Take advantage of your free time at home and get your team working together better than everyone ever.

The Coronavirus has impacted businesses around the world on a massive scale. Businesses are closed, teams are working from home and everyone has more questions than ever. On the bright side, you now have lots of time at home to review your business’s operations. You can improve upon the systems and policies that you find are lacking. Additionally, with your employees working from home, you may want to look into strengthening the teamwork and synergy between your employees. If they can work together miles apart, they can work together anywhere.

 

With some free time on your hands, now is a perfect time to update your policy and procedures manual so you come back a stronger business. Your policy and procedures manual is the heart of your business. It is a living document, which means it should be updated as necessary. With many new rent control laws being implemented in 2020, now is a good time to ensure that your policies are up to date and follow all legal guidelines.

 

Checklists are an extremely valuable tool for property management businesses. Managers and support staff juggle many responsibilities and it is easy to drop the ball when there is no tracking or coordination, especially when people are working from home. That’s when the fires erupt. Our Stop the Fires Checklist System helps avoid, eliminate, and control these “fires” by taking an organized approach to managing your properties and clientele. The checklist system helps your staff work productively and coordinate well. This allows you to ensure your team is working together to prevent slips. The best part is that these checklists make it easy for you to implement your tasks, whether in person or remotely.

 

With everyone working from home, building an effective team is one of the most important things to focus on. With this distance between everyone, getting your team working together effectively can be difficult. Skype and zoom meetings can go a long way but don’t replace an office space. Our Building an Effective Property Management Team manual addresses how to create an effective team throughout difficulties and more. It defines qualities of an effective team leader and answers how to handle difficulties your business experiences. This allows your team to work together effectively from anywhere in the world.

 

Employee manuals are an important part of training & managing your personnel and has become even more important recently. We have created the Employee Manual/System that is perfect for setting up your employees for success working remotely. This manual provides a resource that answers frequent questions and standardizes performance expectations of staff so you don’t have to worry about answering the same question or treating employees differently. Additionally, it gives guidelines for structured staff evaluations so you can ensure your employees are getting their work done without micromanaging. As a whole, this manual gives your employees better, more standardized management while simultaneously making it an easier process for you.

 

One of the most important things to be doing in a time like this is keeping good communication with your tenants, owners and vendors. You want to set expectations and clarify policies and procedures. Our set of Setting Expectations Manuals for Owners, Tenants and Vendors is built to do just that. They explain how to keep good communication throughout difficult times. Specifically when communicating with each client about how you do business and what you expect of them. They give a Roadmap for Organizing Property Management. It explains the importance of being clear with your expectations, policies and operations. This will promote loyalty, retain accounts, and attract more referrals. The supporting forms increase efficiency and help to mitigate risk.

All of these products make managing your employees, owners, tenants and vendors easier and more standardized. Now you can rest easier knowing your businesses is ready for anything. Stay safe!

 

Kathleen Richards, is the owner of PM Made Easy and The Property Management Coach. With her 13 years as a broker/owner of a property management company she speaks from experience. Kathleen authored, Property Management A-Z and teaches regularly at community colleges and conferences on property management topics. She is active in her field and holds professional designations as Master Property Manager (MPM®) and Residential Management Professional (RMP®) and her company held the coveted, Certified Residential Management Company (CRMC®) designation from NARPM®. She is currently a National Instructor for NARPM® and is honored to be sharing best practices with other NARPM® professionals. Kathleen has served at the local and state level on the boards for NARPM® (National Association of Residential Property Managers)