Goals and Objectives
In property management, efficiency is key. This project aims to enhance the damage claim management process by reducing downtime and increasing efficiency, accuracy, and overall performance.
Problem Statement
The property management admin team currently uses manual data entry and Excel sheets to track nationwide damage claims, which is inefficient and error-prone.
A review of the system revealed an opportunity to collaborate with the field team and administrative members to redesign the process, streamlining improvements, and establishing monitoring metrics for goal setting.
Research
I explored and mapped out the current flow of a damage claim process involving at least three different interest parties that are involved with this whole process.
I further synthesized this into a service blueprint which helped showcase how each of the handoffs are completed, and when each party will be in touch with the claims ticket.
Through some user interviews and data analysis, challenges and some areas of improvements were identified.
Improving the process for initial submission from the field team
The current ticket flow does not allow for housekeeping team to easily add photos and descriptions to a disposition ticket. It was found that the average turnaround time from damage discovery to ticket creation was about five days, then an additional two to contact the guest. Lets hope the guests have already left a review at this point.
Improving the process for initial submission from the field team
The current ticket flow does not allow for housekeeping team to easily add photos and descriptions to a disposition ticket. It was found that the average turnaround time from damage discovery to ticket creation was about five days, then an additional two to contact the guest. Lets hope the guests have already left a review at this point.
Improving the process for initial submission from the field team
The current ticket flow does not allow for housekeeping team to easily add photos and descriptions to a disposition ticket. It was found that the average turnaround time from damage discovery to ticket creation was about five days, then an additional two to contact the guest. Lets hope the guests have already left a review at this point.
Keeping track of multiple cases to ensure timely submission of supporting documentation
As tickets get reassigned and passed to different departments, the ticket creator does not have a good method to keep track of all that were opened. With seasonal influxes of caseload, wait times could be up to three months for a resolution resulting in escalated homeowners wondering when their repairs are going to be completed.
Keeping track of multiple cases to ensure timely submission of supporting documentation
As tickets get reassigned and passed to different departments, the ticket creator does not have a good method to keep track of all that were opened. With seasonal influxes of caseload, wait times could be up to three months for a resolution resulting in escalated homeowners wondering when their repairs are going to be completed.
Keeping track of multiple cases to ensure timely submission of supporting documentation
As tickets get reassigned and passed to different departments, the ticket creator does not have a good method to keep track of all that were opened. With seasonal influxes of caseload, wait times could be up to three months for a resolution resulting in escalated homeowners wondering when their repairs are going to be completed.
Transparency of the process
Comments and updates were frequently requested as to where the process stands. New managers and administrators have to refer to documentation and standard operating procedures for answers. This results in a cluttered ticket and frequent miscommunication and misalignment on time frames, expectations and unnecessary frustrations.
Transparency of the process
Comments and updates were frequently requested as to where the process stands. New managers and administrators have to refer to documentation and standard operating procedures for answers. This results in a cluttered ticket and frequent miscommunication and misalignment on time frames, expectations and unnecessary frustrations.
Transparency of the process
Comments and updates were frequently requested as to where the process stands. New managers and administrators have to refer to documentation and standard operating procedures for answers. This results in a cluttered ticket and frequent miscommunication and misalignment on time frames, expectations and unnecessary frustrations.
Housekeeping
Current ticket housekeeping ticket creation vs a proposed process
The current options make it difficult for housekeeping teams to integrate photos into ticket creation and lack templates for common situations they encounter. Enhancing this tool would benefit all field team members.
By breaking down the tasks, I reduced the total number of steps needed to file a claim from 47 to 21, enabling accurate and efficient review of damages.
It's crucial for the first team member on the scene to document as much as possible before any cleanup, streamlining the process and guiding less senior team members.
Local Operational Managers
Looking at how to free up the local manager’s attention bandwidth and time
The current ticket view lacks clarity, and the action buttons at the top are not useful, taking up too much space.
Step 1: Revamped ticket priorities with color coding, badges, and icons to establish hierarchy. Glancing at the badges also allows us to see due dates, making sorting and filtering easier.
Step 2: Streamlined the ticket view with a specific template for claims viewing, enabling quick actions and easy identification of required tasks. Additional details can be viewed from the popup card drawer, with a link to the full detailed view if needed.
Administrative Claims
The final step was to redesign the existing dashboard for the Administrative team. Currently, the workflow involves Google Sheets, maintenance tickets, and SMS/phone calls. By streamlining the process, a proposal would be to centralize all communications within one tool.
To alleviate manual data collection, the tool populates existing information from the unit and reservation, making it readily available. Each claim is itemized, allowing for organized attachments. A queue dashboard is introduced to prioritize based on urgency and due dates from guest checkout, separating claim tickets from the maintenance queue for easier sorting and visualization of open cases.
Itemized and sorted tickets into individual folders streamline the review process for the admin team, particularly on larger tickets with multiple components. Additionally, the readily available communication history aids the claims team in facilitating progress and resolving any miscommunication.
Reflection
Revision, revision, iteration
Generating more concepts and functional prototypes for testing was and integral part of the process. It happened that even more versions were needed and sometimes, its ok to jump back to more earlier versions and restart from there. Originally I tried to keep more in line with the existing style, however, through the journey, I was challenged and inspired to push it further to make the user experience delightful.
Revision, revision, iteration
Generating more concepts and functional prototypes for testing was and integral part of the process. It happened that even more versions were needed and sometimes, its ok to jump back to more earlier versions and restart from there. Originally I tried to keep more in line with the existing style, however, through the journey, I was challenged and inspired to push it further to make the user experience delightful.
Revision, revision, iteration
Generating more concepts and functional prototypes for testing was and integral part of the process. It happened that even more versions were needed and sometimes, its ok to jump back to more earlier versions and restart from there. Originally I tried to keep more in line with the existing style, however, through the journey, I was challenged and inspired to push it further to make the user experience delightful.
Juggling multiple stakeholders
Having three different stakeholders with completely different tasks was a challenging assignment to bring together. There were many differences that were voiced during the research. Being able to cater towards all stakeholders without antagonizing any department was crucial in developing an asymmetric internal tool.
Juggling multiple stakeholders
Having three different stakeholders with completely different tasks was a challenging assignment to bring together. There were many differences that were voiced during the research. Being able to cater towards all stakeholders without antagonizing any department was crucial in developing an asymmetric internal tool.
Juggling multiple stakeholders
Having three different stakeholders with completely different tasks was a challenging assignment to bring together. There were many differences that were voiced during the research. Being able to cater towards all stakeholders without antagonizing any department was crucial in developing an asymmetric internal tool.
Demonstrating value
The tool serves not as a revenue generator, but as a loss or cost mitigator. With hundreds of claims coming in on any given day, every department works tirelessly to ensure smooth operation and efficiency, but still gets bogged down with the volume. The tool aims to reduce the bottleneck, tickets lost in transition and creates a better peace of mind for homeowners showing that their investments are in good hands.
Demonstrating value
The tool serves not as a revenue generator, but as a loss or cost mitigator. With hundreds of claims coming in on any given day, every department works tirelessly to ensure smooth operation and efficiency, but still gets bogged down with the volume. The tool aims to reduce the bottleneck, tickets lost in transition and creates a better peace of mind for homeowners showing that their investments are in good hands.
Demonstrating value
The tool serves not as a revenue generator, but as a loss or cost mitigator. With hundreds of claims coming in on any given day, every department works tirelessly to ensure smooth operation and efficiency, but still gets bogged down with the volume. The tool aims to reduce the bottleneck, tickets lost in transition and creates a better peace of mind for homeowners showing that their investments are in good hands.
