Is Poor Key Security
Hurting Your Reputation?
By Carl Hanly
“Our identity was stolen.” Lax Data Protection
“My apartment was entered when I wasn’t home
and my front door was left unlocked.” When handling a resident’s sensitive data online,
it’s important to follow cybersecurity best practices.
However, don’t forget about physical security.
If a resident’s identity is stolen due to your lax
security measures, you better believe they’ll talk
about it online. At one community in Michigan, a
former resident wrote a review about how a leasing
agent had been stealing residents’ information and
applying for credit in their names. Using her access
to residents’ mailboxes, the employee would steal any
correspondence related to identity theft to keep the
victim from fi nding out about it.
To reduce the risk of something similar
happening at your community, lock up sensitive
records and secure keys to private areas using an
electronic system that will create an audit trail.
“Key fob access was inoperable during a power
outage.”
These snippets from reviews of multifamily
communities reveal just how much residents value
safety and security. If they don’t have a good
experience where they live, they’ll warn others
through posts online. As much as 98 percent of
prospective residents read reviews before leasing an
apartment, so negative feedback hurts your long-term
success.
A critical part of providing a positive living
experience is an eff ective key and access control
policy. If you don’t take the right steps to manage
access to residents’ homes, they’re vulnerable to
potential thefts and violent crimes. That’s not to
mention the legal and reputation risks to your
business.
If you want to prevent poor key security from
hurting your reputation, look for these three warning
signs.
Inaccurate (or Nonexistent) Access Logs
It’s important to have a verifi able record of each
time an employee or vendor accesses a resident’s
home. If your records are inaccurate, it’ll be diffi cult
to investigate situations where a resident feels their
safety or privacy has been compromised.
What does a reliable method for creating an audit
trail look like? Above all, it should be automatic.
Manual methods such as log books or spreadsheets
are error prone. Just think about how easy it would be
for a leasing agent to grab a key for a tour and forget
to update the log.
Instead, opt for an electronic key or access control
system that automatically authenticates users and
records when each key is removed. Some systems may
also notify residents when the key to their apartment
has been removed, increasing transparency and
avoiding unwelcome surprises.
www.aamdhq.org
Complaints
If people are complaining about your key
management and security practices — whether in
person or online — take heed.
These complaints reveal shortcomings in your
security and off er you the opportunity to improve.
Evaluate what went wrong: Is it a process issue? Are
employees not following your policies? Are you using
the wrong key management solution? Did the resident
misunderstand the situation? After digging deeper,
acknowledge and address each resident’s concerns.
Implementing a reliable key management process
will help prevent scenarios that have people turning
to review sites and social media to complain about
your community. Act now to protect your reputation.
APRIL 2020
TRENDS | 19