A lot has changed in self-storage operation over the past few years. In this latest ISS podcast, Douglas Stirling of San Diego Self Storage discusses the ways in which the facility manager’s role has been impacted and how onsite staff should respond to keep pace with the evolving industry.

September 30, 2022

Self-storage operation has changed rather dramatically over the past few years, in large part due to pandemic shifts but also because of an inevitable increase in technology use. As a result, the facility-manager role is also different. In some ways, it’s a positive transition; in others, onsite employees are feeling the pain.

In this “Sounds of Storage” podcast, Inside Self-Storage (ISS) Contributing Editor Tony Jones speaks with Douglas Stirling, director of operations with San Diego Self Storage (SDSS), about the changing nature of facility management and how staff are being impacted. He dives into the new manager/tenant dynamic and how teams are adapting. He also opines on whether more changes are ahead and if the shift is good for the industry.

During his nine years in self-storage, Stirling has held various roles, from office staff to area manager. With SDSS, he oversees nearly 1.5 million rentable square feet. A Marine Corps veteran with extensive global operations and leadership experience, he also has a master’s degree in real estate, with a focus on commercial development, and is a candidate for a master of business administration degree at Pepperdine University.

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Founded in 1972, SSDS operates 20 self-storage facilities across Southern California. The company is locally owned and operated, and places an emphasis on customer service and community involvement.

Duration: 6 minutes, 38 seconds

To learn more, access the hundreds of free resources on our Management and Operation and Staffing topic pages, or browse the related products in the Day-to-Day Management and Staffing categories of the ISS Store. To hear additional installments in the “Sounds of Storage” series, visit the ISS podcasts page.

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