8 Weeks.....Really?

Can you believe it’s only 8 weeks until Christmas?  

No, neither can I! This year has flown by, seemingly as do most years in Property Management.

I get the feeling time flies faster and faster each year, especially with the increasing expectations and demands of our clients filling our days, making us busier and busier. Across all of the training, coaching and consulting we’ve done this year, it’s no surprise to me that the common challenge has been finding more time! So if you’ve been feeling the same way, know that you are not alone!

Whilst I’ve been busy helping you find ways to systemise, streamline and supercharge your businesses and portfolios to ensure there is more time in your days (and hopefully a bit less stress along the way) I’ve realised that I need to apply some of the principles I teach into my own day!

As the year comes to an end my aim is to take some time out and recap on how this year has gone. Look at where I can improve and better systemise my own processes, do some planning for the year ahead, and of course, catch up on all the housekeeping and spring cleaning (that I didn’t actually get time to do in spring!)

In your property management world this is also an optimal time to do the same thing. Take a look at the year that has passed and consider

• What has worked well
• What hasn’t worked so well and needs improvement.
• Tie up all the loose ends and spring clean your own portfolio
• Set up a plan so you are ready for a jam packed 2015

I thought it would be handy for you to have a free copy of our End of Year Checklist (click to receive) for Property Management.  

Be sure to block some time out of your busy schedules over the coming final weeks to go through a review and also preview to get ready for the year ahead or if you are still running full tilt to the end of the year, lock it in your diary for early January. Doing this will give you a sense of ‘relief’ from your hectic schedule as you will know you have some planning in place to get you through!

Hermione Gardiner

Hot Potato Hot Potato

Are you passing the baton or throwing a hot potato?

Remember the game “hot potato” when we were kids?  That game which involved a circle of people tossing a small beanbag or tennis ball to each other while music played?  The player who is holding the “hot potato when the music stops, is out!”

Many tasks, issues, queries and complaints fly across our desks every day that need to be addressed. Often we may not be the correct person to address or solve these tasks and issues, and I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of throwing a hot potato onto that person. And when that music stops, they are left holding the hot potato.  Perhaps we’ve been the person left holding the hot potato - the unresolved issue or angry client.

It’s time to stop throwing a hot potato to your team mates and start to look at how you can turn property management into a super efficient baton pass.  Remember the relay team that train for hours to ensure the timing, speed, release and capture all run seamlessly for a perfect handover? 

We need to bring the baton pass into property management, helping our team mates, managers and even clients by taking responsibility to ensure that all of the information and intelligence is handed over to the correct person, quickly, efficiently and seamlessly. 

By taking responsibility and spending a few extra moments to capture and relay more information (ensuring we’ve done all we can from our end), we can actually save time for ourselves and the other person.  This way they won’t have to come back to you asking the questions, or spend time picking up the pieces later, in turn saving ourselves some stress along the way.  Not to mention saving potentially the client having to re-explain themselves over and over again. 

I challenge you to ask yourselves this week as tasks and issues are handed over and allocated across your team and even to your clients, are you throwing a hot potato or passing a baton! 

If you missed last weeks 'To Do List', simply click here for a copy!

Hermione Gardiner

Stress – not everything has to happen now!

Stress, the most common side effect of working in property management can be a tough hurdle to overcome. We are bombarded each day with mounting tasks, increasing expectations, and some weird and wacky demands from our dearly beloved clients.

Stress can make can you believe that everything has to happen right now and it really doesn’t have to feel that way! In our moments of complete stress it can be hard to decipher what is urgent, what is necessary, what can wait, what can be reallocated and what does not need to be done at all.

When we are running full tilt and it’s all building up, we often need to just stop, take time out to replan and reprioritise. Often, this can be the hardest thing to do as this isn’t seen as dollar productive activity.

By taking time out to re-write your to-do list, making sure you list each task that needs to be done even if it seems small and insignificant, you will be able to clearly see exactly what has to happen. The next step is to go through and prioritise. I like to use a simple common ‘A, B, C’ system that helps:

• Prioritise what has to happen today
• What would be nice to happen today and 
• What can wait until tomorrow
• I also use a fourth label which is ‘Q’ - Q stands for quick win and means I can knock that task over relatively quickly allowing you to cut your to-do list down.

The next step is to plan, out of your A’s, decide what you will do first, how long it will take, and plan the time into your diary. For those tasks that haven’t made it to your urgent A’s list, make sure you communicate any delays to your clients, so their expectations are met. I.e. a quick email to a client letting them know you won’t have a response to them today, redefining their expectation.

By taking time out to re-plan and re-prioritise you will often see that not everything has to be done immediately. Each task will fit into your daily/weekly plan at an allocated time, you will feel relieved that you know when it will be done and this in itself can alleviate some of the stress we go through!

For a free copy of my to-do list prioritisation checklist click here!

What is service?

Is this really such a difficult question? Service, perhaps put simply, is the provision of a

sequence of activities providing a benefit for the consumer. Good service would be

understanding a clients wants, agreeing on the provision of these wants and providing them to an acceptable level.

Your service offering

What is your service offering? Do you know what your clients want? Have you ever asked

them? Typically clients want agents to obtain the greatest financial return, whilst maintaining

their property and keeping a happy tenant.

Identify the service that you offer a client, document this together with the standards the every

member of your team must uphold in terms of activities and communication. Your service

offering and standards are the backbone to your business; they must be deeply embedded into your brand and your culture.

Corded windows compliance - How does it affect your agency?

There has been a big increase in the number of enquiries in regards to Corded Window Compliance, with Agencies asking us what they need to do.

We can all probably agree that something is required to prevent strangulation of young children.

Since 2001, eleven children have lost their lives due to strangulation of a cord attached to a fitted blind or window.

Due to this potential hazard, particularly affecting young infants and toddlers the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (‘ACCC’) have updated the current legislation nationwide in relation to Internal Corded Windows. As of the 01/01/2015 all new installations of any window coverings or blinds in domestic dwellings must be met with the new mandatory safety standards.

This new legislation states that any loose cord within the residency cannot form a loop 220mm or longer at less than 160cm above floor level, and that all coverings must be installed as per the installation instructions in order to meet the necessary requirements for cord safety. Cleats or similar devices that are used to secure or wound a cord are strongly recommended but must be attached to wall or other structure measuring at least 160cm above floor level.

Landlords or agents failing to comply with the new legislation are in breach of the ‘Trade Practices Mandatory Safety Standards’ and can face loss of license and penalties up to $220,000 for individuals and $1.1 million for companies, as well as the possibility of compensation claims.

The Legislation is specific to New Installations of window coverings and, at this stage, there has been no sunset clause that is requiring all existing properties to meet the code.

SATS have looked at all the legislation to make sure that the comprehensive service that we currently offer, not only meets current legislative requirements, but also the changes that are anticipated in the future.

We are already providing this comprehensive service to many agents across Australia and as well as to some Government housing contracts.

The SATS Corded Window Compliance Program is $99inc GST that includes an Annual inspection, including all fixtures and fittings, and also an additional inspection at Change of Tenancy, to ensure the property is safe for ingoing tenants and their guests.

Article provided by SATS

Please contact 1300 416 667 or visit https://www.sats.com.au for an Australia-wide service.

Don't just expect the unexpected... Plan for it!

I recently heard a trainer use the phrase “property management is a series of predictable surprises.” True, isn’t it? In property management, new business, leasing and life in general for that matter, we can often sense when things are going to go wrong, or can recognise the warning signs of issues you’ve seen before. Do you take the necessary steps to prepare or prevent the occurrence? Or do you simple hope it won’t get to that ‘dreaded point.'

When there’s a fire at hand, we put it out and rush on to the next problem without taking the time out to look at our internal processes and what we can learn and put in place to ensure the same issue doesn’t recur over and over. Taking the time out to review what went wrong and how to avoid it happening again is essential for business success as it ensures we minimise errors and conflict, whilst staying as efficient and productive as possible, and importantly, that our service to our clients is constantly improving.

When I am coaching and consulting with clients across the country, part of my role is help clients to review their systems and look for the tell tale signs of potential issues such as higher arrears, prolonged bond refunds, escalated complaints over lagging repairs, vacancy levels creeping up, loss of managements and more. So based on what I’ve learnt, what can you do within your business to ensure the same recurring issues don’t keep happening?

• Seek feedback – if you aren’t already surveying your clients, it is essential to ask them for both positive and negative feedback to work out how to improve what you do and avoid issues recurring.
• Complaint/Issue Log – Keep a complaint log detailing actions taken, errors paid out, if review of process is required (free template available here)
• Review – create a review process where your procedures (and complaints) are reviewed periodically (can be a team effort). Remember what worked 10 years ago may not work today.
• Scenario Planning & Contingency Training – from the above results decide what additional training can be provided to the team either internally or from a training provider to cover not just the hard skills but soft skills such as communication and conflict resolution.

As I’ve said before, always remember (as spoken by Catherine Devrye), the most “expensive words in business are, we’ve always done it that way”.