On the back of the Time Management webinar a week ago, I thought I would share the experience we have had with onboarding a VA and the difference that it has made to our team and our time management, in case someone is thinking how this works.
After a few years of tossing up whether to get a VA or not, and after a conversation with Adam, we took the plunge. We already had all our systems cloud based.
Initially there is a fair bit of training over zoom, which in itself can be challenging with time differences, cultural differences (and the language difference really is not much of a hurdle) and perhaps someone who is new to the industry. Most of this training is so the “new staff/team member” gets to understand the business and how you operate. It is very important at this stage, to know exactly what tasks you are going to want them to do.
But once that was bedded in, the difference has been incredible. We have our VA team member doing a lot of administration tasks that include - typing up all our ADL forms (leases/lease renewals/entry notifications/notices/chasing ECR returns/chasing supplier invoices). They are not interrupted by the day to day goings on in the office and the phone ringing - and these tasks are now performed quicker and more efficiently.
By taking these tasks off our plate, the first thing we found was our stress levels went down and our jobs became more 9 - 5.
But the biggest advantage to our team is that it has freed us up to have better conversations with our clients and be on the front foot with lease renewals and routine inspections. They are now running like clockwork - particularly incorporating COVID requirements. We are able to deal with the reactive work (tenants reporting maintenance) more effectively and much more quickly and efficiently and it no longer feels like reactive work or the heightened stress that comes with it. We have the theme days that Adam talked about (without even knowing that is what they were)
Our clients are happier and feel they have better service and communication with us. Our Ailo scores are reflective of this. Our team is happier.