Workshop recap: Centralization for third-party managers
This year’s Forum began with a working session for third-party managers to discuss the future of centralization, and come up with solutions to their biggest challenges. Led by Dom Beveridge, founder of 20for20, the session allowed attendees to explore what the evolving operating model means for third-party managers—and how they can navigate the complexities unique to their portfolios.
At the end of the three-hour workshop, teams presented their findings. They set out to answer:
- What are the biggest opportunities for more centralization?
- What are the biggest obstacles and how are operators overcoming them?
- What are the best strategies for winning hearts and minds and moving toward a centralized model?
The workshop revealed a nuanced understanding of both the promise and the challenges of centralization for third-party managers. Here’s what they found:
Opportunities: Where third-party managers believe centralization delivers the most value
As centralization becomes more viable for third-party operators, teams are beginning to see where it can provide the greatest operational lift. The workshop surfaced clear areas where centralization is already driving results—and where it has the potential to transform how work gets done.
1. Admin takes the lead: Nearly all participants agreed that administrative functions are the clearest starting point for centralization. Tasks like renewals, delinquency management, resident support, and screening are increasingly handled by centralized teams.
In fact, a quick survey of workshop attendees revealed that more than half of the third-party managers in attendance have already begun to centralize team admin tasks.
This aligns with the findings in Beveridge’s most recent 20for20 report, where he determined that 75% of companies surveyed have started centralizing administrative functions.
2. Role specialization and advancement opportunities: One of the most promising opportunities discussed in the workshop was the potential for role specialization within centralized teams, which unlocks new ways for team members to deepen expertise and broaden their impact. Companies are creating dedicated roles that allow individuals to own specific parts of the renter journey—instead of juggling everything from leasing to admin to collections.
Attendees agree that centralization not only helps reduce redundancy, but it also allows teams to rethink career paths and traditional job descriptions.
One team previously faced 60% turnover in leasing in a single year. By centralizing their leasing operations and allowing team members to focus on sales, they improved retention and uncovered the benefits of skill specialization. Now, top sales performers can lease across multiple assets without daily interruptions, while a dedicated support team ensures residents have seamless service.
3. Renewals and collections can scale: Renewals stood out as a particularly high-impact area for nearly every group.
One team shared that since adopting a specialized renewal team (that leverages Funnel’s AI), they saw an 11% increase in renewal rates.
But how do residents respond to using an AI virtual assistant for some renewal tasks? One attendee said a clean handoff between the AI and humans has made a huge difference in resident satisfaction.
4. Tech-enabled consistency: Creating a consistent renter experience across portfolios is an obvious advantage to centralized platforms and AI-driven workflows. But what does a consistent experience mean? Some teams described a smooth transition from AI to human representatives, while others focused on better internal collaboration across their portfolio.
“We leverage a couple of AI products in our contact center… I think it’s probably an underrated component [of centralization] that has allowed us to be able to get individuals to the appropriate department to assist them in a timely fashion without any red tape. I think that’s an underrated benefit of the technology that has helped us a great deal,” — Andre Washington, Director of Contact Center Technology at BH Management Services.
Obstacles: What challenges are holding teams back?
While the benefits of centralization are compelling, they don’t come without friction. Teams at the workshop surfaced several recurring roadblocks.
1. Losing the personal touch and demographic needs: Leveraging relationships and customer service is one of the cornerstones of the industry, and it is no surprise that some teams are concerned with losing the personal touch with residents and prospects once centralized.
Attendees emphasized the importance of retaining that human connection, especially in demographics that require a more personalized approach, or are hesitant to use AI.
2. Change management and implementation: A well-known hurdle on the path to centralization for third-party managers is managing the transition across a fragmented tech stack that usually varies from property to property. This challenge doesn’t just slow down implementation—it limits the scalability of centralized services, and can negatively impact the renter experience.
Teams also noted that it becomes significantly more difficult to centralize any function when you’re working across multiple systems. Operating across multiple platforms limits the ability to manage tasks in bulk—one of the core advantages of centralization.
Attendees suggested companies stop trying to force technology to adapt to their established workflow, but match their process to the technology available.
3. Securing buy-in: Centralization isn’t just a systems shift—it’s a people one. Attendees note that overcoming the fear of job displacement among their teams, and securing buy-in from diverse ownership groups are large blockers on the road to centralization.
Leaders shared that team anxiety about job displacement is real and persistent. This “adversarial culture” requires third-party managers to reframe centralization as a support system for teams so they can take on specialized roles that fit their skill set.
“We need to recognize that these team members have their own unique strengths that AI can’t replace,” Washington said. “Centralization teams are collaborative, not a replacement.”
As for the ownership groups, attendees agree that the best path forward for convincing ownership to centralize is in the data. Teams said successful buy-in depends on consistently reinforcing the value with clear, data-backed results, not just promises.
Strategies for moving forward with centralization
Despite the challenges, third-party managers left the session with actionable strategies for navigating change. The key? Building trust—both with ownership groups who need proof, and with internal teams who need support.
Securing buy-in from ownership groups:
Attendees agreed that successfully moving to a centralized model starts with trust—and for ownership groups, that trust is earned through tangible proof and flexibility. Their strategies for securing buy-in include:
- Starting with quick wins: Showcase early success stories—like centralized renewals or delinquency teams—that clearly demonstrate ROI.
- Leading with data, not promises: Owners want results, not rhetoric. Share measurable performance metrics to show how centralization improves efficiency, consistency, and results.
- Flexibility: Every ownership group has different systems, structures, and priorities. Tailor your approach to meet their needs, and be prepared to adjust the model to fit their operating environment and portfolio dynamics.
Securing buy-in from teams:
Centralization doesn’t just change how work gets done—it changes how people work. Attendees highlighted that buy-in depends on how well the transition is communicated and supported. Their strategies are:
- Focusing on specialization and career growth: Centralized roles create opportunities for deeper expertise, clearer paths to advancement, and a more focused day-to-day. Framing the shift as a professional development opportunity helps team members see the value for themselves.
- Framing centralized teams as support, not replacement: Emphasize that centralization isn’t about cutting headcount—it’s about removing repetitive tasks so on-site teams can do more of the work that matters.
- Consistent communication and transparency: Keep teams informed every step of the way. Share what’s working, acknowledge concerns, and provide visibility into how decisions are being made.
“Do you want to go fast alone, or do you want to go far together?”
The workshop unveiled that the path forward to centralization isn’t just about speed and efficiency; it’s about collaboration, alignment, and building a model that works for everyone involved.
Centralization isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution—but with the right partnerships, it’s a strategy that can go the distance.