MIH’s Joe Starkey, Senior Property Manager tells us about his first month in the job!

Senior Property Manager. The first few weeks for any new employee in a new job, are always a little nervy. As the newbie you want to impress and therefore nerves are normal…surely!! The need to impress or to simply feel comfortable in your place of work will increase if your boss, manager or colleagues are not as welcoming as you would hope.

Well not at MIH! Literally from the first minute, the reception was friendly, kind and I immediately felt part of the team. Sarah continually emphasises that her staff’s well-being is paramount to her determination to grow the company but in a sustainable way.

As someone who has worked for several managing agents this was music to my ears. For too long I have seen good people leaving the property management industry due to companies wanting to extract every bit out of you every day. Well I have found MIH  and my role as a Senior Property Manager to be different.

Whilst you are expected to work as part of a team, there is not that dread of being left without the time and resources to do a good job. Most leaseholders simply want their property manager to keep them updated and be proactive in the management of their building.

Sarah has grown the business sensibly ensuring her staff have that time. The first few weeks have been a breath of fresh air working with like-minded people who seem liberated from the traditional property management whirlwind! So far, I have not had the, ‘dread’ of turning on my emails, knowing that however hard I work, I wouldn’t catch up or do the job properly. The fear of letting people down encompassing you until you explode!

Such a simple ethos of happy staff means a dedicated group of people who wanted to repay the trust and friendliness shown to them. I know already I’m determined to make MIH the best it can be for Sarah and my colleagues, as I already feel I have a vested interest in it.

As someone who has made this my profession, I care immensely about doing the job well. It’s important to ensure leaseholders get value for money and that the health and safety tasks are fulfilled. MIH allow their staff that opportunity, within a fun environment.

The importance of social gatherings such as the Christmas party are foremost in Sarah’s mind even in August! Their commitment to staff happiness was demonstrated when after two weeks of being at MIH, Laurence Davies the head of property management, recognised that my commute is tough and therefore allows me to leave 15 minutes earlier to beat the traffic.

Some ‘dinosaur’ companies would see this as 15 minutes lost per day…but in fact it enthuses me to work harder for MIH. Consequently, I found myself replying to emails on the train or when walking the dog in the evening. Doing work on your own terms is imperative for a happy work life balance which so many crave, even if the dog is not that impressed by my need to stand still when typing.

As a father of two I realised that I wanted to work to live NOT live to work. MIH have provided me with that environment. It was so good to see that they had planned for my arrival and allowed me time to learn the ‘MIH way’ and go visit the buildings under my management. I was included in decision making where appropriate and provided key clients to introduce myself to. So many companies could learn from how MIH treat their staff.

Ok so the negatives…I’ve had to learn how to fizz Sarah’s water correctly and buy extra headache tablets to subdue the loudness in the office (created purely due to the enthusiasm within it) but hey it’s a price worth paying if it continues like this!

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