As a family-owned property management company, Oakmont Properties has always provided incomparable customer service to its residents. The company’s attention to detail, emergency response time, and maintenance support have fueled exponential growth over the past several years. As of 2024, Oakmont Properties has grown to over 7,000 units across four different states in the Western U.S., offering modern, upscale communities to thousands of residents.
Jennifer Culhane, Business Manager at Oakmont Properties, has been with the company for 15 years. She supports the Payroll and HR needs of the maintenance employees who keep the properties pristine and resident-friendly.
Managing a growing portfolio of properties comes with its share of challenges, as does managing a growing number of employees who support that expansion. Prior to being with PrimePay, Oakmont Properties was with a large payroll provider, and Jennifer struggled to get responses to her questions, which at times would halt her in her very busy tracks. The provider also did not provide the technology she was in dire need of to make her and the employees more efficient and enabled.
“We were really looking for something where we would get a bit more attention, support-wise, and more timely responses. We also wanted to give our employees an option to punch in and out through a system,” said Jennifer.
Outreach from a PrimePay Sales Executive came at just the right time for her. “I was amazed by just his response time alone coming from the company that we came from before where it would take me weeks to get a response,” she said. “He was on top of it, and it was extremely easy to communicate with him. He saw me through the entire process.”
Oakmont Properties made the switch in 2022 and hasn’t looked back since.
Time System = Time Savings
One of Jennifer’s most critical needs was the ability to empower employees to punch in and out electronically. Previously, the 160+ employees filled out paper time sheets, and then Jennifer input the information into the system herself.
“I really did want to get to a place where we could put that responsibility to track their time back in the employees’ hands,” she stated.
With PrimePay, Oakmont Properties’ employees can punch in and out from anywhere on any device. For Jennifer, this means much more automation in tracking, scheduling, labor reporting, and payroll processing.
By moving to PrimePay, Jennifer estimates that she saves at least two business days of her time every two weeks, which can now be focused on other business needs. “It would take me days to get through that. Now, I can look over things and make sure everything’s good to go and get my payroll committed. It’s definitely saved me about two business days every pay period,” Jennifer said.
The Pluses of Going Paperless
Keeping employee files up-to-date is also a key need for ensuring accuracy and compliance for Oakmont Properties. One feature that Jennifer now enjoys after switching to PrimePay is the move to paperless functionality, including doing so with certification tracking.
With certification management, employees can receive reminders of expirations, and they can easily search and add licenses or certifications to their profiles.
Jennifer notes, “For our employees who are maintenance workers who get pool certifications, HVAC certifications, etc., it’s really nice to have an online place where they can go and upload those certifications. I can go to the employee file through PrimePay, and I have all of their information there in front of me instead of having to dig for a paper file.”
Jennifer also utilizes the reporting functionality frequently in her role and finds the system delivers what she needs to ensure compliance.
“Running reports that are needed, such as a Workers’ Compensation audit, is much simpler than what we were using before. I appreciate how the platform is set up. It’s easy to use, and I can find what reports I need,” notes Jennifer.
Support Successes
At her previous provider, Jennifer struggled to receive responses when questions arose. Often, she found herself waiting for answers and unable to proceed confidently with her tasks related to those requests. When she did connect with someone at the previous provider, she would need to explain her request again, taking up valuable time for all involved.
At PrimePay, her experience couldn’t be more different. “The support is second to none,” said Jennifer.
“You’re never going to have to sit around and wait weeks for a response on how to do something. It’s very clear and very obvious that PrimePay definitely takes care of their customers on the support side and that is super valuable to me,” she stated. “We’ve been with PrimePay for a little over two years now, and I could not be more happy.”