Empowering Staff Through Automation
The real estate market, more than many other industries, is notoriously subject to fluctuations, and we find ourselves in yet another challenging situation.
And it’s a strange one!
The housing stock remains inadequate for the number of potential buyers. We are still in desperate need of more moderately priced housing, so despite the interest rates, buyers are still out there looking. Given the rise in interest rates, however, the current pool of buyers will be forced to look in a lower price range or pull themselves out of the market for the time being.
And we don’t need to remind you of what has happened to the refinance market in recent months.
On the flip side, the title industry, specifically, continues to perform well. Many of the agents we’ve talked with are still seeing strong purchase volume. If anything, most of them are moving to automate anywhere they’re not automated as a way to better scale their production should the market change again. The uncertainty makes this a challenging time for business owners who are trying to staff up for a selling season that could become highly unpredictable.
That’s why now is the time to take steps to empower your staff as well as protecting them from fluctuations in order volume. Working closely with your leadership team, emphasize the following objectives in the coming months:
- Communicate openly
- Lead with confidence
- Encourage and support your staff
Communicate openly
You can’t hide the truth from your staff, so its better to have frank conversations about where the market is going and what you are doing to ensure the financial stability of your company. At the same time, no reason to take a complete “doom and gloom” posture. There will be business-remember, the industry survived and even performed well in the past during periods when interest rates topped 10 percent! Instead, you want to make sure you are supporting your talented and hard-won staff in an industry that draws from a limited pool of experienced professionals. They need to know they are valued, appreciated and supported in their daily efforts and in their personal challenges.
And, of course, empowering them with automation that manages the repetitive tasks and frees them to tackle more challenging and rewarding processes is a great way to build loyalty (and retention) when the market rebounds.
Lead with confidence
Your confidence and measured decision-making will go a long way to calming the fears of your staff. Make sure you enlist the best and brightest in each division or department to assist you in navigating the uncertainties ahead. You can’t manage by spreadsheet. You must have the human input, assessment and guidance of those who are working in the trenches every day.
Encourage and support your staff
During periods of transition, it is more important than ever to listen to your staff. Encourage your managers to tune into any additional issues employees may be dealing with due to inflation, a partner who is struggling at work, or other increased personal demands. Patience and empathy can go a long way to decreasing stress and creating a more relaxed and productive environment for everyone.
If the market does continue to soften this year and you have to tighten your belt, remember to find alternative ways to reward your employees. Additional time off, flextime, work from home options can all be welcome benefits that your staff will appreciate.
And if you must keep your staff lean during the coming months, remember that Allana.ai can help with this by taking on many of your repetitive communication tasks, freeing up your staff to provide the important human and manual tasks that are so critical to the success of an agency.