Quick Access To The Case Study Questions
Sarah Martin – As the process engineer and head of Property Management, Sarah represents all that MPM stands for. Having diligently worked her way up through the ranks from Reception, she has gained extensive experience and invaluable industry knowledge which is second to none. Her passion and drive to succeed rub off on her team, maintaining high levels of motivation around the office.
Sarah is dedicated to providing on-going training and support to ensure best practice and exceptional service are guaranteed. She is currently studying for her Full Real Estate Licence and will soon be adding a Certificate IV in Training & Assessment to her qualifications.
1 Minute and 37 Seconds
Why Did You Decide To Outsource?
Sarah: Well, I started outsourcing about 12 months ago now. I was at the PPM conference in Queensland and Affordable Staff were there.
Damien: I remember it well. I actually remember it really really well.
Sarah: Yes. So I was totally against it at the start come to the point where I actually told Damien here to f– off. Not interested at all.
Damien: Just give me a stamp.
Sarah: All I wanted was a stamp. Yeah. But then I kept walking past and I remember going, “That’s really interesting but no. No, no, no.” And then I listened to the panel that was on. And it was just business leaders that had been using outsourcing and how great it was for them. And you could just tell that everything they were saying was just coming straight from them. They were so raw with their examples and everything.
That completely turned me around. Hearing it from them and how amazing it actually can be was completely fabulous and I actually went back to Damien and got a VA starting within 24 hours from that.
David: So you had your one person now, you’ve got another person.
Sarah: Yes, we’ve just had Kristel start with us probably a week ago.
Damien: So you got Shine and Kristel.
Sarah: Yeah I’ve got two now.
1 Minute and 38 Seconds
How Is Trust An Important Factor In Outsourcing?
Sarah: Yeah. It was huge, huge amount of trust that you need to have especially from a trust accounting point of view and everything that is on our database, all into one thing.
David: Yes, one location.
Sarah: Exactly. So listening to everyone at PPM, and also talking to you guys at the booth and also talking to the girl who was on the other side of the computer screen.
David: Jackie.
Sarah: Yeah that was really great. And the thing that got me over the edge was the security that you go through when you’re picking your VA’s. What I was really impressed was that Shine came with a DISC profile. I felt like I knew her before I’ve even spoken to her. I got a copy of her interview. And the security behind everything as well was really impressive. So that’s what pushed me over the edge.
David: Did you see the footage of our visit recently to the Philippines?
Sarah: I did, yeah.
David: I don’t know if you noticed but everyone was wearing a lanyard. We have a guy who stands at the front who won’t let you in unless you have a lanyard.
Sarah: That’s awesome.
Damien: He wouldn’t let me in and I was wearing an Affordable Staff shirt
David: Really?
Damien: Yeah. I didn’t have my lanyard on it was in my bag.
David: Yeah, so. Multiple levels of security.
Sarah: Yeah, exactly.
David: Because we understand we work with a number of different industries including real estate and property management. And security is paramount especially when you’re dealing, like you’re dealing with people’s actual data. People’s information. So that’s important to keep that secure.
1 Minute and 25 Seconds
Do You Think Outsourcing Is Taking Away Jobs From Local Staff?
Sarah: To be honest if you look at it black and white, yeah you are taking away from jobs in Australia. But you’re also giving people the opportunity to have a job, have a stable job in the Philippines or wherever you choose to outsource. And I think that’s really important as well.
We were actually hiring two assistant property managers at the time that I was at PPM. So what I ended up doing was hiring one VA, so we hired Sunshine and then I also hired one on-shore staff assistant.
But the thing I found as well is going through that interviewing process and finalizing someone in Australia, I was really impressed with Sunshine and her work ethic, her willing to learn. And I think that it’s a massive cultural difference and I think that, as much as I might get sounded for saying it, I think it keeps the Australians on their toes a little bit with just what comes out of the Philippines.
Like Sunshine is incredible. Absolutely amazing. She does everything, she doesn’t complain about it. She’s willing to learn. All she wants to do is learn more and more. And I think that that is you know, really great.
1 Minute and 19 Seconds
Staff Burnout And Employee Retention
David: Do you think in Victoria or let’s say specifically Melbourne, that burnout of property managers is still a big thing?
Sarah: Huge, definitely. And the best thing about Sunshine is that the team downstairs that we got can leave at 5:00 or leave at 5:30 because they’re not stuck with the mundane tasks of entering tenancies and doing lease renewals and chasing everything and all of that sort of thing because it’s all done for them. So they can come in at 8:30, they can have a lunch break, they can leave at 5:00.
David: How was it beforehand, were they working–
Sarah: Long, long hours.
David: Cause I know Damien coming from the industry that was a big thing that you had as well.
Damien: It seems to be one of the most common things when we’re doing these chats.
Sarah: Yeah definitely.
Damien: We’re finding that, I don’t know how you put it, dollar-value on that. Staff are coming on time and going on time and have you found retention’s increased?
Sarah: To be honest, our clients are happier because they get more communication with our property managers, the on-shore ones, because they’re not, you know, having to enter in all the details. Instead of doing that, they’re calling the landlords, getting the tenants signed pay, we’re doing this, this, and this. And then in the background, Sunshine is adding everything in there so they don’t have to do any of that anymore.
44 Seconds
How Are Your Local Team Working With Your Offshore Staff?
Sarah: Yes. So initially when I first came back from the conference in Queensland, there was a lot of push-back on it. Because especially I think in Melbourne, you don’t hear about it a lot. I didn’t even know it was a thing before I met you in Queensland. And because they weren’t able to be at the conference to listen to all of the fantastic things that were there, I did struggle a little bit.
However, once Shine started and was so efficient, they were shocked. Shocked with how on the ball she was and Sunshine surprises the team downstairs everyday with what she’s doing.
1 Minute and 3 Seconds
How Would You Approach Outsourcing Differently, If You Can?
Sarah: I mean I’d always like to say yes. I always think you can learn from anything. I think that perhaps maybe, I don’t know, I would have liked to have been able to give her more at the start. I found that I’ve been giving her a lot more now and I feel like I’ve sort of wasted six months because I’ve started giving her a lot more now. Yeah.
David: Yeah, okay.
Sarah: That’s probably the only thing. Working out exactly like a list of what you can give to them.
Damien: I find when working with clients, the first three months are almost a discovery period of the client.
Sarah: It is.
Damien: And then they get three months, four, and they sort of go “Okay, everyone’s better. Everyone’s on board. The local team’s happy. I’ve addressed the issues that I need to address. Now, I can start expanding on what the offshore team’s doing for me.” That seems to be pretty common across a lot of the clients we’re working with.
39 Seconds
What Difference Has Outsourcing Made For Your Business?
Sarah: Time. Less stress. Straightforward tasks. Amazing. The biggest difference would be just the fact that the property managers can actually talk to their landlords.
David: And just going back to it, cause we sort of touched on it and then I sort of avoided it. I’m not sure. So for you, it meant that you didn’t actually put a local staff team member on. Instead of two, it was one and then another support person
Sarah: Correct.
David: And then overall, in your business, it’s assisted with time in the business.
44 Seconds
Have You Noticed Any Direct Financial Gains After Outsourcing?
Sarah: So we don’t have a BDM. We’re not looking at growing at the moment. Mainly just for reasons. So when we do get new business calls in, we definitely action in that sort of thing. But for growth, the VA, Sunshine, has really been more stable for our current team that we’ve got.
David: Okay, so helped maintain exactly what you have now.
Sarah: Exactly.
David: Cause what’s the average drop-off rate of properties every year?
Damien: About 10%.
Sarah: We have a lot of sales at the moment as well.
55 Seconds
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TASKS OFFSHORE TEAM COMPLETE TO GAIN PEAK GROWTH, EFFICIENCY AND SUPPORT!
The Australian Real Estate and Property Management industry is more competitive than ever.
With fixed commissions, pressure to lower property management fees from other agencies and downward pressure on rents eroding management income, Australian real estate agencies are feeling the pressure to balance good service and to remain profitable.
Our solution allows you to offshore tasks that you would normally have a person complete locally, or may not even be getting done due to the pressure freeing up your local staff to focus on higher ROI and client retention tasks.
We employ ‘Full time’ staff that operate within our office within the Philippines. Each staff member is assigned and dedicated to one client and your offshore team member becomes a critical & reliable part of your business.
Over 15 Years Hands On Experience Within Australian Property Management And Real Estate
We employ specific account managers that have existing hands on experience within the Real Estate & Property Management industry.
This insider industry experience combined with our unique recruitment process means we understand how to recruit the right people for the role/s and how to train those people on the software and tasks within that role.
Listed below are a few of the real tasks and software our team complete for their clients.
Lease Renewals
Populate lease renewal documents including special terms from PM software ensuring correct additional documents are current and ready for delivery to your tenants.
Arrears Calls
Follow up arrears with a phone call after rent has been processed.
Processing Applications
Process applications, including following up outstanding documents ready for approval by the owner.
Reference Checking
Contact and follow up application references to ensure timely processing of applications.
Inspection Scheduling and Follow Up
Schedule inspection runs, email entry notices and follow up with reminder call or message prior to inspections to ensure agency time is not wasted
Monitor Compliance Registers
Monitor and maintain smoke alarm, body corporate, pool safety and other registers to ensure compliance.
Maintenance Follow Up
Follow up outstanding maintenance and invoices with contractors to ensure that maintenance is completed in a timely manner and entry notices are issued if required for contractors to attend properties.
Booking Open Homes
Schedule and list open home times on web portals and book people into viewing.
Welcome Packs and Local Area Information Packs
Compiling of local information sheets for tenants, buyers and sellers to ensure that you are front of mind during the stressful move process.
Past Client Marketing and Client Satisfaction Surveys
Ensuring that past buyers, seller, tenants and owners are not forgotten by maintaining contact with them by email or phone.
Data Entry and CRM Maintenance
Filing documents electronically and ensuring that all data is synchronized between the real estate CRM software, trust accounting software and other software platforms that are used. Maintaining the agency CRM to ensure it accurately reflect the current position of the business.
Sales and Rental Agreements
Typing up management agreements and contracts for agents ready for reviewing and sending.
Email Marketing Campaigns
Scheduling and executing newsletter campaigns for owners, tenants, buyers and sellers.
Social Media Marketing
Planning & executing Social Media paid advertising marketing campaigns and social media plans.
Cross Selling Value Added Services
Contacting clients of your business to upsell value added services i.e. tax depreciation, mortgage broking, insurance, home maintenance service etc.
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HOW YOU CAN GET A FREE CONSULTATION!
We understand Outsourcing Sales and Property Management is a great move, especially if you want to remain competitive and continue to grow your business.
At the same time, it can be daunting to consider how Outsourcing can fit within your current business model especially when you want to understand how well it will integrate.
We understand how well it works for our other property management and sales agencies that we’re prepared to offer a Free consultation (normally valued at $197) where we can discuss if outsourcing is a good fit for your business.
After talking with one of our local Australian team you’ll understand the exact steps we follow when working with other real estate agencies and whether it will be a good fit for your business.
To find out more complete your details below, where we’ll grab a few simple details and will be in contact shortly.
OTHER HAPPY CLIENTS
I’m happy to talk to you about how it’s assisted us, and how we’re able to trust David and his team, and we’ve got other mutual clients that you could talk to as well.
I’ve had a long term relationship with Affordable Staff as a client and Trust them strongly.
Affordable Staff are great. My full time virtual assistant has been a game changer for my business and the terms you enter into are easy and straightforward.
I can’t recommend Affordable Staff highly enough, the entire team from the management to the VA’s to our representative Damien have all been with us every step of the way in implementing processes and structure which has created an efficient streamlined business. If ever I need anything Damien is only a call away and always willing to listen and introduce new ideas to provide solutions.
The introduction of a VA to our property management division has been nothing short of a game changer’.
I can now provide a new level of unequalled support to ten property managers across three separate sites.
Bite the bullet and give it a go. It’s been an incredibly valuable addition to our business. We’ve taken steps forward, we’ve been doing it for a few years and I’ve already seen significant change to our business.
I’d just like to thank you guys for what you’ve done for us as it’s been really, really helpful.
I can’t recommend Affordable Staff highly enough as my team are fully supported. The pressure is taken off where we can now have lunch every day and actually leave on time every afternoon.
We have operated with a remote team assisting our property management processes over a year now. Our experience with Affordable Staff has been fantastic.
The way they recruit and then induct the team is second to none. I can say this because we have had experience with another company. They are easy to deal with and upskill the girls on the programs before they start working with you.
Their understanding of the industry is great and they are all very easy to deal with. If you are considering hiring a remote team, Affordable Staff are the people you should be talking with.
My recommendation for any business is to take a step back and look at what’s coming to the market. Look at software, hardware and social media.
Look also at outsourcing but don’t look at it as something that’s going to take away from your business, rather something that’s going to add value to your business.
I’ve always been apprehensive of outsourcing as I didn’t know where to start, thought it would involve a lot of my time and had fears around working with a person based in another country. Damien and the team at Affordable Staff held my hand throughout the entire process. I am now 12 months on and could not work without the support of my VA. I found the transition of working with Affordable Staff surprisingly easy, cost effective and my VA to be loyal, polite and always going above and beyond my expectations.
We haven’t employed the team overseas to get rid of any team we have in our office… It’s to add value to the team in our office. Our local staff can now focus on more client-facing and client-building relationships while our team in the Philippines are doing some of the back-end things to help them out in their day-to-day operations.
We’re also adding more value added services to our clients, too. We’re introducing a lot of things that we just could not have done otherwise. Whereas before we just didn’t have the manpower to achieve it. So I think now, we can give a much higher level of service to our clients because they’re helping the team do that.