, they want the management team to respond quickly and in a way that is convenient for the renter. 

These trends are due in part to the pandemic, when people spent much more time at home. This led them to prioritize not only their WiFi connection but also their connections to other people, whether their neighbors or the building’s staff.

Today, residents who work from home are particularly vulnerable and isolated, and providing opportunities for in-person activities and engagement is paramount to building emotional connections and community, Rasansky said.  

“The days of moving in and then having minimal interaction with your management or maintenance staff or your front door team are gone,” she said.  

In this new status quo, property owners who prioritize cost savings over customer service risk contributing to higher turnover — an expensive problem for any landlord.  

“You can’t keep operating as if a 55% retention rate is acceptable, because it costs so much more today to turn the apartment when someone leaves,” Pilgard said. “And if your response to resident turnover is reactive, such as by cutting costs, then you’re going to see even more attrition because more residents will become dissatisfied.” 

Data supports JLL’s resident-first approach and could serve as a wake-up call for other multifamily management companies. 

A 2025 survey found a stark disconnect between why landlords believe people don’t renew leases and the reasons residents offer. While most property management companies blamed reasons beyond their control like life changes or purchasing a home, residents tended to cite factors that were either somewhat or very within the building management’s control — “poor management communication and responsiveness.” 

All The Difference

JLL’s strategy is to anticipate the needs of residents, provide solutions and head off potential issues before they become expensive problems, Rasansky said. 

“We always talk about being proactive versus reactive, and this is where having the right building team in place makes all the difference,” she said. “And not just your management team but your engineers, janitors and front door staff. Those people can really make or break an experience for the residents.”

This requires a team that embraces a hospitality culture. Otherwise, continuing to view the tenant-landlord relationship as strictly transactional risks alienating residents and making them less likely to renew.

“We need everyone to buy into the message of providing residents with a great experience and making the building feel like a community,” Rasansky said. “This is a very personal business because these are people’s homes, and that requires us to get to know our residents and understand their likes and dislikes.” 

Cirjakovic said service is an “intentional strategy” for JLL that benefits clients, residents and associates. Done right, it will reduce operational disruptions and costs and result in a better experience for all stakeholders.

Bringing this strategy to life requires two important elements, she added. 

Photo: Pexels/Alena Darmel

One is a building leadership team that believes in the resident experience the team is trying to create and then demonstrates these values in their daily interactions with residents and colleagues.

“When a property manager takes time to personally follow up on a resident complaint or when maintenance supervisors treat urgent requests with the same priority as their leaders would, it signals that the culture change is real, not just rhetoric,” Cirjakovic said. “Or when leadership consistently chooses resident-focused decisions — even when they're more expensive or time-consuming — it gives employees permission to do the same.”

The other critical element is to ensure employees understand how their roles shape the resident experience. 

“Every team member, from leasing agents to groundskeeping staff, needs to understand how their specific responsibilities directly impact someone's daily life and home,” Cirjakovic said. “This personal connection transforms routine tasks into meaningful contributions.”

'Let's Make This Better'

JLL reinforces this message in a variety of ways, such as through annual in-person customer service training for every role in a building, from reception, leasing and maintenance to management. The human resources department also holds quarterly training sessions.

The goal is to ensure the team can efficiently field routine questions, such as those concerning rent payments or maintenance, as well as issues that might be more resident-specific. This requires building staff to know how to listen, Rasansky said. 

“We're in people's homes and lives, and that creates a whole other level of understanding your residents and what they need,” she said. “Sometimes they just need to vent, and other times you might have conversations where you say, ‘Let's figure out how we can make this better for you.’” 

Photo: Pexels/RDNE Stock project

Rasansky said training should reinforce every employee's role in ensuring resident satisfaction. It also needs to provide concrete behavioral examples that they can apply to their work, rather than abstract concepts that might be misunderstood or forgotten.

“Employees should walk away knowing exactly what excellent resident interaction looks like in their specific position and feeling confident they can deliver it consistently,” she said. “When training gives people clear, actionable examples they can immediately apply, it creates lasting behavior change that residents will notice and appreciate.”

'Moments Of Stickiness'

A multifamily property team’s work doesn’t stop at being problem-solvers. Another important role is to facilitate a sense of community by scheduling activities they know the residents will appreciate.

And how do they know? Because the building staff talks to them. 

“Residents will tell you what they want and if they aren't happy or don't like something,” Rasansky said. “That’s why we get to know our residents.”

Popular activities include pop-up events that might provide breakfast on the go or offer opportunities like building flower bouquets for Valentine’s Day. Pet-centered events are increasingly popular, too, but the overarching goal is to create novel opportunities for residents to interact and feel connected.

“We can go a little bit outside the box,” she said. “Sometimes we have safety seminars because some buildings are in urban neighborhoods and we just want to make sure that people understand ways to keep safe.”

Whether residents are bonding over mocktinis with other dog owners at a building-sponsored “yappy hour” or learning a new craft such as building a terrarium, these activities help address an important need.

“We find that if people are making friends within the building, they're less likely to move at the end of their lease,” Rasansky said. “It's about creating those moments of stickiness.”

How does a building team know its efforts are bearing fruit? An increase in residents re-signing their leases is an obvious metric. But it is best not to wait until it’s time for someone to renew before the team knows whether they are happy or not.

“We solicit resident feedback on important touchpoints, such as their move-in experience, maintenance work orders and resident events,” Rasansky said. “This provides crucial insight into what's working well or if practices are starting to drift from standards, allowing us to understand when we're getting it right and reinforcing successful practices.”

Rasansky said culture metrics are integrated into employee performance reviews and reinforced at team meetings, where wins are celebrated. Most importantly, she said, building management needs to ensure operational processes support rather than undermine the desired culture. One way to do this is with a centralized digital hub that allows residents to easily connect with the building 24/7.

“Technology-enabled tools focused on convenience and exceptional service play a crucial role in our cultural transformation,” Cirjakovic said. “We utilize a comprehensive resident app that allows residents to submit maintenance requests, pay rent, communicate with property management, schedule amenity reservations and access community information around the clock.”

Whether activating an amenity or providing a useful app, long-term success requires embedding new behaviors and initiatives into the building’s daily culture rather than treating them as something separate, Rasansky said. 

“We owe it to ourselves and our residents to understand resident needs and not be afraid to roll out something new that we truly believe will be very differentiating to someone's experience in the building,” she said. 

After all, that is what today’s renters want.

This article was produced in collaboration between JLL and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.