Without somebody to deal with clients directly and respond to day-to-day inquiries and concerns as they arise, HighGate Properties wouldn’t be nearly as successful as it has been. As HighGate’s Property Administrator, Kyra Milewski is there to give our clients the best service possible, and to put out “fires” as they come up.
A versatile skill set
Growing up in Simcoe County, just north of Barrie, Kyra has spent most of her life in Southern Ontario, and has familiarized herself with the Greater Toronto Area over the years. After spending two years studying psychology at Trent University, Kyra switched courses to pursue a degree in recreation and leisure at Brock University. Upon obtaining her University degree, Kyra went back to college for a technical diploma at Barrie’s Georgian College to become a veterinary technician.
A lifetime of customer interaction experience
After completing her post-secondary schooling, Kyra experienced a wide variety of workplaces where she further developed her client interaction skills. “I’ve worked in everything from retail to manual labour, but the vast majority of my experience has been with customer service”. Kyra eventually began working as a veterinary technician, where she dealt directly with customer’s concerns about the wellbeing of their pets, answered their questions, and handled emergencies.
Kyra recently spent four months on contract working with the Canada Revenue Agency, where she continued to develop her customer service skills. She has moved between the GTA and Ottawa over the past few years, spending a year and a half in Ottawa before moving back to Toronto at the end of April 2017. Kyra started with Highgate Properties in August of 2017, bringing her customer service experience with her to her role as Property Administrator.
A day in the life of a property administrator
When asked what a typical day in her shoes looked like, Kyra broke it down for us. “The first thing I do every morning is check emails and phone messages, and get to work on answering questions and inquiries that were left overnight or over the weekend”. From there, Kyra’s days are spent dealing with inquiries as they arise, ensuring that tenants and owners are satisfied and that rents and utilities are being paid on time.
Kyra then goes about collecting rent and utility payments from clients, prepares deposits with post-dated cheques collected from tenants and owners, and compares the deposits with software to determine whether there are outstanding payments. When outstanding payments are identified, Kyra connects and follows up with clients through email and telephone to ensure that payments are made at the earliest possible convenience. Other duties overseen by Kyra include issuing rent increases when applicable, sorting out new management, and continuously responding to day-to-day inquiries.
Motivational approach to life and the workplace
Kyra told us that each and every Monday she prepares a unique motivational memo for the Highgate office. The memo highlights any major happenings over the past work week, what she has been up to in terms of client interactions, and includes a motivational quote to give her coworkers a much needed boost at the beginning of the workweek. “I’m lucky to work with a really great team and I think it’s really satisfying to be able to help tenants and owners solve problems”.
Outside of the office, Kyra can be found enjoying time with her partner, or spending time outside walking or snowshoeing. Her biggest passion in life is music – she says that she’s constantly listening, and is building an impressive collection of vinyl records. She’s also learning to play guitar and recently acquired a keyboard.
Without people like Kyra Milewski on the team, Highgate Properties wouldn’t run nearly as smoothly as it does. If you’re a tenant or an owner working with Highgate and find that you have any problems or inquiries, Kyra’s passion for customer interaction will ensure that your problems will be handled with care and solved promptly.
If you aren’t yet a client of Highgate Properties, visit our website or contact us today and find out how you can get Highgate and Kyra on your team.
