Source: Unsplash
Being able to communicate effectively is vital in many industries. There’s no field where stronger communication and interactions won’t improve productivity. Each sector, though, has its own communication needs and challenges. Exactly how a professional needs to communicate will differ from one niche to the next.
A property manager’s communication challenges and requirements are diverse. Managing either one or an extensive portfolio of properties is a lot like a balancing act. Managers must proficiently blend customer service, logistics, relationship management, and more. Tech solutions that can help a property manager keep all those balls in the air can be a godsend.
Unified communications (UCaaS) platforms are prime examples of such solutions. Many property managers come to rely on UCaaS to manage their communication needs. A unified communications (UC) solution can integrate with specific project management and project scheduling software. That gives managers one platform and interface from which they can do everything they need.
Bringing together diverse communication channels can benefit pros in many industries. There is a range of benefits specific to property management, though, that UC can deliver:
- Ability to work anywhere
- 24/7 connectivity
- Easy monitoring and record-keeping for compliance and analytics
- Enhanced collaboration through integration
- Scalability to grow with a company
Let’s take a closer look at each of those areas in turn.
How UC Increases Productivity in Property Management
Property management is a complex and ever-changing field. No one day for a manager or a management company’s staff is ever precisely the same as the last. There are always different challenges and issues in need of solving.
By examining some of the most common remote workforce management challenges, we can drill down into how UC can boost productivity. Let’s take a look at the day-to-day tests a property manager faces. As well as how unified communications can help them rise to the challenge.
Work Anywhere
Source: Unsplash
Very little day-to-day property management gets done from the office. Whether it’s meeting a landlord or overseeing repairs, you’re going to be on the move a lot. Any communication system must answer that need for mobility.
A UC solution typically boasts a range of features for working on the move. By integrating UC with property management software, you can aid productivity across the board. It will let you communicate and work to the same standards when you’re out of as well as in the office.
Most modern UC platforms are cloud-based and utilize VoIP Phones. That means users can log in and access all communication channels wherever they are. Colleagues can reach them via a hosted PBX system, just like they were in the building. Clients or tenants can call them on their office number, wherever they are. What’s more, they also have the same access to information and documents on the move as in the office.
That ease and speed of access to info may prove crucial. Imagine, for instance, if you’re in a client meeting and want to present a contract. Having a fully integrated UC solution can help you do so swiftly and immediately. Otherwise, you would have to wait to return to the office before sending the contract on to your client.
The higher mobility afforded by UC, then, can have a profound impact on work productivity. It lets property managers and their staff efficiently communicate wherever they are. That smooths processes and removes the delays that can be costly in such a fast-moving field.
24/7 Connectivity
Property management is far from a nine-to-five job. Tenants, landlords, and prospects often need to reach you well outside office hours. If they can’t get hold of you or a member of your staff, it creates a poor impression of your company. Without an engaged workforce, you’ll fail on resident satisfaction, and prospects may take their custom elsewhere.
It’s vital, then, for property managers to make contacting the right person as straightforward as possible. That’s regardless of the time of day or night. There are several ways that a UC platform can help in this area. They include features like IVR, intelligent call routing, and more.
IVR stands for interactive voice response. It’s a feature of most UC solutions, which helps to better direct and manage calls to your company. Via IVR, callers can speak to your automated system to get routed to the right phone line or staff member. This can be done with free switchboard applications and can also provide out of hours information and emergency numbers.
Source: Unsplash
To ensure 24/7 connectivity, UC platforms also allow you to implement smart call routing. You can often set up a system by which callers get routed to different numbers at different times. You’re also able to queue your staff members in order of preference. That means a call will get routed through different people until it’s answered.
The smartest routing setups can work in harmony with a calendar or free scheduling software. With a UC platform, those tools are all integrated and ultimately improves business processes. Your system can recognize when an employee is in or out of the office. It can then route calls accordingly, all without any input from you.
Compliance & Analytics
Wherever you’re based, many property management processes are subject to strict regulation. Your whole organization must adhere to all relevant legislation. That’s especially true in areas like building safety and accessibility, among others. Having a UC platform will make it much easier to stay on top of these issues.
With a UC solution, all your communication channels are integrated. You have instant, reliable access to all information and documents related to your company. That makes it easy to check and make sure that all employees are working legally and responsibly.
Modern UC platforms, too, let administrators record and monitor phone calls with ease. That has a two-pronged benefit. First, it aids in maintaining compliance in communication. You can spot and correct any agents or staff who fall foul of compliance regulations. The second benefit comes in the shape of intelligent analytics.
With ready access to recorded calls and call data, you can gain plenty of insights into your business. Call volume data can help you make smart staffing decisions. Information on call lengths shows you how productive different staff members are. Those are just two of a plethora of intelligent analytics agency options afforded to you by using a UC solution.
Integration & Collaboration
Source: Unsplash
For the best possible property management, your whole team has to pull in the same direction. All employees need to be on the same page to offer a consistent service to clients and improve customer experience. An excellent way to increase productivity, then, is by aiding better cross-organizational collaboration.
UC platforms integrate an array of different channels and tools. That gives your workers boundless opportunities for cooperation. We’ve already touched upon how easily calls can get transferred to the right people. Alongside that, your team can also benefit from useful video conferencing.
Even when a team is scattered to the wind, a virtual private cloud (VPC) lets them closely collaborate. Team members can speak face-to-face and share ideas, documents, and even screens. All that helps foster cooperation and boosts productivity.
What’s more, virtual meetings and other communication get supported by all the relevant information. You can integrate your UC solution with CRM or dedicated property management software. That puts all buyer, seller, property, and other data at your fingertips while you use any channel.
Growth & Scalability
UC platforms hold one further advantage over traditional systems for property management. That is that they are far more scalable solutions. The scope and extent of the solutions can get expanded as your business intelligence grows. That’s simply not the case with older alternative systems.
Thanks to being cloud-based, any changes or expansions to a UC platform are easy to achieve. Aside from being able to carry out easy call forwarding, you can also add new users, new locations, and new features in no time. If you add a new office in a different city, the team there can be quickly brought onto the same network. If you add a live chat option to your website, the new channel will integrate with your others.
This scalability is particularly useful for property management firms. Many such companies start small. They’ll often manage a single property, and so only have to deal with a small handful of people. As more properties get added to their portfolio, their contacts list and duties expand at pace. A communications solution must be able to keep up.
Integrating UC to Ensure Productivity Now & in The Future
Productivity is as vital for property managers as digital nomads and professionals in other fields. Keeping your team working to the best of their abilities is what will spell success. The property niche is complex and ever-changing. That makes communication essential to productivity.
By integrating a UC platform with other tech solutions, you’ll enjoy many benefits. Collaboration, mobility, and compliance will all get enhanced. Such improvements will pay huge dividends when it comes to productivity. What’s more, UC is a trend of the future as well as the present. The scalable, forward-thinking solutions will keep supporting your business for years to come.
