Timberland Partners Resolves Maintenance Issues and Boosts Efficiency with Work Management

Timberland Partners is a multifamily owner/operator with 90 properties and more than 20,000 apartment homes in 17 states spanning the Midwest and Southeast U.S.

Key Stats

• ​20,000+ apartment homes
• ​98% platform adoption
• ​75% approval from service team

Company Details

• ​Company: Timberland Partners
• ​Industry: Multifamily
• ​Headquarters: Minneapolis, MN
• ​Products Used: Work Management, Inspection Management

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"Everybody in our organization now has Work Management on their phones. Work Management is by far the best reporting system I’ve used for any aspect of property management. You have the ability to see whatever you want to see, whenever you want to see it and however you want to see it... I’ve taught people at all levels of our organization how to filter out the info they want in Work Management and it has been huge for transparency."

— Amber Deering, Timberland Project Manager

Challenge: Poor Adoption of Previous Mobile Maintenance Platform

In 2018, Timberland Partners implemented a mobile maintenance platform to streamline workflow for its service teams. However, after three years, the company was not seeing the anticipated efficiency improvements. In 2022, an audit revealed that only 52% of the 30,000 service requests received in the first quarter had been completed through the mobile maintenance platform.

To understand the low adoption, Timberland conducted maintenance team interviews and in-person visits, identifying three primary issues:

1. 1.Lack of support and training: Many associates did not understand how to use the technology, including basic tasks like downloading or logging in.
2. 2.Non-intuitive software: The platform only provided a macro view of workflow and lacked filtering capabilities.
3. 3.Limited reporting features: Associates had to manually save work and upload reports, as instant reporting was not available.

"We were hyper-focused on finding a solution that solved all of those issues," said Amber Deering, Project Manager.

Solution: Comprehensive SmartRent Work Management

Timberland Partners evaluated multiple solutions and ultimately selected SmartRent Work Management because it addressed both their primary concerns and additional needs:

• ​Customizable inspections platform
• ​Make-ready boards
• ​Spanish language options
• ​Direct resident communication through the app
• ​Inventory scanning via the Assets feature

"SmartRent solved for more issues that we didn’t include among our major problems, but which were still essential. After viewing the full picture, it was clear to us that Work Management was the best option."

Timberland piloted Work Management at six properties before rolling it out portfolio-wide. The rollout was supported by SmartRent’s dedicated team, ensuring a smooth transition.

Launch Goals:

1. 1.Achieve 98% adoption of the mobile maintenance platform
2. 2.Gain 75% approval from service team members
3. 3.Reach both goals within two months of implementation

Results: Immediate Embrace and Improved Efficiency

Timberland Partners reached its adoption and approval targets within one month—half the planned time.

• ​98% compliance within one month
• ​75% approval from service team

Improved Communication

Work Management enabled direct internal communication through the app, reducing the need for calls and texts between office and maintenance staff. The mapping feature allowed technicians to pinpoint problem locations easily.

"The ability for the service team to communicate with the office team directly within a task is extremely beneficial. It limits the number of phone calls and text messages our technicians get from the office team. Another key feature is mapping. The ability to pinpoint a location makes everything very clear for the responding technician."

Designed for Multifamily by Multifamily Professionals

Deering noted that Work Management’s design reflects real-world maintenance experience, making it intuitive for users at all levels.

"It’s so clear that the people who designed Work Management have done maintenance before. It was designed in a way that makes the most sense for the people actually doing the work."

The platform’s reporting features increased transparency and allowed users to filter and access information as needed, without the limitations of canned reports.

Ongoing Improvements

Timberland Partners also launched SmartRent’s Inspection Workflow solution, receiving positive feedback and realizing time savings during move-out inspections.

"Move-out inspections are saving our teams 15 minutes per inspection, versus the former process of taking pictures on a phone, scanning and then uploading one by one. The time savings are already fantastic."

Deering concluded that Work Management has become an integral part of their operations, with previous platform issues now forgotten.

"Work Management is so ingrained that it really has become a way of life for our teams in the past year that we’ve been utilizing the new platform. In our case, there was no other option than SmartRent Work Management."