Working Remotely

Remote operations or working from home has become far more prevalent throughout the property management game in the last year or 2 for very obvious reasons.

Recently, I have been looking back at what we did (and continue to do) to ensure a smooth passage for our people. Technology changes was the biggest one I think and there are so many different aids to make our businesses run more efficiently.

What I looked at and into was:

What can I outsource and what tasks will benefit from technology?

I came up with:

Accounting;
Marketing;
Leasing;
Customer Service Tracking;
Inspections;
Applicant Screening;
Maintenance Tracking; and
Online Rent Payments.

Now we tried some, liked some, kept some but what it showed us though, was that working from home has not only proven to be possible but, in some cases, better.

I actually believe that the concept is here to stay.

Cheers Russ

1 Like

Hi Russ

We have three people in our Management Team and we all work remotely for a set number of days. Between us there is always one of us in office everyday. It works for our team as we’re always available and accessible even if not in office.

A lot of our PMs work remotely for large portions of the day.

Through conducting thorough reviews and assessing the statistics we can see where any areas are slipping or not being met. But after 12 odd weeks of not being in office together it shows us that with technology and some minor work arounds we can easily keep the ship floating remotely.

Working from home allows more flexibility and a better work/life balance (which PMs struggle with!) - I agree the concept is here to stay.

All the best for the festive season!

5 Likes

Sounds like you guys have it running smoothly which is great. I sometimes miss the office interaction that occurs but change we must.

Work life balance is a must from my perspective. In a past life I spent an average of 4 to 6 months away almost every year for 30 odd years and it is now one of my priorities that our people get to spent quality time with family and friends.

2 Likes

HI Russell

You are correct

We have totally moved our Property Management team to working from home permanently - we are only a small team though - and the work/life balance has much better benefits than the traditional office structure.

So far the transition is quite smooth - but I am sure we will come across a couple of road bumps to smooth out along the way - but am happy with the success so far

Zoom and Slack video calls have allowed us to remain as connected as we were within the office

3 Likes

Hi Louise,

We start and end the week with google hang out meetings and as you say, so far all good. One thing we did insist on was that everyone set themselves up with an office type area ( or as best as they can) so that there is still an air of professionalism around where they are working in the home space. We provided desks and chairs as required.

4 Likes

Agreed the office interaction and catch ups are a must! Our weekly meetings are a good time for everyone to catch up and its a day most staff stay in the office (also one of our least productive days for this reason :upside_down_face:)

3 Likes