Training center puts the class in learning

Real Estate Weekly, March 19, 2008 by Jason Turcotte

Where can you access a boiler, air conditioning unit, elevator, concierge desk and a water meter all in a 700 s/f room? The answer is Cooper Square Realty's Learning Center, an obstacle course-like educational facility for the city's next wave of building managers.

The Center--the only one of its kind in New York--is revolutionizing professional development for property managers.

In its third year, the expansive program involves 11 learning stations, utilizing audio and visual components, followed by a 60-minute exam.

The audio/video element calls for MP3 players and PowerPoint; the company keeps session numbers small to foster an interactive environment. It also requires seven additional sessions/seminars, and the curriculum is continually evolving to maximize the knowledge of incoming property managers.

From designing the learning facility to scripting the instructional sessions, Cooper has crafted the program in-house, from start to finish.

"We've written the book--not rewritten the book--on training property managers ... we've been working hard for many years to professionalize the industry," said Dan Wurtzel, chief operating officer at Cooper Square Realty.

The Learning Center is far from the typical classroom. A concierge desk station, for example, covers everything doormen need to do to create a professional, efficient and safe environment. The program's audio/visual component helps students absorb the most meticulous of details, from the functions of an elevator to the anti-scalding devices of hot water heaters--even a suited mannequin assists in educating students on grooming techniques and uniform maintenance.

Students also receive a primer on elevator operation and maintenance. This station includes a live elevator and teaches the aspiring managers the steps needed for maintenance and the features provided for safe, efficient operation. It also serves to differentiate between traction and hydraulic functioning machines; hydraulic machines are found in low-rise buildings, while traction elevators are required for most properties that exceed six floors. The Learning Center setting even includes environmental and compliance training.

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"Our whole premise was there's no other place to learn this, so we had to build our own," said David Kuperberg, president and CEO of Cooper Square Realty

Once additional floor space became available at the company's 6 East 43rd Street offices in 2005, that vision of revolutionizing the training for property managers quickly became a reality. In addition to elevators and concierge desks, now trainees are tested on everything from plumbing, electrical, roofing, pest control, boilers, air conditioning, water tanks and risk management--one of the newest stations.

By factoring risk management into the curriculum, landlords who have property managers enrolled in the Learning Center have been able to benefit from insurance perks; insurance companies are offering lower rates as a result of this particular component. The Center is designed to expand or alter curriculum as dictated by emerging technologies and industry trends.

The program has received praise from both landlords and tenants, who can now rely on property managers for not just professionalism but information and useful points of reference. Even building owners have found the facility useful, and Wurtzel said that the Learning Center is also paying dividends at Cooper. Property management retention is at an all-time high. Of the 60 managers the firm employs, just one has left Cooper over the last year. And he said property managers have taken their roles more seriously as the result of such training.

"If you provide education to people who want to be in an industry, you get more out of them. We're trying to give them a general education on what they can find in the building," Wurtzel said. "They don't have this in college."

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Wurtzel said that before the Learning Center, managers mostly understood their position through word-of-mouth. But this education is blazing a trail of success. The post-training exam includes approximately 10 questions per station and test takers must answer at least 80% of the questions accurately to advance--a test even Kuperberg, a seasoned civil engineer admitted failing before running through the Center's substations.

The Learning Center is primarily designed for developing property managers for residential buildings. Cooper Square manages 170 buildings, including the luxurious Plaza Hotel residences. The firm's unique approach to professional development is unmatched in Manhattan and Kuperberg doesn't see other management firms catching up any time soon.

"I'm probably willing to wager that this won't ever be duplicated in New York," he said.