Why an SFR Company Recruited a Fast Food Executive

The single-family rental business could learn a lot from a former McDonald’s executive when it comes to customer service, standardized operational consistency and leveraging an abundance of customer data.

Progress Residential, which operates more than 70,000 homes across 29 fast-growing metro areas, hired Harish Ramalingam in April as its COO. He spent the previous nine years in executive management for the leading fast-food chain.

Quick-service restaurants such as McDonald’s possess an abundance of data and consumer information and Ramalingam is leading Progress Residential through its forward-thinking rental policies and strategic use of technology and is aiming to make sure its homes provide predictable customer experiences as the fast-food giant is well-known for.

Ramalingam spoke to GlobeSt about the direction Progress Residential is taking and how his background provides it with a strong foundation.

Q: What convinced you to leave the fast-food business for the housing industry? Did you have any real estate experience before taking this position?

Ramalingam: The single-family rental industry is an exciting new frontier. There’s an incredible amount of opportunity to generate value with new technologies, more efficient operating platforms and better service. 

Everyone at Progress Residential—from leadership to our leasing associates—is committed to transforming the entire industry. We are all focused on providing a professional management model designed to deliver a world-class living experience that single-family renters simply can’t get anywhere else. That was very appealing on a personal level and is one of the primary reasons I chose to join Progress.

Q: What are some similarities and differences between fast-food operations and single-family rentals?

Ramalingam: The obvious difference is the number of transactions and the length of the customer’s stay. Both require a great deal of focus on creating a great experience. But it’s much more impressive to deliver an amazing experience for those who live with you for years. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish at Progress. We want to provide the best living experience in every market to our residents, bar none. 

To do that effectively, we need more data, which is another big difference between the industries. Quick-service restaurants (QSR) possess an abundance of data and consumer information. We’re striving to become the most data-rich provider of single-family housing in the industry, utilizing advanced metrics to add value to the resident experience.

With regard to parallels, the customer expectations are very similar. Customers want a reliable brand that offers outstanding service. In each industry, you have to exhibit a customer-first approach and uncover the methodologies that truly make a difference. Another interesting similarity is that McDonald’s is a real estate company itself, collecting rents from its franchisees and building and renovating restaurants.

Q: How has the company embraced your perspectives so far?

Ramalingam: Progress has welcomed me as if I’ve been in the industry for decades. I couldn’t ask for a better onboarding experience. They’ve really embraced my experience working with big brands and my knowledge of operational standardization. 

At McDonald’s, for example, the processes are standardized across markets, which makes a burger in San Francisco taste the same as a burger in Miami. That’s the kind of consistency Progress wants to provide to single-family residents.

Progress is focused on finding a way to deliver a consistently positive resident experience across the entire portfolio. The idea is to look through a resident-first lens with the ambition of creating impactful standardized processes across the market to deliver on that promise.

The Progress team is energized by the concept and embracing the changes in the single-family rental market. As we implement new ideas, everything has been very positive. Despite coming from a different industry, my fellow associates do not regard me as an outsider and have been very receptive to any ideas I’ve introduced

Q: What are the short-term and longer-term goals for Progress Residential?

Ramalingam: My primary short-term objective is to cultivate the best resident experience consistently across the Progress portfolio. This level of standardization will create ultimate trust in the brand for our residents. We want residents to associate the Progress brand with outstanding homes and customer service.

My long-term goal is to build a brand that beckons extreme trust and exudes excellence. I want Progress to be that brand, the one trusted by customers and the community and the brand that sets the standard in single-family rentals.